# Below Utopia

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{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Below Utopia
| image = Below Utopia poster.jpg
| caption = Film poster
| director = [Kurt Voss](/source/Kurt_Voss)<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wall|first1=C. Edward|title=Below Utopia|journal=Media Review Digest|date=1998|volume=28|page=49|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fLkPAQAAMAAJ|accessdate=19 March 2018|publisher=Pierian Press|isbn=9780876503539}}</ref>
| producer = [Lisa M. Hansen](/source/Lisa_M._Hansen)<br>[Paul Hertzberg](/source/Paul_Hertzberg)<br>[Alyssa Milano](/source/Alyssa_Milano)
| writer = [Richard Shepard](/source/Richard_Shepard)<br>[David Diamond](/source/David_Diamond_(screenwriter))
| starring = [Justin Theroux](/source/Justin_Theroux)<br>Alyssa Milano<br>[Ice-T](/source/Ice-T)<br>[Tommy 'Tiny' Lister](/source/Tom_Lister_Jr.)
| studio = Subutopian Films
| distributor = [CineTel Films](/source/CineTel_Films)
| released = {{Film date|1997|09|26}}
| runtime = 88 minutes
| language = English
| country = United States
}}
'''''Below Utopia''''' (also known as '''''Body Count''''')<ref name=Justin>{{cite web|last1=Paskin|first1=Willa|title=Who Is Justin Theroux, Really?|url=https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a12794/justin-theroux-profile/|website=ELLE|accessdate=19 March 2018|date=July 21, 2014}}</ref> is a 1997 American [independent](/source/independent_film) crime-drama/[thriller film](/source/thriller_film) [directed](/source/Film_director) by [Kurt Voss](/source/Kurt_Voss). The movie stars [Justin Theroux](/source/Justin_Theroux), [Alyssa Milano](/source/Alyssa_Milano) and [Ice-T](/source/Ice-T). Milano was also the executive producer of the film.

Ice-T had composed an instrumental musical score for this film that was not used. The compositions instead appeared on a CD entitled "Below Utopia: The Lost Score".

==Plot==
Daniel returns to his family's mansion for the holidays along with his girlfriend Susanne. His family's seemingly utopian existence is overshadowed by not only the death of Daniel's brother, but also by Daniel's failure to live up to his brother's potential. However, this quickly becomes inconsequential, as blood-thirsty killers soon show up to steal the artwork, and whatever else they can find in the house. As the family members are killed, Daniel flees with Susanne in the basement, hoping for survival. Daniel reveals that he not only knows the blood-thirsty killers and is in on the whole thing, but was also responsible for the death of his brother. Daniel kills all the "art thieves" and starts to stage the scene when one of his siblings "rises from the dead" to foil his plan. He is caught in the act of trying to strangle him by Susanne and what ensues is a battle not only for her life, but the life of his last-surviving family member.

==Release==
The video release was on March 17, 1998. The DVD release was followed on October 23, 2001. ''Below Utopia'' is also one of the films on a two-pack DVD, the other being ''[Out-of-Sync](/source/Out-of-Sync)''.

As of 2025, the film is available to stream on the Starz Apple TV Channel, Amazon Video, the Plex Player, the Plex streaming service and Philo, in which the current rights to it are held by [Lionsgate](/source/Lionsgate_Studios).

==Cast==
* [Alyssa Milano](/source/Alyssa_Milano) as Susanne<ref>{{cite book|last1=Albers|first1=Beverly|title=The Alyssa Milano Handbook - Everything You Need to Know about Alyssa Milano|date=2010|publisher=Lightning Source Incorporated|isbn=978-1742444598}}</ref>
* [Justin Theroux](/source/Justin_Theroux) as Daniel Beckett<ref name=Justin />
* [Ice-T](/source/Ice-T) as Jim
* [Tommy 'Tiny' Lister](/source/Tommy_'Tiny'_Lister) as "Tiny"
* [Robert Pine](/source/Robert_Pine) as Uncle Wilson
* [Marta Kristen](/source/Marta_Kristen) as Marilyn Beckett<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lisanti|first1=Tom|title=Drive-in Dream Girls: A Galaxy of B-Movie Starlets of the Sixties|date=February 25, 2013|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0786493425|page=274|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j8bUpOl2TgYC|accessdate=19 March 2018}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|id=0118696|title=Below Utopia}}
*{{rotten-tomatoes|body_count_1997}}

Category:1997 films
Category:1997 thriller films
Category:CineTel Films films
Category:American thriller films
Category:1997 English-language films
Category:Films directed by Kurt Voss
Category:1997 American films
Category:English-language thriller films

{{1990s-thriller-film-stub}}
{{1990s-US-film-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Below Utopia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Below_Utopia) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Below_Utopia?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.