Mine Games

I was burning through some repetitive work with this movie on in the background. I had low expectations, and then IceMan showed up, and then (spoiler) there were some nice boobs which ticked off a checkbox for making a good bad-horror movie. The characters were a bit whack and irrational, but how else are you going to write them into constantly returning to an abandoned mine. There's a beautiful lake nearby, but they're like "Hey, let's go back to the mine and drink more PBR." They try to add some un-reliable narration by introducing a trivial amount of drugs. I was like, "Is that ALL you're going to take? Can you even get buzzed from a couple Tall-Boys?" Standard cookie-cutter characters, but one was British this time, and that was never really explained. Was that a fake accent? It was nice to see the story almost work, but the ending left a lot of unanswered questions, like, "Why is this happening at all in the first place?", and "Why don't they just leave? It's a nice day." All in all, it's kind of like a more enjoyable version of "The Hole", combined with "Vivarium" or something.

The Mine plays games with your mind...LoL

I wasn't expecting much at first due to the poor user ratings but mainly thought I'll give it a go as I was so impressed with the beautiful scenery.

The movie takes quite a while to make sense, but in the end I was satisfied with the meaningful ending cos all they had to do was for somebody or anybody to brake the cycle.

Overall, original and great story and really worth the watch if you're into high school or college horror/mystery movies.

A bunch of friends on vacation in the country discover a disused mine and find something most strange down in its depths.

It starts off in conventional fashion, pretty looking youngsters head off to a large cabin in the woods and after nearly running someone down in the road, they arrive at their destination but nothing is as it seems. The story then spins into another dimension, cribbing from better movies like Triangle and Identity, only the screenplay isn't strong enough to make a success of it, even confusing itself in the process.

Things aren't helped by director and co-writer Richard Gray padding out the movie to meet the required run time to call it a feature length production. In truth there just isn't enough material here to extend beyond a one hour Twilight Zone episode, better editing and a better screenplay was definitely needed here. Gray over stretching his ambitions somewhat.

The cast of up coming Hollywood starlets give a mixed bunch of performances, while the low budget is often evident. Neither of these things, though, hurt the film as much as the aforementioned issues. There's a modicum of interest value here for those who like the films already mentioned above, but it's not a comfortable recommendation at all. 4/10

A group of college graduate friends on a getaway weekend trip. Time for fun and drinking. As the van breaks down, it's a horror film as they always do, the troupe hoofs it to the nearby cabin to rest up. Upon discovering a nearby mine, the group explores. Spelunking discoveries become eerily ominous. Every trip back to the cabin to regroup provides no relief as does each trip back into the mine. Tension builds steadily throughout, the plot seems thin and weak. Just when you've got it figured out, everything changes. Break the cycle or else. Overall, well thought out and executed. People can always compare Mine Games to this and that but this dig is worth it...

Seven friends on vacation stumble upon an abandoned mine shaft in the middle of a remote forest and live to regret going in.

The film takes a while to get to the action which is a positive as you get to know the characters. To the films benefit most of them aren't so obnoxious you want to see them die, which always adds to any tension a film may build up. Although there aren't any real stand out performers the acting is decent throughout. The production values for a relatively small film are of an impressive standard.

There is a nice air of panic and mystery built up as some of the group slowly to begin see things that they wish they hadn't. This is an unusual story line and is to be applauded for being a bit different. There are a number of unsettling scenes and you never quite know where the film is going to go.

This is a small film that punches above it's weight and is well worth watching.