Curse of the Forty-Niner

Well, this 2002 movie titled "Curse of the Forty-Niner" (aka "Miner's Massacre") is a movie that I hadn't even heard about before now in 2021, 19 years after it was made, as I happened to stumble upon it by sheer random luck. And yeah, of course I sat down to watch it, as it is a horror movie that I hadn't already seen. Sure, I wasn't harboring much of any expectations for the movie, so writer Antonio Olivas and director John Carl Buechler had every chance to impress and entertain me.

And while "Curse of the Forty-Niner" was a watchable movie, it was hardly an outstanding foray into the horror genre. Writer Antonio Olivas seemed to build his storyline and plot around things that have been done countless of times before this movie, so he was sort of playing it safe I suppose. A gamble perhaps, but one that ultimately dragged the movie into mediocrity.

I had no idea that it was actually Vernon Wells that was playing the part of Jeremiah Stone, the undead miner. But then again, of course he was covered completely by prosthetic make-up.

The acting in the movie was adequate, but it was actually nice enough that they had managed to get the likes of Richard Lynch and Karen Black to show up in the movie.

For a horror movie then "Curse of the Forty-Niner" just didn't cut it. There was nothing scary about this movie whatsoever. I kid you not. This movie wasn't even remotely scary. Sure, if you are a complete newcomer to the horror genre, then perhaps you'll find an ounce of scary stuff here. But for a life-long horror veteran, this was a mere walk in the park.

The special effects in "Curse of the Forty-Niner" were adequate and served their purposes well enough. However, do keep in mind though, that the special effects will not knock you over from your seat. This was not a grand spectacle of special effects.

All in all, "Curse of the Forty-Niner" was watchable, but it was not an outstanding or memorable movie to grace the horror genre. It is the type of movie that you will watch once, and then forget about it and never return to watch it a second time.

My rating of "Curse of the Forty-Niner" lands on a less than mediocre four out of ten stars.

This was bad enough. I really hope that there is no sequel. Maybe that is giving away part of the plot to let you know that it is open to the possibility, but no, it really isn't.

There is really not at all special about this movie. Well, the special effect were fairly good, but nothing to write home about.

There were some hot babes in her, especially Elina Madison and Alexandra Ford, but nothing to see folks. PG-13, definitely not an R. That also tells you the slasher aspects were less than spectacular. The shovel to the head was the only thing that was unusual.

Tame scare fare.

My mate and I chose to watch this obvious piece of junk purely based on its tagline… After nearly 30 years of lousy and rudimentary teen slashers, I can't believe that only just now some nerdy horror brainiac come up with the brilliantly witty slogan "They Axed for it"! Other than that, "Miner's Massacre" is just as random, annoying and forgettable as all the rest out there…. Perhaps even more! The script contains all the typical clichés and features all the dreadfully stereotypic characters you wish a horrible and painful death to. The gore effects are computer engineered and thus beyond pitiable and the obligatory "big" stars (Karen Black, John Philip Law and Richard Lynch) are entirely wasted in spite of their top billing. Cursed mines and abandoned ghost towns form an ideal horror setting – the creators of "My Bloody Valentine" already figured that out in the early 80's – but his dull film simply hasn't got any innovative ideas or even remotely surprising elements to offer. Bunch of greedy twenty-something losers, which refer to themselves as friends even though they clearly can't stand each other, desecrate an ancient mine in search of the gold that is allegedly hidden there. Of course they unwarily resurrect the zombie miner this way and he just 150 years of rest in order to prepare for a massive teen massacre. Yay! The cast is exceptionally irritating in this one. The girls all have impressive racks but refuse to show anything. Instead, they all prefer endless whining and the taking of needless risks. The dim-witted blokes clearly just serve as screen fillers. In her barely five minutes of playtime, Karen Black still manages to make an utter fool out of herself by depicting the most prototypic and hysterical local nut woman ever. The zombie has a stupid and very unconvincing face, but he looks okay and reasonably menacing when shown in the distant shadow of the moonlight whilst swinging around his pick-axe. Since the best thing about "Miner's Massacre" concerns the aforementioned tagline and you can read that on the box in the video store itself, there's very little else to recommend here. Director John Carl Buechler scored a few modest hits during the eighties, like notably the original "Troll" and a fair "Friday the 13th" sequel, but it's obviously time to retire now.

CURSE OF THE FORTY-NINER opens with the unholy resurrection of the title character (Vernon Wells), who immediately begins his murderous rampage. Wells is cranky because a group of young prospectors have arrived in his town to dig for gold.

Deaths by pickax, hook, and machete await.

As a throwback film celebrating the slashers of the 1970'-80's, all of the necessary elements are in place: A homicidal madman with a story and a grudge. A gaggle of youthful, randy, mostly brainless victims. A series of brutal murders, usually committed in "interesting" ways. Pretty much by-the-numbers, but fun in spots.

Co-stars horror luminaries, Karen Black and Richard Lynch...

Certainly expected more after seeing the cast list, but WOW!

I think a first time director could have done a better job with this project, and the fact that a veteran like John Buechler made it, puzzles me to no end. Somehow, the budget allowed them to secure a bevy of D-List actors, whom they succeeded in embarrassing for an hour and a half. The unknown actors were just plain awful, less Steve Wastell who does a decent job as Axl. The story is so bad, that it really needs no mention. The overall production value seems standard, with some above average camera work, if you can make it through the God-Awful "slo-mo" scenes and the painful "person on fire" sequences. I knew it would be dumb, I just had no idea how dumb, and unfortunately it's time spent that can never be returned to me. I suppose if you enjoy really bad "B" films, this might work for you, but if you value any story at all, this one is simply dreadful... A complete waste of time.