IMDb RATING
4.8/10
2.3K
YOUR RATING
Teenage twins Rachel and Theo travel to Auckland to stay with relatives after their mother suddenly dies. They find an alien environment and overhear Mr. Wilberforce talking about something ... Read allTeenage twins Rachel and Theo travel to Auckland to stay with relatives after their mother suddenly dies. They find an alien environment and overhear Mr. Wilberforce talking about something stirring beneath the ground - the fire-raiser.Teenage twins Rachel and Theo travel to Auckland to stay with relatives after their mother suddenly dies. They find an alien environment and overhear Mr. Wilberforce talking about something stirring beneath the ground - the fire-raiser.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 3 wins & 5 nominations total
Micheala Rooney
- Aunt Kay
- (as Michaela Rooney)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
I remember reading the book and watching the TV series as a child, so when I saw this was out in the DVD stores I was excited to revisit a part of my childhood.
Unfortunately, this film compares poorly to the 80s TV series. The 80s TV series had a darkness and chill surrounding the Wilberforces that had shades of Doctor Who about it. A lot of the darkness and suspense is lost in this film. It spends a good 40-50 minutes before Rachel and Theo (and the audience) is even let in on the plot. Now this might be excused in some films, if the buildup is engaging enough, but it simply comes across as disparate events that seem to have no real bearing on the story. I felt that they felt obliged to include certain scenes because they were iconic from the TV series, yet they were divorced of all context in this film. Given the length of the film, the twins needed to meet Mr Jones earlier to bring everyone into the plot earlier and allow the suspense to build.
Overall, I would advise anyone to give this a miss and try to find the original TV series - some of the episodes are on google video.
Unfortunately, this film compares poorly to the 80s TV series. The 80s TV series had a darkness and chill surrounding the Wilberforces that had shades of Doctor Who about it. A lot of the darkness and suspense is lost in this film. It spends a good 40-50 minutes before Rachel and Theo (and the audience) is even let in on the plot. Now this might be excused in some films, if the buildup is engaging enough, but it simply comes across as disparate events that seem to have no real bearing on the story. I felt that they felt obliged to include certain scenes because they were iconic from the TV series, yet they were divorced of all context in this film. Given the length of the film, the twins needed to meet Mr Jones earlier to bring everyone into the plot earlier and allow the suspense to build.
Overall, I would advise anyone to give this a miss and try to find the original TV series - some of the episodes are on google video.
I saw Under the Mountain at the cinema and recently purchased the DVD. My teenage sons loved the film as did I. New Zealand is on a roll lately and Under the Mountain shows what can be done with a load of kiwi talent and a cracker story.
Sam Neill is fantastic, as always, but what really stood out for me were the two leads. Gone are the days of stage acting in our movies, a perfectly pitched performance from all. I'm looking forward to seeing what Mr King makes next, he is clearly an incredibly talented man.
The visual effects are amazing, as expected from having WETA involved.
I recommend this movie to anyone who loves to be entertained, suitable for the entire family. The DVD has a great making of as well.
9 out of 10
Sam Neill is fantastic, as always, but what really stood out for me were the two leads. Gone are the days of stage acting in our movies, a perfectly pitched performance from all. I'm looking forward to seeing what Mr King makes next, he is clearly an incredibly talented man.
The visual effects are amazing, as expected from having WETA involved.
I recommend this movie to anyone who loves to be entertained, suitable for the entire family. The DVD has a great making of as well.
9 out of 10
I Went to see this movie to support New Zealand movies.
To my surprise I was very disappointed... Weta workshop did the visual effects which were OK but nothing very creative.
The story very lacking something and the movie ended very quickly and was very basic the whole time it just felt the twins were not twins they were friends having a Tiff.
The Special effects were very good but didn't save the movie in anyway way or forum.
this will be a movie you will forget straight away.
I will say that the actors did a great job which is why I gave 3 stars.
To my surprise I was very disappointed... Weta workshop did the visual effects which were OK but nothing very creative.
The story very lacking something and the movie ended very quickly and was very basic the whole time it just felt the twins were not twins they were friends having a Tiff.
The Special effects were very good but didn't save the movie in anyway way or forum.
this will be a movie you will forget straight away.
I will say that the actors did a great job which is why I gave 3 stars.
I really liked this movie. It is thrilling, scary and has brilliant visual effects!
I really liked the theme of this movie. Teenage fraternal twins Theo and Rachel who seem like ordinary teenagers but they turn out to be very significant. Also Theo and Rachel have recently suffered a terrible tragedy the death of their mother, which causes a rift in the bound between the twins. So throughout the film the twins not only have to discover their true destiny, they also have to rediscover themselves.
Sam Neil is brilliant in his role as the mysterious and benevolent Mr Jones who becomes the twins mentor. Sam is brilliant in just about every role I've seen him in.
Now the main antagonists of the film the Wilberforces, they are scary in every way; slimy, grotesque and terrifyingly powerful. They are something out of your worst nightmare!
I liked the fact that this terrifying adventure takes place in the beautiful landscapes of New Zealand. It makes this movie look somewhat majestic in the scene of location.
So overall this is a great movie. I don't see many Australian or New Zealand films that are this good.
I really liked the theme of this movie. Teenage fraternal twins Theo and Rachel who seem like ordinary teenagers but they turn out to be very significant. Also Theo and Rachel have recently suffered a terrible tragedy the death of their mother, which causes a rift in the bound between the twins. So throughout the film the twins not only have to discover their true destiny, they also have to rediscover themselves.
Sam Neil is brilliant in his role as the mysterious and benevolent Mr Jones who becomes the twins mentor. Sam is brilliant in just about every role I've seen him in.
Now the main antagonists of the film the Wilberforces, they are scary in every way; slimy, grotesque and terrifyingly powerful. They are something out of your worst nightmare!
I liked the fact that this terrifying adventure takes place in the beautiful landscapes of New Zealand. It makes this movie look somewhat majestic in the scene of location.
So overall this is a great movie. I don't see many Australian or New Zealand films that are this good.
There are only two reasons why i would waste my time writing about a movie. It is either because its brilliant or because it's a terrible waste of time! This movie falls into the latter category. Halfway into the movie, i find myself looking at the clock. Unfortunately, it didn't get any better. Wow, such great premise, how the hell did they miss the mark? The director is to blame here. It was so so lame and boring. The actors did a good job, though i would have to say that sometimes the reaction factor is kind of weak. Example, when Mr Jones was trying to heal Rachel, flames of fire came out of his hand, in reality any tom dick and harry would find this amazingly unreal and you would expect them to react in disbelief, but on the contrary, the kids are acted like they have seen this before. Wowsers! This movie gets a C from me.
Did you know
- TriviaThe elderly neighbour Mr Carpenter was played by William Johnson who played the villain Mr Wilberforce in the original 1981 TV series of the story.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Making Under the Mountain (2010)
- How long is Under the Mountain?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Le Secret des sept volcans
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $662,879
- Runtime
- 1h 30m(90 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content