Mine Games

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

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.

Four males and three females head out to a vacation home in western Washington to celebrate graduating college, but they discover something disturbing in the nearby abandoned mine. Will any of them make it out alive?

"Mine Games" (2012) is cabin-in-the-woods sci-fi/horror, but not a slasher. It borrows a concept used three years earlier in "Dark Country" and, before that, an episode or two of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Thankfully, it presents it in a different setting and in a fresh way, tied to the ouroboros, the circler symbol of a snake eating its tail, which suggests cyclic renewal, life and death.

The production cost $1,500,000 at the time and is proficiently made, which is a plus seeing as how most cabin-in-the-woods flicks seem to be low-rent. So, this is first rate as far as general filmmaking goes, just with second-tier actors, who are convincing. The problem is that the second act is dramatically dull whereas the first act is an effective enough set-up and the third act is quite compelling with its revelations. The script needed tweaked to make the second act more entertaining, one way or another.

Julianna Guill is notable on the feminine front as blonde Claire, followed closely by Briana Evigan as brunette Lyla. Lindsay Lamb has a small part as blonde Sarah, which includes a fairly overt sex sequence, albeit brief (just a heads up for those who might want to steer clear). On the masculine side of things, Ethan Peck stands out as Guy, the grandson of Gregory Peck.

It runs 1 hour, 32 minutes, and was shot in western Washington at Gifford Pinchot National Forest, which is southeast of Mt. Rainier; Ape Cave, which is five miles due south of Mt. St. Helens; and Seattle.

GRADE: B-

This is actually a great horror, mystery, and suspense filled brainteaser of a movie. The first time I watched this, it completely shocked me how Intricate it all become. This film goes down the rabbit hole in the best way and it is shocking where it leads. It seems like it might be a dud by the low budget and lack of acknowledgment this movie has ever received. I highly recommend it for its uniqueness and way of telling the story. There is only a couple known actors/actresses but the story telling makes up for any mediocrity in the acting.

These friends take a trip into a cabin in the woods where things start to become very Irie and make no sense, at first. As the film goes on, it so cleverly delivers what is actually going on. It makes so much since in the way they deliver the information to us, whether it is something you are discovering as the audience or if it is something the audience knows but the people in the movie may not. I highly recommend giving this movie a shot.

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.