Mine Games is a Bloody Head Trip: A Movie Review

*an online screener of this film was provided by Phase 4 Films.

**there are a few spoilers here.

Director: Richard Gray.

Writers: Robert Cross, Michele Davis-Gray, Richard Gray and Ross McQueen.

Cast: Briana Evigan, Rebecca Da Costa, Julianna Guill, Rafi Gavron and Joseph Cross.

Mine Games aka The Evil Within is a horror film from Australian director Richard Gray. The film is more of a mind game, than anything else as the film's central plot plays with a few different ideas. Are the six friends in the film experiencing a supernatural entity, or a nightmare, or a psychotic break? The script does not lead the viewer down any specific path. Instead, Mine Games tries to unsettle the watcher, by playing with time. The past, present and future all come onto the screen, sometimes all at the same time. Overall, Mine Games is a well written indie horror fun, which is full of gorgeous settings and a chilling scene or two.

In the story, six friends head up to a cabin. They are on a summer retreat. And, every horror fan knows what happens when friends get together in the woods. Murder! The friends begin to party and explore the local surroundings. They find an abandoned mine and choose poorly to go inside. An ancient curse is waiting in the depths. As well, one character is slowly losing his mind under all of the supernatural stress. Can anyone find their way out of the darkness?

Character Claire prepares to die again.

The film's interior and exterior settings look very good. The interiors mostly consist of the cave. Here, there are mine carts, tracks, locked rooms, and lots of caverns. Though, the shooting in the cave is often too dark. This central dark setting offers many of the film's thrills. Also, the exteriors look brilliant. This film was shot in Seattle, Washington. So, the Pacific Northwest's wide open areas get featured here. Exterior shooting at a lake are particularly gorgeous. All of the settings enhance the film's story.

Is Mine Games predictable (yes and no)? Early in the film, the writers point out the cliches of the horror genre. One character mentions that splitting up the group is a bad idea. Everyone also knows what happens when characters split up in a horror movie. Later on, another character fears finding a serial killer in an abandoned house: "there could be a killer in there." Unfortunately for the characters, this person is right in that observation. Also, the film plays with time a little, so it is difficult to tell if the events onscreen are happening in the present or in the future. This temporal shifting can be somewhat unsettling. Yet, all of the pieces come together late in the picture. In answer to the earlier question: this title is predictable in some early scenes and less predictable in later ones.

There is no real answer to what is happening in the plot. There are certain signs along the way that offer general warnings. One sign says: "break the cycle," while another says "this is the first time." These short sentences foreshadow the temporal break that is upcoming. But, what is screwing up the timeline? It could be that one character is having a psychotic break, or that a supernatural element is harassing the characters. But, the film's central storyline never really gives an answer for all of the chaos onscreen. The biggest clue the film gives of the crux in the film comes from the tagline: "one weekend, one mine, one curse." So, the marketing arm is suggesting that all of the murder is being caused by some sort of ancient evil; that evil is never shown, directly, onscreen. Viewers can make up their own mind on what the film's central conflict is, because there is no evidence here to suggest that any one element is causing all of the chaos and bloodshed.

Phase 4 Films will release Mine Games September 16th on DVD and most horror fans will find an entertaining time here. The settings offer a creepy tone, while actors do their best with the semi-tense story. Supernatural elements could have been shown a little more prominently. But, sometimes, horror is best developed with what one cannot see and seeing a knife coming out of a darkened cavern is difficult for many of the characters.

Overall: 7 out of 10 (the travelling back and forth from the mine to the cabin was a little repetitious and sometimes unbelievable, would one really go back into a cursed mine for a wallet?).

A trailer for the film is available here:

Mine Games Trailer at 28DLA

More details on the film can be found at Phase 4 Films:

Mine Games at the Phase 4 Films Website


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Posted in: 2014,fantasy,fantasy movie preview,horror,independent,indie,movie,movie review,review,supernatural,supernatural movie preview