Mine Games (2012) Reviews

• Good little movie for mind bender alternate reality fans

  thebe123-484-4883272014-12-22

  It's not the best in the mind bender category. I rated it an eight to offset the low IMDb rating. I'd give it more like a 7, if I were to be honest. The acting was okay. Nothing really cringe worthy. I happen to love this type of premise, which is somewhat mind bending and converges alternate realities. If you liked Triangle or Coherence, you would like this. I think it's right on par with Triangle, but not as good as Coherence, but that is my opinion. If you are a time traveling or alternate reality mind bender junkie, you will absolutely enjoy this ride. Understand, it's not the best in that category, but it's well worth the watch.

• If you go down to the mine today…

  Spikeopath2014-03-22

  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

• Better than Muppets in Space...

  GodsPrototype2014-02-01

  Just watched this on Sky Movies - nothing else to do on a Saturday morning ;) I went in to it expecting another flashy slasher pic set in a dark place so was pleasantly surprised to see a different take on a normally standard horror film scenario. Yes it is another cabin in the woods with another bunch of young beautiful holiday makers on a drug and drink fueled break in the middle of nowhere. Cripes, where's the originality nowadays! Yet, it does work a little bit better than others, it just needed to have a more solid storyline in terms of the cycle. As the second half kicked in, most people would begin to realize that the things you've seen are things that are about to happen. It reminded me of the absolutely superb 'TRIANGLE' with Melissa George. Sadly, 'Mine Games' is an inferior wannabe. Inferior only in terms of the storyline and the capability to provide everything 'in the past' to make sense in the present. It's tight but not tight enough to make me say wow; It is however well worked out and everything has its place. And then I saw the budget - $1.5m - you can hardly make a TV episode on that nowadays so the overall finished product is very good. The directing is pretty good, the acting is as you would expect. The standouts for me were the lighting within the mines themselves and the music is above average for this type of movie. One thing that really annoyed me though was the character of Rose, I couldn't really put a finger on it save to say that she made no sense whatsoever! I don't understand why she needed to be in the film and the reason for her visions apart from being on drugs is never explained. I revert back to 'Triangle' again where the ending of the film is a perfect nod to the start of the next sequence but the ending of 'Mine Games' is pretty terrible and in terms of the cycle make no sense. Unless the cycle has been broken but then it wouldn't be a cycle in the first place and how could two people from two different timelines co-exist in the same place? I like films to ask questions and I like to see something different from the usual clobber we get. 'Mine Games' doesn't really stand out and there are far superior films of this niche out there. However for the budget and the production quality, the filmmakers have done a good job and for a Saturday morning when it's a choice between this and 'Muppets from Space', I'd go for this. And it isn't the first time I said that... Oh!

• Small but intriguing mystery film

  MattyGibbs2014-06-29

  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.

• A different 'cabin in the woods' type of movie

  Joel-942-1440752013-08-26

  This has a group seeing pieces of the future, and so, by it's nature, leaves the story untold, as the present turns into the future. Because of this, the story is a bit difficult to follow, but not much more than any mystery, with clues as you go. The movie otherwise is fine. It's put together with serious effort, with good direction and acting. It moves along at a good pace, and keeps you interested. It's nice to say it has few of those 'dumb blond' moves typically seen in horror films. The low IMDb rating of 4.7 is probably because it's a weird approach to the 'cabin in the woods' story line. Since there is no specific antagonist (just a hinted at evil), there's nothing specific for the cast to fight against, and so it's hard to root for them..to do what? Then again, it may be because of the dumb ending. You decide.. Still, I'll rate it at 6.2 until the end, then it gets a 5.9.