DEAD MINE: Out Now To Rent and Buy

Dead Mine (2013)
Directed by: Steven Sheil
Written by: Steven Sheil
Starring: Ario Bayu, Byron Hulbert, James Taenaka, Joe Taslim, Les Loveday, Mike Lewis, Miki Muzuno, Sam Hazeldine, Use Badhu

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-dgQPM8JmI[/youtube]

DEAD MINE

Stars: Joe Taslim, Ario Bayu, Sam Hazeldine, Use Badhu, Byron Hulbert, Mike Lewis, James Taenaka, Les Loveday, Miki Muzuno

Written and Directed by Steve Sheil
Out Now To Rent and Buy

The Hughes Verdict!

So where do I start!

What film am I talking about here? A group of people go into the underground and start getting attacked by a mutant force…..

“The Descent” I hear you cry!

Well no! These Mutant bastards are in fact dead soldiers!

“Ah must be Outpost then, or it could be Outpost II“….. you scream at me…….

Well wrong again! It is in fact Dead Mine, the new film by Steven Sheil who broke out into the horror genre with the stunning offering of Mum and Dad which won critical acclaim at the HCF headquarters, thanks to its brilliant guts and gore and dark sick viewing. Here he follows up with what you can only imagine as his take on the whole “lets go to a dark place and get attacked” genre and with horror awash with so many, Dead Mine feels like a tiresome ninety minutes that fails to entice you in any way.

Its difficult for me to even write and review Dead Mine as Sheilhimself displays a real flair behind the camera and he joins the list of the ever-growing horror directors that everyone should keep an eye on. The guy clearly knows what should make an horror film and at times he pulls of some stunning scenes that mock the small budget that Dead Mine could easily have suffered from. The trouble with the entire film is that the script is full of great ideas but many are stolen from other films, while others mash together with uneven results that could leave many of you scratching your head in disbelief. The film also suffers from appalling cringe worthy acting that makes you wonder if you actually watching Scary Movie Part 198343, and if some of these actors actually went to acting school then they should seriously close whatever place it was, because believe me, you see better acting in Hollyoaks!

With that rant out of the way, lets mention the plot and we have to be thankful that Indiana Jones never got the call to get this kind of treasure, but saying that maybe if he had after the events of Last Crusade, maybe he would have been killed and slaughtered and saved us fans from the horror that was Kingdom of Stupid Skulls. With Indy not available probably because he was hiding in a fridge again or trying to adopt his son so he doesn’t wreck any more damage to the once loved franchise, the call goes to the equally cool name of….. er….. Price, played here by the much better name in real life Les Loveday. His job as a treasure hunter means to drag his poor girlfriend Su Ling (Carmen Soon), Rie (Miki Muzuno) and Stanley (Sam Hazeldine) along with a bad ass mother load of mercenaries and yes guys you do see the face of The Raid’s Joe Taslim among them to the depths of the jungles of Sulawesi to find the lost gold of WWII Japanese General Yamashita. During the trip they encounter a bunch of pirates and I don’t mean the Johnny Depp kind, which forces them into an old mine where as they embark down into the darkness, they discover a dark secret…….yes guys, I am talking……..Samurai Zombie Soldiers….. how cool is that?

Well its cool, but every time they go into the pose with their swords I could not help but sing along to the Power Rangers theme…..and if anyone else does that after reading this, I am truly sorry…..but hey…..its morphing time!…….

Is Dead Mine enjoyable? Well it will be for fans who love the Outpost films! There is nothing to dislike about this movie and like my fellow HCF critic Cludge Judge would say “This is perfect Friday night beer movie!”, its just the plot for me was too familiar and perhaps I expected more from Sheil whose last film was such a stunning gruesome watch. Here he just plays it too safe for my liking, doesn’t show his true ability and instead of pushing the boundaries of horror, he delivers a film too formulaic and while Zombie fans will lap it up, for many, its a film good to watch, but instantly forgotten….

Rating: