| Mine Games | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Richard Gray |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Story by |
|
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Greg De Marigny |
| Edited by |
|
| Music by | Alies Sluiter |
Production companies |
|
Release date | |
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $700,000 [2] |
Mine Games (also known as The Evil Within) is a 2012 American time-loop horror film directed by Richard Gray. [3] It stars Joseph Cross, Briana Evigan, Julianna Guill, Rafi Gavron, Ethan Peck, Alex Meraz and Rebecca Da Costa.
A woman in a van seems to awaken from a nightmare about a mine, where a voice screams for “Michael,” and fingers scrabble under a door. The van is at a gas station, where a nearby newspaper announces “couple found murdered in RV.” The van belongs to a group of seven friends – Michael, Lyla, TJ, Claire, Lex, Rose, and Guy – who are traveling to a cabin in the woods for a vacation with their friends Matt and Sarah. Michael, who is driving, gets lost in the dark and swerves to avoid a waving figure in the road. The van crashes, which forces them to travel on foot. They arrive at a well-furnished cabin where Rose finds a written note telling "TJ, Lex, Claire" to wait there for them, so they assume that this is the house.
The group enjoys themselves in the comfortable cabin, with the exception of Michael, who sleeps early and has nightmares of murdering their friends Matt and Sarah. That night, the cabin’s apparent owners, having gotten lost, are killed in their camper. The next morning, TJ discovers an abandoned mine nearby and takes the group inside to explore. TJ and Guy, as a joke, briefly lock Michael inside an enclosed cell, which causes him to panic. Rose, who is a psychic, is uneasy about the mine and at one point feels someone grab her leg, though it cannot be one of her friends.
Michael and his girlfriend Lyla return to the van to collect Michael's anti-psychotic medication, used to treat his schizophrenia, and confirm that the van is unusable. They find the door open and blood on the van's fender, and assume that they hit an animal the previous night. Upon returning to the house, the group collectively agrees to stay one more day to wait for the owners of the house. Over the day, Rose has fits and visions of her friends in various stages of death and injury, while Michael dreams of the mine.
While exploring the mine again, TJ and Lex discover three dead bodies that appear to be themselves and Guy. They inform the others, and the group reluctantly agrees that something supernatural is occurring. TJ and Lex return to the mine in search of answers and find a traumatized Claire locked inside a cell; she claims that it is Michael's doing. TJ and Lex refuse to save her, knowing that "their" Claire is still in the house, a decision that Claire later supports. Despite Lyla's protests, the others debate whether Michael needs to be locked up overnight for their protection. Unnerved by his passive acceptance of his fate, they put him inside one of the mine's cells.
Michael escapes from the cell, which leads to a chase inside the mines, during which Michael causes TJ's and Lex's deaths and locks Claire up inside a cell, where she meets the alternate version of herself. Inside the house, Rose dies, either from poison or shock. Guy and Lyla agree to flee, leaving behind in the house a written note for "TJ, Lex, Claire" to wait there for them. Upon reaching the main road, Guy tries to wave down an oncoming van, causing it to swerve and hit Lyla. Guy recognizes the occupants of the van as themselves from the night before and realizes that they are inside a causality loop. He promises the seriously injured Lyla that he will break the cycle.
Guy rushes back to the house to warn the others but is stopped by Michael, who kills him, as well as Matt and Sarah, whose RV he stumbles across. Michael warns his past self that his friends will try to kill him, and that when they lock him inside a cell for the second time, he must defend himself. Michael gives his past self the key to the cell and, later, forces his past self to burn his anti-psychotic medication.
The cycle restarts as the group's van arrives at the gas station at the beginning of the film. However this time Lyla from the previous cycle is still alive, and she hobbles towards her counterpart surprising her.
The original story was written by Ross McQueen and was set in Australia. Director Richard Gray, who was living in Australia at the time, worked with McQueen to adapt it to a setting in the United States. Gray said that he was more influenced by Lord of the Flies than slasher films. [4] In July 2011, Cross and Peck joined the cast, and the film was reported to begin shooting. [5] The film was shot at Ape Cave in Gifford Pinchot National Forest [6] and locations outside of Seattle, Washington. It went into post production in Los Angeles, California for an anticipated 2012 release. [7] [8] The film's crew consisted of a mixture of Australians and Americans, and the project was shot using the Red Epic camera. [7]
The film premiered in August 2012 at the Melbourne International Film Festival. [1] Although originally set to be released in May 2014 in the United States, it was renamed to The Evil Within, renamed back to Mine Games, and delayed until September 2014. [9] The delay was in part due to re-shooting the ending. [2]
There are two versions of the film, the United Kingdom and United States versions, which feature some different actors.[ citation needed ]
Kwenton Bellette of Twitch Film wrote, "With such a great time travel horror thriller narrative that was advertised, Mine Games sadly comes off as nothing more than a poorly rehashed version of the masterful film Timecrimes or even Australian produced Triangle before it." [1] Patrick Cooper of Bloody Disgusting rated it 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Time loops have been done better before (masterful even, in the case of Time Crimes). Mine Games wastes the perpetually interesting concept and delivers flat thrills and flaccid characters." [10] Debi Moore of Dread Central rated it 3 out of 5 stars and wrote that the film starts off predictable but presents "a mind-bending series of twists and turns" that make it recommended. [11]
Jordan Ladd is an American actress. The daughter of actress Cheryl Ladd and producer David Ladd, she initially worked with her mother in several made-for-television films, before making her big screen debut at 19, in the vampire film Embrace of the Vampire (1994). She subsequently appeared in the drama Nowhere (1997) and the comedy Never Been Kissed (1999). Ladd became known as a scream queen, having appeared in several successful horror films, including Cabin Fever (2002), Club Dread (2004), Death Proof (2007), and Grace (2009). Ladd is also known for work with director David Lynch appearing in his films Darkened Room (2002) and Inland Empire (2006).
Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings is an American supernatural horror film and a sequel to the 1988 horror film Pumpkinhead. In this film, thrill-seeking teens resurrect a demon and come to regret it. The film is very loosely connected to others in the series. The PC video game Bloodwings: Pumpkinhead's Revenge was released shortly after the film.
Alone in the Dark is a 1982 American slasher film co-written and directed by Jack Sholder in his directorial debut, and starring Jack Palance, Martin Landau, Donald Pleasence, Dwight Schultz, and Erland Van Lidth. The plot tells about a psychiatrist's family who are besieged by four escaped mental patients during a power blackout. Following Stunts and Polyester, it was one of the first films produced by New Line Cinema.
Briana Evigan is an American actress and dancer best known for her roles in the Step Up series and for her scream queen roles in numerous horror films. Born in Los Angeles, Evigan is the daughter of actor Greg Evigan and his wife Pamela, a dancer, model and choreographer. She began dancing and acting at a young age, graduating from Los Angeles Valley College with a degree in speech and communication.
Never Cry Werewolf is a Canadian television film directed by Brenton Spencer, and starring Nina Dobrev, Peter Stebbings and Kevin Sorbo. It premiered on the Sci Fi Channel on May 11, 2008.
Julianna Guill is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films such as Friday the 13th (2009), Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), The Apparition (2012), and Alex of Venice (2014). Guill has also appeared as Scarlet Hauksson on the web series My Alibi (2008–2009), Christie DeWitt on the TBS comedy drama series Glory Daze (2010–2011), Becca Riley on the Bravo comedy drama series Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce (2014–2017), and Jessie Nevin on the FOX medical drama series The Resident (2018–present). She currently stars as Marybeth Pickett on the Paramount+ neo-western crime series Joe Pickett (2021–present).
Evil Things is a 2009 American horror film written and directed by Dominic Perez as his feature film debut.
Pig Hunt is a 2008 American science fiction action horror film directed by James Isaac, it was written by Robert Mailer Anderson and Zack Anderson. In the film, a group faces a monstrous wild boar while trying to survive vengeful rednecks and a deranged cult of hot girls. The film includes several original songs by Les Claypool, who also plays a minor role as the preacher.
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a 2010 black comedy horror film directed by Eli Craig and written by Craig and Morgan Jurgenson. It stars Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden, Brandon Jay McLaren, Jesse Moss, and Chelan Simmons. Labine and Tudyk play a pair of well-meaning hillbillies who are mistaken for killers by a group of clueless college students. The film premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and received a limited release in the United States.
The Innkeepers is a 2011 American supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by Ti West. It stars Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, and Kelly McGillis. Its plot follows two employees at the Yankee Pedlar Inn who, during its last weekend of operations, attempt to document the alleged supernatural activity in the building.
Uninhabited is a 2010 Australian horror film directed by Bill Bennett and starring Geraldine Hakewill and Henry James. The film premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival and in Australia during the 2010 Melbourne International Film Festival. It tells the story of a young couple vacationing at a deserted island, later discovering it has a disturbing history.
Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings is a 2011 American slasher film written and directed by Declan O'Brien. It is the fourth installment of the Wrong Turn film series and served as a prequel to the original Wrong Turn film. The film grossed $3.6 million in home sales.
One-Eyed Monster is a 2008 sci-fi/horror comedy film directed by Adam Fields about the cast and crew of an adult film having an encounter with a different kind of monster while filming in the Northern California mountains.
247 °F is a horror film directed by Levan Bakhia and Beqa Jguburia. Cast members include Scout Taylor-Compton, Christina Ulloa, Travis Van Winkle, Michael Copon and Tyler Mane. It was filmed in Tbilisi, Georgia and finished filming by July, 2011. It received its first international release date in Georgia on 1 September 2011. The film is about a group of friends who get trapped in a sauna.
100 Bloody Acres is a 2012 Australian horror comedy film directed and written by brothers Colin and Cameron Cairnes. Damon Herriman and Angus Sampson star as opportunistic, rural fertiliser manufacturers who resort to using human remains for their business. It premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival on 4 August 2012, and it was released in the United States on 28 June 2013.
Extraterrestrial is a 2014 Canadian science fiction horror film that was directed by Colin Minihan—one half of the Vicious Brothers, who co-produced, wrote, and edited the film. It stars Brittany Allen, Freddie Stroma, and Melanie Papalia as a group of friends who must defend themselves against an alien onslaught.
Don't Blink is a 2014 American psychological horror film written and directed by Travis Oates. It stars an ensemble cast that includes Mena Suvari, Brian Austin Green, Joanne Kelly, and Zack Ward, who also produced. A group of ten friends visit a remote resort, which they subsequently find empty. As they attempt to find out what happened to the other guests, they are horrified to find that they too are disappearing. It received a limited release on September 18, 2014.
Slumber Party Massacre is a 2021 slasher film directed by Danishka Esterhazy and written by Suzanne Keilly. It is described as a "modern reimagining" of and stand-alone sequel to the original 1982 film The Slumber Party Massacre, and the fourth film released in the overall Massacre franchise. It stars Hannah Gonera, Alex McGregor, Schelaine Bennett, Mila Rayne, and Rob van Vuuren and follows a girls' slumber party which becomes a bloodbath when an escaped mental patient arrives with a power drill.