Under the Mountain (film)

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Under the Mountain
UTM hi 2.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jonathan King
Written by Maurice Gee
Matthew Grainger
Jonathan King
Produced byChris Bailey
Richard Fletcher
Matthew Grainger
Chris Hampson
Trevor Haysom
Jonathan King
Susan Parker
Starring Sam Neill
Oliver Driver
Sophie McBride
Tom Cameron
CinematographyRichard Bluck
Edited byChris Plummer
Music byVictoria Kelly
Production
companies
An Index Films and Liberty Films Production
Distributed byRedhead Films
Release date
  • 10 December 2009 (2009-12-10)
CountryNew Zealand
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5,000,000
Box office$2,251,215

Under the Mountain is a 2009 New Zealand film directed by Jonathan King starring Sam Neill, Oliver Driver, Sophie McBride, and Tom Cameron. It is based on the 1979 novel of the same name by New Zealand author Maurice Gee.

Contents

Plot

Teenage twins Rachel and Theo travel to Auckland to stay with relatives following the sudden death of their mother. Where there was once a psychic bond between them, now there is a rift as Theo, particularly, refuses to confront his grief. Rachel reaches out to him, but is rebuffed.

Staying with their Aunt Kay and Uncle Cliff on Lake Pupuke, the twins are fascinated by the volcanic lake and the smell that seems to come from creepy old Wilberforce house around the shore. They visit Mt Eden, where Theo sees Mr Jones, a strange old man from whose hands fire seems to glow. When it seems the twins are being watched – and that the Wilberforces can smell them – Theo resolves to investigate the Wilberforce house. Inside, he and Rachel find what can only be an alien environment.

They overhear Mr Wilberforce talking about something stirring beneath the ground. He says he will kill the twins if they find "the fire-raiser". Rachel is alarmed and reaches out to Theo but, terrified of getting close to anyone since his mother's death, he pushes her away and sets out alone to find the fireraiser – the man he saw on the mountain top...

Characters

Based on the original novel by Maurice Gee:

Kirsty Wilkinson, the former child actress, who originally portrayed Rachel Matheson in the 1981 television adaptation of "Under the Mountain", made her cameo appearance as Mr. Jones' Neighbour. Bill Johnson, who played "Mr. Wilberforce" in the original TV series has a brief cameo appearance as an unnamed gardener who mutters "bloody foreigners" after one of the alien Wilberforces says "lovely day" to him.

Cast

Production

The film was shot in New Zealand, at Studio West in West Auckland. [1]

Release

Lionsgate Home Entertainment set the release for 10 August 2010 in the United States. [2]

See also

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References

  1. "Our Story". Studio West. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  2. Lionsgate Goes Under the Mountain in August