Under the Mountain | |
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Directed by | Jonathan King |
Written by | Maurice Gee Matthew Grainger Jonathan King |
Produced by | Chris Bailey Richard Fletcher Matthew Grainger Chris Hampson Trevor Haysom Jonathan King Susan Parker |
Starring | Sam Neill Oliver Driver Sophie McBride Tom Cameron |
Cinematography | Richard Bluck |
Edited by | Chris Plummer |
Music by | Victoria Kelly |
Production companies | An Index Films and Liberty Films Production |
Distributed by | Redhead Films |
Release date |
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Country | New Zealand |
Language | English |
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.
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...
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.
The film was shot in New Zealand, at Studio West in West Auckland. [1]
Lionsgate Home Entertainment set the release for 10 August 2010 in the United States. [2]
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