Miner’s Massacre

As disposable and cheesy as its title might’ve indicated, Miner’s Massacre follows six friends (Carrie Bradac’s Claire, Sean Hines’ Nick, Stephen Wastell’s Axl, Sangie’s Tori, Elina Madison’s Rox Ann, and Rick Majeske’s Hayden) as they arrive at a remote locale to uncover what they hope will be piles of gold – with bloody mayhem ensuing after a demonic miner begins knocking the hapless treasure hunters off one by one. It’s an appreciatively over-the-top setup that’s employed to less-than-engrossing effect by filmmaker John Carl Buechler, with the relative promise of the movie’s opening stretch – the killer is referred to as “so mean hell didn’t even want him” – giving way to a midsection in which almost nothing of interest occurs. The tedious atmosphere is compounded by Buechler’s inexplicable and thoroughly wrong-headed decision to eschew instances of blood and gore, as the movie, instead, spends most of its padded-out running time fleshing out the killer’s backstory and attempting to develop the one-dimensional protagonists. There is, in terms of the former, a long flashback sequence that’s fairly worthless, although Vernon Wells’ scenery-chewing turn as future murderous miner Jeremiah Stone is pretty fun.) It’s perhaps not surprising to note that the picture culminates with a decidedly anticlimactic final stretch, which certainly confirms Miner’s Massacre‘s place as a strong title and premise in search of a better, more entertaining movie.

*1/2 out of ****