Mine Games

"The Deeper You Go, The Darker It Gets"

2012 1h 28m EN

😐

5.5

MID

★5.5TMDB · 126

ThrillerHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A group of young friends make an incomprehensible discovery in an abandoned mine, but the more they try to change the future, the more they seal their fate.

“The Deeper You Go, The Darker It Gets”

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Cast

Alex Meraz
TJ
Briana Evigan
Lyla
Julianna Guill
Claire
Rafi Gavron
Lex
Ethan Peck
Guy
Joseph Cross
Michael
Rebecca Da Costa
Rose
Lindsay Lamb
Sarah

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Richard Gray
Writers: Robert Cross, Richard Gray, Michele Davis-Gray
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

88 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 14 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Richard Gray, shot by Greg De Marigny. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Alex Meraz and Briana Evigan and Julianna Guill carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The Deeper You Go, The Darker It Gets".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1928337 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Richard Gray directs. Greg De Marigny behind the camera. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Released 14 years ago.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Richard Gray, shot by Greg De Marigny. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Alex Meraz and Briana Evigan and Julianna Guill carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The Deeper You Go, The Darker It Gets".
8IMDB entry: tt1928337 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Greg De Marigny
Costume design: Nicola Dunn
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,500,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: Mine Games (2012)

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Richard Gray

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-03-21
★ 3.5/10
Mine Games (2013) If you go down to the mine today… A bunch of friends on vacation in the country discover a disused mine and find something most strange down in its depths. It starts off in conventional fashion, pretty looking youngsters head off to a large cabin in the woods and after nearly running someone down in the road, they arrive at their destination but nothing is as it seems. The story then spins into another dimension, cribbing from better movies like Triangle and Identity, only the screenplay isn’t strong enough to make a success of it, even confusing itself in the process. Things aren’t helped by director and co-writer Richard Gray padding out the movie to meet the required run time to call it a feature length production. In truth there just isn’t enough material here to extend beyond a one hour Twilight Zone episode, better editing and a better screenplay was definitely needed here. Gray over stretching his ambitions somewhat. The cast of up coming Hollywood starlets give a mixed bunch of performances, while the low budget is often evident. Neither of these things, though, hurt the film as much as the aforementioned issues. There’s a modicum of interest value here for those who like the films already mentioned above, but it’s not a comfortable recommendation at all. 4/10
Wuchak2024-08-19
★ 6/10
Ambitious cabin-in-the-woods flick set in the wilds of Washington Four males and three females head out to a vacation home in western Washington to celebrate graduating college, but they discover something disturbing in the nearby abandoned mine. Will any of them make it out alive? “Mine Games” (2012) is cabin-in-the-woods sci-fi/horror, but not a slasher. It borrows a concept used three years earlier in “Dark Country” and, before that, an episode or two of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Thankfully, it presents it in a different setting and in a fresh way, tied to the ouroboros, the circler symbol of a snake eating its tail, which suggests cyclic renewal, life and death. The production cost $1,500,000 at the time and is proficiently made, which is a plus seeing as how most cabin-in-the-woods flicks seem to be low-rent. So, this is first rate as far as general filmmaking goes, just with second-tier actors, who are convincing. The problem is that the second act is dramatically dull whereas the first act is an effective enough set-up and the third act is quite compelling with its revelations. The script needed tweaked to make the second act more entertaining, one way or another. Julianna Guill is notable on the feminine front as blonde Claire, followed closely by Briana Evigan as brunette Lyla. Lindsay Lamb has a small part as blonde Sarah, which includes a fairly overt sex sequence, albeit brief (just a heads up for those who might want to steer clear). On the masculine side of things, Ethan Peck stands out as Guy, the grandson of Gregory Peck. It runs 1 hour, 32 minutes, and was shot in western Washington at Gifford Pinchot National Forest, which is southeast of Mt. Rainier; Ape Cave, which is five miles due south of Mt. St. Helens; and Seattle. GRADE: B-
Dr Nostromo2026-01-09
★ 7/10
73/100 I apparently liked this far more than most, probably because I enjoy movies with parallel time lines overlapping each other. Is there really a time loop going on? ...or is Michael hallucinating the whole thing because he went off his meds? Did the ambiguous ending mean the cycle is broken? You'll have to decide for yourself. Not even close to being as good as "Triangle" but better than "Timecrimes", imo, and it's fun trying to spot all the clues on subsequent viewings. -- DrNostromo.com