Hot Picks
|
|
|
They Are Mine!
USA 2016
produced by Michael Hull
directed by Michael Hull
starring Ben Gutman, Tim Nastar, Jeff Kelly, Cameron Hall, Pheobe Schrafft, Sophia Phillips, Jade Schuyler, Paul Schuyler, Shaw Schuyler, Quinn Schuyler, Jamie Horton, Laura Lee stoffel, Holly Hansen, Ari Lew, Sam Small, Samantha Sequin, Sarah Krantz, Peter Keefe, Anastacia Athas, Nicky Sequin, Jake Sequin
written and music by Michael Hull, special makeup effects by Rob Kelley
review by Mike Haberfelner
|
|
Michael (Tim Nastar) thinks he has witnessed a kidnapping, and even if
his friends Sam (Ben Gutman), John (Jeff Kelly) and Sebastian (Cameron
Hall) don't really believe him, they agree to join him on a journey to
hunt down the kidnapper - hey, they live in smalltown, USA, so they are
more than happy about a little distraction, especially in a depressing
winter like this one. Somehow, Michael's sister Trixie (Pheobe Schrafft)
and her best friend Emily (Sophia Phillips) tag along for the ride ... and
eventually they do believe they've found the car of the kidnapper, too -
but trying to track him down on a trail that leads over a frozen lake and
through the woods, they suddenly cave into some mysterious, mazelike mines
that are part of an local legend according to which a group of children
got lost in some forgotten mines where they presumably died. Quite a few
kid-sized skeleton suggest that there might be more than just a grain of
truth in this particular legend. Problem is, our heroes, just like the
children in the legend, can't find a way out of the caves, but things take
a turn from bad to worse when they are gassed and find themselves all tied
up again, at the mercy of a bunch of really cute and innocent looking
children - who are ruthlessly brutal. But they're still angels compared to
their mommy (Jade Schuyler), who has kidnapped them all actually and
turned them into her violent slaves because she has lost her own children,
and now she will stop at nothing to preserve her new-found familial bliss
- literally nothing ... At its best moments, They are
Mine! is reminiscent of many a 1970s cult shocker, with The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre readily springing into mind due to its
similar "family"-theme, and the mine sets much of the movie was
shot in sure add atmosphere and tension to the proceedings, which are
often tense all by themselves. Plus, Jade Schuyler as Mommy gives a
properly deranged performance. That said though, They are Mine! is
actually far from great, its set-up drags on for far too long, especially
considering its running time of just over an hour, and it tries a bit too
desperately to say something, while the horrors of the underground world
are actually never fully explored - plus to offer all its protagonists a
happy ending does take the sting out of things. Now this is not a total
failure by far, but it definitely falls short of its promises.
|
|
|