Dvd
Under the Mountain
Black Sheep director Jonathan King adapts Kiwi novelist Maurice Gee's classic tale for the screen. Teenage twins Rachel (Sophie McBridge) and Theo (Tom Cameron) investigate the spooky house next door, only to discover the Wilberforces – shape-shifting creatures, lead by Mr Wilberforce (Oliver Driver), that lurk beneath Auckland's ring of extinct volcanoes. With the help of the mysterious Mr Jones (Sam Neill) and their older cousin Ricky, the twins must rekindle the unique powers they once shared if they are to destroy this ancient evil.
Written in 1979, the novel has been made into a television series but has never made it to the big screen until now.
Starring Sam Neill, Oliver Driver, Sophie McBride, Tom Cameron, Matthew Chamberlain, Michaela Rooney
Directed by Jonathan King ('Black Sheep')
Written by Matthew Grainger, Jonathan King (based on the novel by Maurice Gee)
Fantasy, Family, Adventure, Adaptation | 1hr 30mins | Rated (M) | contains supernatural themes | Origin: New Zealand
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The Talk
6 votes / No comments
Flicks review
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3
Under The Mountain's central quest - where two people must save the world by throwing something into a volcano - feels very similar to Frodo's quest in the Lord of the Rings series. It's nice to see that New Zealand can still make good-looking effects filled fantasy films. Auckland appears foreboding and dark in all the right ways.
This is a chaotically paced movie. Good thing Sam Neill is in the cast, because he goes to great pains to explain what's going on. Those who are completely befuddled will enjoy having clarity added to a messy narrative but cynics like myself are wary of all-knowing, all-wise, magical characters; they tend to pop up in stories where the writers can't think of a better way of resolving tricky situations.
At least Under the Mountain is a family film that is unabashedly scary. Youths are strangled, mothers die, there are tentacle-wielding aliens and they even drive a hearse. 12-year-old boys will lap all of this up but parents with sensitive youngsters should be careful when they check its rating. In terms of violence, it's similar to the recent Harry Potter flicks.
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The people's reviews
17 reviews
Press Reviews
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Christchurch Press (Graeme Tuckett)
New Kiwi movie Under the Mountain enjoys a rare position in New Zealand's cultural history.
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Hollywood Reporter
Manages to invoke nearly every genre cliche ever formulated by the lazy mind of man. The plot and basic concept behind the film defy comprehension, and one suspects that both were infinitely clearer in the novel, given the greater expansiveness available to that medium.
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NZ Herald (Russell Baillie)
4
Just when you thought the scariest thing about Auckland was the traffic ...
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Twitch Film (USA)
Fans of King's Black Sheep who are still holding on to faint hope that Under The Mountain may contain some of the gonzo spirit of that film need to disabuse themselves of that notion right now. This is an entirely different sort of film, one made with entirely different aims, with an entirely different audience in mind. And it's one that succeeds in meeting its goals just as well as Black Sheep did. This is solid, broadly commercial film making for kids and while not a classic by any stretch it is very strong and will certainly find a large and appreciative audience.
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Variety (USA)
Entertaining, well-mounted Kiwi children's thriller... Kids will be safely spooked by muddy ghouls, and adult guardians will feel the time pass comfortably.
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