‎Under the Mountain (2009) directed by Jonathan King • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Under the Mountain

2009 Directed by Jonathan King

An epic journey to save the world...

Teenage twins battle dark forces hidden beneath Auckland's volcanoes.

Sam Neill Tom Cameron Oliver Driver Sophie McBride Matthew Chamberlain Bruce Hopkins Gareth Reeves Colin Moy Madeleine Sami David Weatherley

91 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by TajLV ★★½ 2

This film moved way too slowly for me. There are a few scary scenes, but Sam Neill turns in a rather dull performance, and I certainly hope the demonstrated lack of parental guidance for teenagers is not common in New Zealand. The kids just do whatever they please, with no consequences. The police are totally ineffective, too. Giant monsters living under volcanoes, an ageless fire bearer hiding among us, shape- shifting aliens, twins with special powers…This might have been better done if made into a full-on fantasy world, instead of trying to make it seem relevant to the modern era. The scenery, however, is breathtaking.
Review by Maquina_Muerte ★★

Meh. Not even Sam Neill could save this Auckland sci-fi kid flick. Nice nature shots though.
Review by Nick Box ★★½

Fairly entertaining kiwi family adventure horror fantasy a bit slow to start but pretty good towards the end

Recent reviews

Review by TrundleTheGreat ★★★

I'll never look at Auckland the same again
Review by Nick Box ★★½

Fairly entertaining kiwi family adventure horror fantasy a bit slow to start but pretty good towards the end
Review by Jônatas Iwata ★

"AN EPIC JOURNEY TO SAVE THE WORLD..." yeah sure
Review by Alain Elliott ★½

Some cool-looking monsters can't save this from being mainly boring.
Review by Steven Millan ★★

In this mediocre New Zealand adaptation of a NZ-based YA(Young Adult) novel,a pair of Ginger(redhaired) twins(Tom Cameron,[the Nicole Kidman looking] Sophie McBride) pay a visit to their uncle,aunt,and cousin(to escape dealing with the death of their mother) and discover that they're secretly equipped with special powers that come handy in dealing with dangerous supernatural forces. Despite director Jonathan King(BLACK SHEEP[2006],REALITi) giving this film a nice and eerie looking atmosphere and Peter Jackson's main special effects man Richard Taylor displaying plenty of well done CGI FX and make-up designs on zombie looking beings,UNDER THE MOUNTAIN suffers from a very sluggish storyline that moves the film along at a slow pace and has the characters acting awkward as female viewers will be…
Review by Rick D ★

Some beautiful scenery combined with some decent digital EFX should have made for a pretty good flick but this movie never flowed very well. Ending seemed rushed. Actors even Sam Neill just did not have much to work with.
Review by Hershal ★★★

I kind of had high hopes for this but was a bit let down. It's set in New Zealand. I'm down with that. Love the Kiwis. Based on a YA novel I think. No problems there really. Got Sam Neill. Cool. Gingers. I can take it. Crazy, creepy Lovecraftian demons. Awesome. I don't know. Maybe there was something lost in the translation. But I just didn't connect with the story. Or the characters, really. It all felt a bit muddled.
Review by TajLV ★★½ 2

This film moved way too slowly for me. There are a few scary scenes, but Sam Neill turns in a rather dull performance, and I certainly hope the demonstrated lack of parental guidance for teenagers is not common in New Zealand. The kids just do whatever they please, with no consequences. The police are totally ineffective, too. Giant monsters living under volcanoes, an ageless fire bearer hiding among us, shape- shifting aliens, twins with special powers…This might have been better done if made into a full-on fantasy world, instead of trying to make it seem relevant to the modern era. The scenery, however, is breathtaking.
Review by Maquina_Muerte ★★

Meh. Not even Sam Neill could save this Auckland sci-fi kid flick. Nice nature shots though.