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

Alternative Title

Under the Mountain - Vulkan der dunklen Mächte

drama adventure fantasy

91 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by deMicha ½ 4

08/15 Fantasy-Quatsch um Zwillinge die Kreaturen bekämpfen.
Was Sam Neill da macht ist mir ein Rätsel.
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 kiwirail

once got in trouble at work for quoting this film when the director was there because they thought I was mocking it. It's not my fault the dialogue is... that way.
'toby, It's maungawhau that calls you'
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

Recent reviews

Review by Henrik Havighorst ★½

A weird an underwhelming mystery/horror which looked promising on the get-go, especially it is a Kiwi production, so more or less free of your usual Hollywood shenanigangs. But alas, the story is muddled and the execution uninspired. Sam Neill is in high form, but most of the heavy lifting is done by teenage actors (yes, there it is) which are cute and all, but not enough to pull it.
Review by deMicha ½ 4

08/15 Fantasy-Quatsch um Zwillinge die Kreaturen bekämpfen.
Was Sam Neill da macht ist mir ein Rätsel.
Review by DER Schmidt ★★★

Schade, der Film hätte schönes Fantasy Potential haben können mit dieser seltsamen unterirdischen Welt, aber leider ist die Story dünn, die Gegner sind ärmlich usw.
Review by kiwirail

once got in trouble at work for quoting this film when the director was there because they thought I was mocking it. It's not my fault the dialogue is... that way.
'toby, It's maungawhau that calls you'
Review by aileina ★★★½

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Film № 5 of my own Scavenger Hunt Challenge № 3 (September 2019)
Task № 5: A film featuring Twins or conjoined twins
Two kids (although I doubt that the actors playing them could be considered that) lost their mother in an accident and got sent to stay with some relatives. Instead of mourning mother's death, they explore Auckland volcanos, go kayaking, go fishing and generally enjoy their holidays.
But something scary is happening. Some kind of old - ancient - evil creeps in a creepy neighbouring old house, stinky and rotten. The ones who shake the mountains, watched by the one who raises fire.
But then it becomes really, really bad. Like "they are not of this world" bad.…
Review by Daniel J. Manners ★★½

truly under a mountain.
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.