This film had all of the ingredients to become a cult hit but for whatever reason everything and everyone involved just couldn't make this as memorable as it deserved. But, at the same time it's hard to dislike this effort because it does make an admirable attempt in the horror genre even if it's execution can't be described as anything but lukewarm. Story is about two young couples who have decided to stay at a friends cabin in Silver City, Colorado where an abandon mine has just been reopened but what they don't know is that the house they are going to be staying at has underground tunnels from the basement to the main mine shaft.
*****SPOILER ALERT***** Mark Kinner (Fred McCarren) and Roger Lowrie (Jeff Harlan) work for Syndicated Mines, Inc. and they have invited Trish Michaels (Rebecca Balding) and Jessica Ford (Anne-Marie Martin) to stay with them but when they use dynamite and open up an old mine it releases some mutant creatures that are able to make their way up into the basement and start to kill the unsuspecting occupants. Lurking around the mine is an old man named Greenwalt (Jon Lormer) who knows the horrible history of the mine but by the time he tries to warn everyone it's too late!
This film is directed by James L. Conway who has become a pretty good television director and he does a better than adequate job with this because if anything else it's a nicely shot film capturing the scenic locations of beautiful Utah. The film is very careful not to allow the audience to see the actual Boogens until probably the last 15 minutes and let's face it...they don't look that intimidating at all. They look like the baby dragons from the film "Dragonslayer" but these little darlings have long tentacles that help them drag their victims down into their tunnels. I do have two questions about the actual Boogens and the first has to do with why they're called Boogens. The only time we hear the name used is when the old guy is in the underground cavern and when they start attacking he mutters "Boogens". Secondly, how did the Boogens survive all those years underground with nothing to eat? Also, the Boogens don't seem to eat their victims because when they find Roger's body all that seemed to happen was his face being chewed on a bit. When do they eat? The script runs the usual gamut of young people in a cabin being attacked like the one obnoxious guy who's a sex fiend and shouts "you dare to question the virility of Hormone Man?". Balding has a nice wholesome screen presence and provides the film's only two nude scenes (which I would like to thank her for) but her (blossoming) boyfriend Mark who while sincere still comes off as slow to react. Besides Balding, the only other familiar faces in the cast are character actors Lormer and Med Flory and the film is surprisingly small in terms of the amount of actors used. The script doesn't offer any surprises and the story is pretty basic offering some monsters and a little nudity and gore but it comes across as nothing more than a by the numbers horror flick. It's not badly made and the dialog is believable but it just doesn't have that something special to get anyone excited.
*****SPOILER ALERT***** Mark Kinner (Fred McCarren) and Roger Lowrie (Jeff Harlan) work for Syndicated Mines, Inc. and they have invited Trish Michaels (Rebecca Balding) and Jessica Ford (Anne-Marie Martin) to stay with them but when they use dynamite and open up an old mine it releases some mutant creatures that are able to make their way up into the basement and start to kill the unsuspecting occupants. Lurking around the mine is an old man named Greenwalt (Jon Lormer) who knows the horrible history of the mine but by the time he tries to warn everyone it's too late!
This film is directed by James L. Conway who has become a pretty good television director and he does a better than adequate job with this because if anything else it's a nicely shot film capturing the scenic locations of beautiful Utah. The film is very careful not to allow the audience to see the actual Boogens until probably the last 15 minutes and let's face it...they don't look that intimidating at all. They look like the baby dragons from the film "Dragonslayer" but these little darlings have long tentacles that help them drag their victims down into their tunnels. I do have two questions about the actual Boogens and the first has to do with why they're called Boogens. The only time we hear the name used is when the old guy is in the underground cavern and when they start attacking he mutters "Boogens". Secondly, how did the Boogens survive all those years underground with nothing to eat? Also, the Boogens don't seem to eat their victims because when they find Roger's body all that seemed to happen was his face being chewed on a bit. When do they eat? The script runs the usual gamut of young people in a cabin being attacked like the one obnoxious guy who's a sex fiend and shouts "you dare to question the virility of Hormone Man?". Balding has a nice wholesome screen presence and provides the film's only two nude scenes (which I would like to thank her for) but her (blossoming) boyfriend Mark who while sincere still comes off as slow to react. Besides Balding, the only other familiar faces in the cast are character actors Lormer and Med Flory and the film is surprisingly small in terms of the amount of actors used. The script doesn't offer any surprises and the story is pretty basic offering some monsters and a little nudity and gore but it comes across as nothing more than a by the numbers horror flick. It's not badly made and the dialog is believable but it just doesn't have that something special to get anyone excited.