Film Review: Nine Miles Down

Posted on the 07 June 2013 by Donnambr @_mrs_b
Review of: Nine Miles Down (2009)
Film:
Anthony Waller
Reviewed by: David M. Brown
Rating:
2
On June 7, 2013Last modified:June 7, 2013

Summary:

Nine Miles Down is a very average horror film with one of the two leads proving to be much better at acting than the other.

More DetailsAbout Nine Miles Down (2009)Psychological horror. Jackman is sent to investigate the loss of contact with a team at a drilling station in the Sahara desert, where they were drilling deep down in to the Earth’s crust. The place is deserted but then he encounters JC, who claims to be the only survivor after the rest of the team went mad. After drilling to a depth of nine miles they all began to believe that they had drilled into hell and released something evil. The longer he stays there the more tragic events from his past come to haunt Jackman, and he comes to believe that JC is an imposter and may be the evil that has been released.

Starring: Kate Nauta, Adrian Paul, Meredith Ostrom, Arcadiy Golubovich, Amanda Douge

Directed by: Anthony Waller

Runtime: 83 minutes

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Review: Nine Miles Down

GNE Security Agent Thomas “Jack” Jackman (Adrian Paul) heads deep into the Sahara Desert to seek out a drilling station where contact has been lost with a group of scientists there. Jack finds the station is initially deserted but as he delves deeper it’s clear that something sinister is waiting for him. It isn’t long before Jack meets a young and inevitably attractive woman, JC (Kate Nauta), who is eager to leave despite Jack’s protestations. She shows him some of the scientists who are now dead and reveals she is the only one that remains. What has been happening at the base?

It turns out our scientist friends have been drilling very deeply into the earth and have apparently released something malevolent. Silly boys. Jack is happy to leave but when he radios headquarters he is told to remain where he is and that his colleagues have picked up one of the scientists wandering alone in the desert having run away from the drilling station. Jack begins to suffer the same torment as the scientists that turned on one another and even themselves. His visions are frequently of his late wife that committed suicide and seems intent on haunting him. What of JC? Jack grows suspicious that she isn’t really human and that she means him harm but is he right?

Nine Miles Down suffers with some unspectacular acting but the story is mildly intriguing and the setting out in the middle of the desert is quite eerie. It’s no surprise when Jack and JC fall for one another but Jack grows paranoid in the isolation and we’re left guessing whether JC means him harm or whether she is just eager to get away from the station because it’s a pretty freaky place to be. The ending is somewhat open-ended which will either leave you smiling and guessing the outcome, or frustrated at the lack of revelation. I fell somewhere between the two extremes.

Nine Miles Down is a very average horror film with one of the two leads proving to be much better at acting than the other. Although this a bit plodding in places the mystery will hold your interest for a time but whether you find the ending enjoyable enough or not is open to debate.

Verdict: 2/5

(Film source: reviewer’s own copy)

About the Author:

I was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England and have always been a bookworm and enjoyed creative writing at school. In 1999 I created the Elencheran Chronicles and have been writing ever since. My first novel, Fezariu's Epiphany, was published in May 2011. When not writing I'm a lover of films, games, books and blogging. I now live in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with my wife, Donna, and our six cats - Kain, Razz, Buggles, Charlie, Bilbo and Frodo.

David M. Brown – who has written 698 posts on Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave.

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