Curse of the Forty-Niner (2002)

User Rating:

3.3/10   

Director:

John Carl Buechler

Writer:

Antonio Olivas (writer)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

A group of friends discover gold deep inside an old mine. But by taking the gold and think they've hit it big, they awaken a long dead miner who's Hell Bent on protecting his treasure. |

Plot Keywords:

Gold Mine | Severed Hand | Person On Fire | Severed Head | Pick Axe

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Karen Black	...	Aunt Nelly
John Phillip Law	...	Sheriff Murphy
Richard Lynch	...	Old Man Prichard
Vernon Wells	...	Jeremiah Stone
Martin Kove	...	Caleb
Jeff Conaway	...	Reverend Sutter
Brad H. Arden	...	Forty-Niner
Sean Hines	...	Nick Berman
Carrie Bradac	...	Claire Berman
Stephen Wastell	...	Axl (as Steve Wastell)
Sangie	...	Tori
Rick Majeske	...	Hayden (as Rich Majeske)
Elina Madison	...	Rox Ann
Alexandra Ford	...	Eve
Shadrach Smith	...	Jared

Also Known As:

Curse of the 49er (USA) (MIFED title)
Miner's Massacre (USA) (video title)

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Australia:MA | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Agua Dulce Movie Ranch - 34855 Petersen Road, Agua Dulce, California, USA

Company:

Wanted Entertainment LLC

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: After Haydn's car explodes the Miner turns around to chase the other three, Axel, Nick, and Clare. When they turn to run, the cameraman's complete shadow can be seen on the ground to the screen right of Clare.

Movie Connections:

References Psycho (1960)

An irritating time waster of a film

Oh dear oh dear. It really gets on my nerves when a low budget, pointless horror affair tries to look interesting in the credits by having a bunch of good names pop up in the cast, only to involve each one in the smallest, most pointless possible roles. In this film, we have Richard Lynch in one scene, a momentary appearance from Martin Kove, a brief spot for Vernon Welles, slightly more time on screen for John Philip Law and a little time for Karen Black. This bunch of random cameos does not really add up to much though Richard Lynch and Karen Black do raise some of the few smiles of this film with their appearances, and its quite painful really, as none of the main cast are much good at all. I couldn't help but think that if more scenes were filmed with any of the b movie veterans above the film would be a whole lot better but as it is there are just a few tantalising glimpses of good entertainment without the film ever actually attaining much entertainment value. Of the main cast the only charismatic or likable performances in my opinion were Steve Wastell, as Axel and his girlfriend who I believe was played by Elina Madison (never heard of her before but she has some measure of screen presence and is a good looker). The plotting in this one is simple, evil undead miner goes after those who eek to steal his gold, and it should make for good slasher fun, especially given that it is directed by John Carl Buechler, who has done special effects for many of these sort of films, including having worked on all three of the major slasher franchises (Halloween, Elm Street and Friday 13th) and such small gems as Mausoleum. Unfortunately, the film is sadly lacking in suspense, likability and satisfying gore. There are one or two mildly gory moments but nothing worth the effort of watching the film, I wouldn't say. In fact, aside from the above mentioned cameos this entire movie is really quite stale and turgid with characters that couldn't get offed quick enough for my liking and an unfortunate lack of any real interest. I didn't even find it fun in a laughable bad movie sense, which is rare for me, since I love a lot of pretty crummy films. I'd say, avoid.