The Haunting of Hell Hole Mine starts with a brief history of how the inciting incident of the titular mine happened. It cuts to the present day showing a girl playing video games with her uncle. The dynamics of their relationship are explored through dialogue. They get word of a relative who passed away and left them the deed to a gold mine. The girl begins hearing whispering voices calling out to her. Could there be a connection?

Directed by Paul Collett and Tammy Massa, they use aerial wide establishing shots of building exteriors and landscapes to show off unique architecture and breathtaking scenery of Salinas, California. Throughout the film, close-ups are frequently used on both people and objects. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. The lighting is off. The scary scenes are too bright. It throws off the atmosphere. Some visuals have a highly stylized look but the lighting doesn’t match the tone.

Written by Paul Collett and Robbie Trujillo, it starts with a strong premise before eventually digging themselves into a hole. The pacing is off, making it feel tedious. The whole family goes to the bar where the uncle meets a girl interested in his career in the video game industry. She inspires him to pursue his dream of creating his own video games and starting his own company after he pitches his ideas to her. It is not until 35 minutes into the film they inevitably go into the mine. Others hear the voices too and start having frightening hallucinations.

After prospecting the first time the family goes to the bar again for more exposition through dialogue and flashbacks so it’s like it’s an information overload. A drunken Native American artist tries to warn them of the curse on the mine. He explains why the Legend of the mine while it shows more flashbacks. At times I couldn’t help but yell at the screen or laugh at the bizarre writing choices. For example, the hero is chosen in the prophecy because he has dyslexia therefore he thinks differently than his relatives so the curse doesn’t affect him like the others. Perhaps another draft or two of the script could have injected some much-needed energy and momentum to keep the plot moving forward more logically. There’s too much stopping and starting to get fully invested.

The cast has some pretty recognizable faces. This includes Tommy Lister, Sally Kirkland, and Tom Sizemore. It’s always a joy to see them. It also includes Paul Collett and Rudy Youngblood. The acting isn’t the greatest all around. The acting quality doesn’t match the high production value. Sometimes scary moments are unintentionally funny too.

Overall, it’s directed in interesting ways but a meandering plot and subpar acting hinder this film the most. It tries touching on themes of following dreams, the importance of family, and avarice but it’s muddled with so much heavy exposition it digs a hole it can’t climb out of. The plot centres on aspects of Native American culture like Skin Walkers, Windigos, and Dreamcatchers. I do know quite a bit about other cultures’ folklore. To me, some details don’t seem accurate but I’m no expert so it’s justifiably debatable. It reminds me of The Descent or Poltergeist but is less focused. For a title like that, not much time takes place in the mine. For these reasons, I wouldn’t recommend this film. And remember, if you’re sitting on a gold mine and if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

Grade 5/10