Dead Mine, Horror from Indonesia

The mine might be dead...but not the fiends in it. We haven't done too many films from Indonesia in this blog, but this is a good one. However horrific the horror in an abandoned mine seems...it'll get worse...and worse. This modern horror tale of greed and mad-scientists will awaken a horrible time in Asian history...Japan's attempted conquest of Australia and Indonesia. Western horror may focus on Nazi terror, but we should remember, World War 2 was much more than Europe and America. Today we look at 2012's "Dead Mine," directed by Steven Shell.

Warren is on a mission to find a stash of gold hidden by Japanese troops on a remote Indonesian island during the war. With him is his sultry girlfriend, Su-Ling (Carmen Soo). She may appear to be useless to the plot, but she is gorgeous. Also along are an Indonesian army unit headed by Captain Prawa (Ario Bayu). Also there is a babe scientist, Rie (Miki Mizuno) and a commando to head security, Stanley (Sam Hazeldino). The team finds the mine as they come under attack from pirates and have to dive into it to avoid a barrage of gunfire. An explosion seals them in. Uh oh...something is also down there...monster mutants.

As the monster mutants beset the survivors, Warren is determined to find the gold. What they do find is that the mine they were in was used by the Japanese during the war to conduct human experimentation on POWs (Australians). The POWs were turned into monster mutants and now prowl the mine. Uh oh again...some of the Japanese officers are still alive 70 years after the war. Uh oh again...something else is still alive and on the prowl. As Warren and Su-Ling keep focused on the gold, commando Stanley and Rie use their heads to try to figure a way out of the mine. Things and fiends are angry and homicidal and many of the party will die horribly. As the secrets of the god-forsaken experiments are revealed, our team realizes what they are up against.

Will Rie and Stanley fall in love and engage in pre-marital sex as the Japanese experiments converge? Will the beautiful Su-Ling be captured by the mutants, who haven't seen a woman in 75 years? Will Warren's greed, or Stanley's heroics prevail as they battle monsters and try to escape? This is a good one and just when you think our team has met their doom...well, it gets worse for them. For a fascinating horror film from Indonesia, see "Dead Mine."