Mine 9

Quite great story about dangers of coal mining. Plot was actually interesting enough to get you really interested into the movie. Unfortunately, this lacks maybe additional 20 minutes to the whole rescue operation to get a proper closure.

This movie was quite short and was beautifully made.

Mining - you have to have done it to really appreciate what the guys (and gals I reckon) are doing down there. During the end credits we do get to see some light (interviews with real miners) shed upon that subject matter.

Not an easy life ... even tougher when things go south ... is that pun? Can one say it about mining? Well whatever the case you better not be claustrophobic ... yes this is a movie, but it won't be an easy watch .. in the slightest. Drama and hardship .... and thrill that will or is able to get you to the edge of your seat.

I thought I knew what coal mining was about. But the truth is I had no clue at all. This movie is especially interesting for its realism and the attention to details. I discovered some harsh working conditions, not happening in the 18th century but in modern times and that makes it even more frightening. The machinery is more interesting than in sci-fi movies, and the tension is higher than in alleged horror movies. There are imperfect things, but as a whole, Mine 9 is very impressive.

Great acting and directing, but the writing had issues, and I really could've done without that long dragged out constant "coal miner" song.

Novice writer/director (majority of his films all shorts) Eddie Mensore did an excellent job with the directing/camera work, especially considering the confined spaces he had to work with. The cinematography was outstanding.

The writing however had some issues. This screenplay should've been edited to a short, as the first half was basically slow and dragged out without much substance or character development -or- more time added with trimmed down unnecessary scenes and more character development and substance pertaining to what was actually happening/the conflict. I found it hard to follow how/why/what was happening in some scenes, thus convoluting the plot. The slow pacing didn't help either, as the 83 min runtime felt closer to 2 hours. The religious undertones were also a little overbearing and felt forced into the writing. The score was great, but the music was bland and overplayed (the "coal miner" song).

The acting however was outstanding by all the miners, and as realistic and convincing as it gets, with the exception of the female supervisor, who I thought looked like a deer staring into headlights in some scenes.

Nevertheless, the decent second-half suspense somewhat made up for the slow burn dragged out first-half of the film. Aside from the outstanding acting, I liked Cutterhead (2018) writing a little more. It's a 7/10 from me.