Xtento I had to register an account just to review Black Mountain Side and was appalled by the low rating as this is a very underappreciated movie. I'm a big fan of The Thing - it's one of my all time favorite movies. I did not have high hopes for Black Mountain Side, but approx. 20 minutes into it, I could feel it oozing vibes from The Thing. It is clear that it is this movies main source of inspiration. The cold and remote location, a team of scientists, the mysterious illnesses, an unknown enemy and the strong lack of faith in who you can trust - it all comes together to create a very atmospheric horror thriller that I will watch many times over.

Lugodoc An indie must be low budget which necessarily means small cast, small sets, and few special effects, but it doesn't have to mean a meandering script and a weak ending. The cheapest part of any movie is the script so there is never an excuse for a bad one.Cinematography and acting are good but there is no satisfying resolution. It feels like half a story, a few creepy random events cobbled together on the run with no convincing conclusion in mind. How could the crew spend months making this and not notice that?

jayg_58 There are dozens of films with varying degrees of blood, gore, and pseudo-scientific probability - about unearthing long buried or frozen dormant viruses, creatures and mutations. Here's another. Some are big screen, along the lines of The Thing. Big budget and overwhelming. Some underwhelming. This film is done low budget and low key, but with a kind of novel slant. No music, no big names, no fancy script. Some people hated it because of that. I welcomed the change. It's a film that you can sit and pay half attention, until something totally unexpected happens. Back it up - watch again - whoa.It's the far north in Canada. We have a small, multi-cabin camp with quite a few archeologists, support staff, and local native diggers. They unearth something from a heretofore unknown, undated era. Along with the artifacts, comes what killed that small segment of population. Guess what? Anyway, overall, it's under-done and seems more human than the big buck stuff. That's what I liked. It wasn't a Gilbert and Sullivan production of giant lizards - and no zombies - and how often do we have accompanying music while we go about our work in the north woods? Just a bunch of guys who dug up the wrong remains. Oops.The more realistic and probable 'it' is, whatever it may be, the more I like the movie. There was only one transgression I noted. Right up front the narration advises how cold it is. Then it's never mentioned again, and people stomp around day and night in varying layers of clothing, with and without gloves or headgear. I guess maybe the camera lights kept them warm.

Mouse I will keep this short.I'm a big fan of the original "The Thing". This film seems to borrow so many scenes and ideas from that film that its pretty shameless. The early scene of the main character on the radio, whilst playing games and drinking whiskey is truly awful, and far too close to Kurt Russell's classic opening scene in "The Thing". Furthermore the acting is so atrocious its beyond words. Everybody looks nervous to be on screen, one actor looks as if he cant bring himself to make eye contact with the other actors whilst relaying his lines. Ultimately nothing happens for the majority of the film, its so slow I nearly slipped into a coma. OK, its obviously on a very low budget, but Its so bad that its inexcusable. I was astounded when I saw this film for £12.99 at my local store, what a joke. The world doesn't need anymore films this bad...whoever is responsible please stop producing them.