dbdumonteil In his absorbing memoirs ,"Charlton Heston:in the arena" ,the thespian wrote:"On "mother lode" ,he (Fray)was a shadow director ,especially the scenes I was acting in" .Fraser Heston was credited as a writer and a producer;this is a complete father/son collaboration."I didn't plan to play McGee as a maniac ,but seriously disturbed characters do give a lot of elbow room"Perhaps so,but Heston really overplays in his part of a (apparently) villain,maybe the only one in his brilliant career;people often forget it,but he was mainly a stage actor in his last years ,from O'Neill to Shakespeare ,whose "Antony and Cleopatra"he transferred to the screen (it's worth a watch);and in "mother lode" he plays as though he was on a stage ,but his son's lines are rather mediocre - Kim Basinger's ones are particularly insignificant-;Heston tries so hard to convince the audience he is a monster that in his last scenes ,he resembles Jason in "Friday the thirteen" "We hadn't anticipated that our leading couple would loathe each other"(...)"I have no idea why Kim and Nick found it impossible to act the attraction the script required" In the movie it's so glaring that we don't think that the young heroes are friends,let alone lovers;Basinger's part is reduced to damsel-in-distress all along the way,and her so called attentive escort does not care at all;when he is asked what has become of his girl ,he simply says "she's dead " ,displaying no emotion at all ."McGee (...) had a dead brother,who might not be real,might not be dead ;Might be,in fact,McGee himself." This is the best side of the movie :this umpteenth story of prospectors is given a thriller,nay horror treatment ,and thus ,paved a reliable way to later works such as "the descent " and other subterranean stuff ;the reappearance of supposedly dead Heston packs a real wallop and a strange feeling of anguish grips us as soon as we meet the hermit miner;the cinematography takes advantage of the magnificent Canadian landscapes,making not only the mine but also the forest a hostile place.Heston himself expresses the same view: "We were shooting in an intricate mine set that was one of the most effective creative elements in the film"

Richard Newman Not only do the daylight scenes in this movie visually stun the viewer, but the dark cloak of night or being underground chill to the bone! The dark look of the film is all the more compelling when terror explodes out of the darkness to grip the viewer by the throat, eliciting screams! "Stay the hell outta my mine, laddie!" Why don't they listen . . . ???!!! This movie was incredible. The drama was taut, the frights were well developed and the story was compelling. This movie was a perfect vehicle for Charlton Heston who scared the crap out of me in this film. The script was ideal for him and his style and he was completely believable in this role(s).Strongly recommended!

west2east Though this review is written 18 years after the fact, this film remains among the top of my all time favorites. Introducing the great wilderness in the manner portrayed within the story was breath-taking and this introduction was significant in eventual Canadian and Alaskan adventures. When films can have such an impact on a person, they cannot help but remain close to the heart. The story was fun & exciting and very well played, yet, hats are off to the big screen impact this film portrayed of the Canadian Wilderness.

Jenny-14 This is a great independent movie the plot was good, and so was the photography. It was too bad that this movie did not have the advertising and promotional backing for more exposure and running length time. Because if it had, this movie would have done better and would be better known that it is! This movie should have gotten more exposure than it did at the time of release!