If not a hidden gem, Miner's Massacre (b.k.a. Curse of the Forty-Niner) is at least something of a nugget among low-budget horror films. The film is a supernatural slasher, telling the tale of six avaricious twenty-somethings who unwittingly resurrect the eponymous prospector--the Forty-Niner--who's hellbent on posthumously protecting his accumulated fortune. Perpetually pop-eyed and given to near-constant growling, the Forty-Niner is a bit of a crock in terms of character concepts, but he does wield a pickaxe convincingly. While the script doesn't dig too deeply, the filmmaking is admirably workmanlike. The characters aren't especially likable, with an oddly-cast Final Girl and Guy who are respectively rocking short-cropped and mushroom-cut hairdos and, consequently, are begging for queer readings. The standout cast member is the stalwart redhead Rox Ann, played by softcore standby Elina Madison. She holds the viewer's attention with her down-to-earth good looks and her out-of-this-world backside, the latter of which makes a brief but memorable appearance in the buff during a brisk, efficient sex scene. I mention this not for the sheer sake of male-gazing, but rather to emphasize that Miner's Massacre does not get too distracted with overdetermined slasher tropes such as cheap nudity. Rather, director John Carl Buechler stays on-track with the plot--sending the Forty-Niner back to mineshaft-cum-hellmouth whence he came. In the process, there's even an appearance from Karen Black, which never once hurt a horror flick. All told, Miner's Massacre pans out satisfactorily, at least by the standard of those of us who moil for low-budget, low-quality horror gold. Go Forty-Niner(s)!
