A new found-footage film that was enjoyable mostly until the end. While not horrible, and certainly well-acted and produced, too many FF flicks have no meaningful resolution, and this falls into that category. I did like the "outdoors" feeling of the movie, and the music and editing were an interesting departure that gave it a different vibe. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys FF films, and even with the typical-for-the-genre-ending it a good tight movie for those into this kind of entertainment. Check out Evidence (2012) if you want to see a genre-blending FF film that you'll enjoy.

This is not normally the type of movie that I am inclined to watch since I have a real hard time sitting through an hour+ of supposedly "found footage" -I have YET to see the Blair Witch Project (but did enjoy Cloverfield). The main reason I hit PLAY was because I was curious if it was actually filmed at Superstition. Since I live only 15 minutes from the main park entrance we're pretty familiar with most of the popular trails all around the mountain and have been to the Massacre grounds, the Peralta trail to Weavers Needle, and of course all the ones facing Apache Junction. Shoot, I even broke my foot coming down from the Flatiron a few years ago. So the answer to my question was, yes it WAS filmed there.

Plot wise, it involves three younger adults making a documentary about the Lost Dutchman's Mine. So they of course park at one of the busier trail heads and hike out full expecting to find it. One can only imagine how many times they had to stop filming in order to let other hikers pass by. This isn't really a criticism since only the very small percentage of those who have actually been on the trails would think of something like that. Now while they never find an actual gold mine (no one has to my knowledge) they do of course find something dark which starts effecting them emotionally, one at a time. At this point they decide to leave but after hiking for hours they end up coming back to the place they were camping at, or at least the generally area. How this can happen, even under supernatural influences, I have no idea since simply following the trail back would lead you out. That, and Weavers needle is a pretty darn good point of reference through much of the backside of the mountain. AND didn't anyone bring a compass?
In the end, they all die. Well, it is assumed they do. The very last scene is the main female actor being pulled into the night, in a slightly less startling (and effective) way then was Jennifer Carpenter being pulled from the fallen camera in Quarantine, another tolerable "found footage" movie.

Yes, it was low budget in the extreme but still had a somewhat polished look to it. Granted there are a few things that will drive you bonkers by the 1/3-1/2 point such as the EXTREME use of the grimy 1960's-1970's "grind house" film look whenever they show video which was supposedly taken by a cell phone. As a photographer and Photoshop user this is as in-your-face as if I loaded two thirds of my photos into Topaz Adjust and hit the 'Spicify' button, and did nothing else (which I DID do when I first got the plug-in, but thankfully grew out of the phase really quickly). Also in the category of "once you notice it you cannot UN-notice it" you'll see several montages of the characters hiking and during all of them they use the same short video clips of a snake (again, using the "grind house" video effect) again and again and again.

I had high hopes based on another reviewer's reference to Yellow Brick Road, which for a very select audience (like me) was brilliant. There were some minor stylistic similarities, but Dark Mountain lacked the maturity and dread of YBR. It is almost impossible not to roll your eyes at the silliness of the central characters. The female protagonist plans to find the Lost Dutchman Mine and make herself famous in the film world, yet has no insider information regarding its location, seems to have done zero research on the topic, has a back-of-the-napkin map drawn by a six-year-old, and begins her trek on a park trail. She and her two sidekicks, her boyfriend and his best friend, trounce through the outback, often without water, yet with an apparently unlimited supply of hair gel. Though they are supposed to be traveling in the wild, many of the shots include a well-traveled dirt road that suggests the area is far from remote. The few scares are jump-scares in which they are pranking one another. And how the heck did "found footage" get a soundtrack??

it wasnt a bad movie but the ending sucked. i did enjoy it and it had suspense. i loved the refrence to the blair witch project though(loved that movie)
now , being based on a true story, when did this event occur? the reason im asking when, is because with the technology they were showing in the movie, why couldnt they bring a DRONE and map the place out or even find the mine that way? lol makes me laugh a little. i would bring everything i could, knowing all the legends of the mountain.
this movie also reminded me of a series about the mines. its called "ghost mine" where regular miners and a ghost hunter crew, were mining for gold. they say that the mines are a haven for spirits and old miners, that passed away or got killed looking for gold. its a great series but it only lasted 2 seasons. you saw that ghost in the mine, with this movie, this was exactly like the ghost hunters picked up in that series. this series was great and if you catch it on tv, i would def watch it.
Getting back to this movie though, i did like it and kept me going to the end. now i have to look up more history on this particular mountain.i love stuff like this. always have. cheers everyone!

So like another reviewer said, if you never saw Blair Witch, this could have held it's own...but the very fact that it starts out soooooooo similar, it loses cred from the beginning.

The acting is so so

The "plot" never really goes anywhere.

Shortly into it I was surfing the net and missed a few of the "scares", and really wasn't interested enough to rewind to see them.

Blair Witch had a realness to it that left the audience confused as to whether the video was real found footage, this entire movie felt very contrived.

If you like found footage movies in general, you can watch it as background while doing something else.

The fact that I grew up on the foothills of the Superstition Mountains (Apache Junction, AZ) had me intrigued as to the gist of the movie. There is some truth to the back story of the Lost Dutchman, but the movie is completely hooie. It was kinda neat to see my childhood home on the big screen, but also embarrassing when I could pick out all geographic flaws and inconsistencies as they occurred as well as being able to dissect the choppy storyline (basically Blare Witch Project in the desert, and they even make reference to it in the movie). It says it is based on a true story, but its as much based on a true story as me farting and blaming it on the dog (I don't even have a dog). So, if you want to throw away an hour and a half of your life and not get it back have fun.

I really didn't want to rate this one at all but I felt that I owed it to the public! The only reason I gave it two stars is due to the fact that there are no half-star ratings. Otherwise the rating would have been 1-1/2 stars! I guess what I'm trying to say is that this has to be the WORST found-footage film of all time, seriously. I definitely don't even want to go into the reasons why I said that either. So, let it go at that, watch it if you want, but I think it's just a waste of time when you could be watching something of substance and value that you just may really enjoy! Sorry, but that just my humble opinion for what it's worth!
RapidRabbitt

The best shots are of the land as the protagonists travel, with a terrific mood-setting soundtrack, but the story/events/characters* are so lazily written, and the climax so boring as well as shoddily represented**, that there is, overall, nothing redeeming about this movie.

*"found footage" may not need all of these, e.g. if the purpose is to create a mood, explore a topic, study a character, but there should be at least one strong/coherent aspect to the 'assembled' footage.
**Strobe footage from "malfunctioning" cameras is a staple of reliance on the jump-scare rather than something *actually* horrific.