Halloween is a time of spookiness and Hollywood has never been afraid of combining mystery thrillers within an underground mine setting.
In 2011, film crews descended on the town of Cumberland to shoot a time-loop, spine chiller called “Mine Games.” Parts of the movie were filmed at the workings of the fittingly named Hyde mine, located near Hyde Lake, also known as Lake Isabel.
Palmer Coking Coal Company provided the property location for several scenes, which used old concrete buildings, remnants of the mining operation, which shut down in 1920.
All the underground coal mines in western Washington were long ago sealed up or have collapsed shut. So, most of the underground mine scenes were filmed at the Ape Cave, a lava tube located in the Gifford Pinchot national forest just south of Mount Saint Helens.
This R-rated film was directed by Richard Gray starred several up-and-coming actors, but never found a theatrical release. It is now available on video and Netflix.
