# Nine Miles Down

Nine Miles Down is a 2009 horror film based on the Well to Hell, a widespread urban legend (spread mostly in the 1990s) that Russian scientists had drilled so deep that they had broken through into hell and recorded the screams of the damned emanating from the borehole. It was the last feature film credit for writer Everett de Roche. It is an international co-production between the UK, Hungary, and the US.

## Plot

Thomas "Jack" Jackmann, an ex-policeman turned security inspector for the GNE energy firm, arrives at the Jevel Afra Drill site, a remote research station in the Central Sahara Desert in the middle of a sandstorm. None of the facility's 25 staff, led by Professor Borman, have been heard from in days.
Jack finds the facility abandoned with signs of a struggle, numerous cryptic messages scrawled on the walls in Arabic with blood, and the gruesome sacrifice of a jackal. He sends photos of the writings to be translated. Unable to properly search the rest of the compound due to the storm, he investigates video recordings; he discovers Borman had established the dig site to investigate a newly detected air pocket nine miles below the surface. The scientists then began to exhibit signs of paranoia; Jack experiences a vivid hallucination while trying to sleep in his vehicle.
By morning, the storm has cleared, and Jack meets Dr. Jenny "JC" Christensen, the lone remaining scientist. She explains that Borman was murdered by the chief geologist and stored in the refrigeration unit, along with Dr. Varga, who died of a heart attack. Jack calls in the deaths to GNE, but the police are tied up searching for the rest; his boss, Chief Caswell, orders him to stay put in case anyone returns. JC, meanwhile, is anxious to leave; Jack becomes suspicious, having not seen her in videos or photos of the team. While he recovers from hitting his head, she attempts to steal his vehicle, but he hides the keys. Kat later reports that one of the scientists, Dr. Ivanoff, was found alive and that JC did not appear on the crew roster; JC explains that due to budget constraints not allowing gender-segregated quarters, Borman falsified her information.
JC recounts that, six days prior, audio sensors on the drill had picked up what sounded like human screams from inside the cavity. Fearing they had broken through to Hell itself, the crew then began to hallucinate seeing dead loved ones, panicking, and becoming violent; Jack also begins to see things and act nervous. The two develop a mutual attraction while watching the sunset over the desert, sharing dinner to celebrate Jack's birthday. He shares his severe trauma from his wife Susan killing herself and their two children six years prior over suspicions of him having an affair, resulting in his resignation from the police force. To comfort him, Jack and JC have sex, but his hallucinations worsen due to his resurfaced distress.
In his nightmares, Jack begins to suspect that JC is not human and fears for his life and sanity. Arming himself, he discovers human remains in the site's cesspit and attacks JC in the shower. She fends him off, so he locks himself in Borman's office. Finding a hidden recording of the Professor feverishly explaining that the Devil himself had been released, he is convinced that JC is dangerous. In a ploy to get his keys, JC plays along with his delusions with a seductive Satanic persona, persuading him to sell his soul to her. She almost succeeds, but Jack, reliving the day of the murder-suicide, wounds her with a screwdriver before setting the facility on fire. A GNE rescue team finally arrives, subduing Jack and evacuating them both via helicopter before the site explodes.
Caswell and Inspector Khaled back up JC's story at the hospital, explaining that the rescued Ivanoff provided a sample of toxic gas released from the underground cavity. Inhaling the gas caused the afflicted to lose the ability to differentiate between reality, memory, and imagination, causing irrational behavior; JC had been less affected because of her separated quarters. The remaining scientists are still missing and presumed dead, having scattered into the desert. Despite these revelations, Jack's paranoia quickly resurfaces; he steals a handgun and tries to kill her before being stopped by Alex, his coworker. His sanity truly broken, Jack finally gives into despair and prepares to commit suicide to the laughter of his dead wife.

## Cast

* Adrian Paul as Thomas "Jack" Jackmann
* Kate Nauta as Dr. Jenny "JC" Christensen
* Anthony Waller as Professor M. Borman
* Amanda Douge as Kat
* Meredith Ostrom as Susan Jackmann
* Arcadiy Golubovich as Alex
* Andrew Ryback as Chief Caswell
* Caroline Couret-Delègue as Journalist
* Yousef Amin as Yousef
* David Story as Dr. Varga
* Madeline C. Dickson as Anna
* Brandon Dailman as Ben
* Jutta Kleinschmidt as Helicopter Rescue Pilot
* Hafiene Ahmed as Inspector Khaled
* Adrian Lukis as Dr. Leonard
* Clelie Saint-Val as Old Woman in Hospital
* Wajden Turki as Nurse

## Production

Val Kilmer was in talks to star in May 2002. Production ended in May 2008.

## Reception

Mark L. Miller of Ain't It Cool News called it "a devilishly pleasant surprise" that fulfills its promising concept.