Synopsis

EPA agent Jack Taggart goes undercover in a rural Kentucky community to investigate the dumping of toxic waste into abandoned coal mines. Posing as a church-sponsored carpenter, he encounters frightened residents, corrupt officials, and a powerful industrialist determined to protect his illegal operation. As Taggart earns the locals' trust, his environmental investigation turns into a violent fight for justice.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film was released in the United States on September 5, 1997, by Warner Bros.

• Production was filmed in Kentucky from September 9 through December 4, 1996. Locations included Hazard, Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, Natural Bridge State Resort Park, and Great Saltpetre Cave.

• The movie was conceived as an environmentally themed action thriller, continuing Steven Seagal's interest in ecological subjects after *On Deadly Ground*.

• The screenplay began as a more drama-oriented detective story written by Jeb Stuart. Philip Morton later reworked the material toward the action format associated with Seagal's films.

• A real Environmental Protection Agency investigation was reportedly taking place near the Kentucky production locations while filming was underway.

• The title song, "Fire Down Below," was written by Steven Seagal and Mark Collie and received a Golden Raspberry nomination for Worst Original Song.

• With an estimated budget of $60 million and reported domestic earnings of about $16.2 million, the film was a major commercial disappointment.

• In Spain, the film was marketed as a sequel to *On Deadly Ground*, despite having no direct story connection to that earlier movie.