FOR years, stories have circulated about a secret place in the middle of the Nevada desert known for unexplained phenomena and strange sightings. When cab driver Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson) encounters two teenagers with supernatural powers, he finds himse

FOR years, stories have circulated about a secret place in the middle of the Nevada desert known for unexplained phenomena and strange sightings.

When cab driver Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson) encounters two teenagers with supernatural powers, he finds himself in the middle of an adventure he can't explain.

Working together, Jack and his young passengers discover that the only chance to save the world lies in unravelling the secrets of Witch Mountain.

RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN (PG) is a reworking of the 1975 Disney classic Escape to Witch Mountain and is produced by Andrew Gunn, who found success in 2003 with his remake of another '70s film, Freaky Friday.

The new version has much more action and Gunn says: "It's no accident we ended up with the title Race to Witch Mountain because once this film starts, it takes off like a shot. We wanted it to be a ride that, once you got on, you weren't getting off until the end."

Director Andy Fickman says the original was one of his all-time favourites as a child. And having been born in Roswell, New Mexico - famous as the site of an alleged UFO crash and government cover-up - he has a fascination for the unexplained.

Johnson, too, says he was a big fan of the original film and Fickman says he tailored stunts and action sequences to persuade Johnson to join the film.

"He showed so much heart and warmth and charm in The Game Plan and I wanted to combine that with more action than he has ever seen in one movie. I wanted him to see that this new film would mean bigger stunts, scarier thrills, greater characters and more adventure than ever before.