The Cave (2005)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Bruce Hunt

Writers (WGA):

Michael Steinberg (written by) &
Tegan West (written by)

Release Date:

26 August 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Horror

Tagline:

There are places man was never meant to go.

Plot:

Bloodthirsty creatures await a pack of divers who become trapped in an underwater cave network.

Plot Keywords:

Cave | Diver | Romania | Monster | Explosion

Cast

Cole Hauser	...	Jack McAllister
Eddie Cibrian	...	Tyler McAllister
Morris Chestnut	...	Top Buchanan
Lena Headey	...	Dr. Kathryn Jennings
Piper Perabo	...	Charlie
Rick Ravanello	...	Briggs
Daniel Dae Kim	...	Alex Kim
Kieran Darcy-Smith	...	Strode
Marcel Iures	...	Dr. Nicolai
Vlad Radescu	...	Dr. Bacovia
Simon Kunz	...	Mike - Caver #1
David Kennedy	...	Ian - Caver #2
Alin Panc	...	Razvan - Caver #3
Zoltan Butuc	...	Corvin - Caver #4
Brian Steele	...	Creature Performer

Also Known As:

Prime Evil (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense creature violence.

Runtime:

97 min | Germany:93 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Romanian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Philippines:PG-13 | Ireland:15A | Taiwan:PG-12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:13 | Mexico:B | France:-12 | Brazil:14 | UK:12 (video rating) (2005) | UK:12A (original rating) | Malaysia:U | Germany:12 | Sweden:15 | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Australia:MA (TV rating) | Netherlands:16 | South Korea:12 | USA:PG-13 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Company:

Screen Gems

Trivia:

The film claims to have some basis in truth because new micro-ecologies have been discovered in deep caves, especially in Romania. According to film consultant Dr. Christi Lascu (acclaimed speleologist and Romanian editor of National Geographic magazine), 35 brand new species were found in the Movila Caves in the late-1980s. Among the species found was a 10cm centipede with a poisonous bite. There was nothing the size of the creature in the movie, but in theory there is not a limit for the size of animals living down there.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The characters seem to have completely normal uninhibited conversations under water despite having a mouthpiece fully inserted into their mouths.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Kathryn: At first, I thought it couldn't survive outside of a cave environment. Now, I'm not sure. I think it wants to get out.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HypaSpace: (#4.170)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Nemo

Not nearly as bad as everyone says. Just a fun popcorn flick

I went into this movie expecting just your average creature feature akin to Pitch Black, and I wasn't let down. It is, indeed, just your average creature feature. It's not the next best thing to Aliens, but it's not the travesty most reviewers here are making it out to be either.

The Cave is a fun popcorn flick. There's no really deep plot or amazing acting talent. What this movie does have is a few very intense, suspenseful moments, which is only aided by the very dark and claustrophobic atmosphere of the cave. It also has your average thriller twist at the end which I did not see coming.

The cinematography and directing by first-timer Bruce Hunt is surprisingly well done. His background as assistance director for the Matrix films and Dark City is apparent here. While he's no Spielberg or Cameron, he keeps the camera angles interesting, and there are scenes within vast, tall rooms in the cave that are quite breathtaking. One complaint, however, is that he chose to follow other directors mistakes in jarring the camera in a very frenetic and sickening manner back and forth whenever one of the characters is being attacked by the creature. This is not only very annoying and disorienting, but is IMO just a trick to cover up the poor creature fx.

Speaking of the FX, I have to say I'm 50/50 here. Sometimes they looked good, and sometimes they looked like they were from a Sci-Fi Channel original movie. The creature effects that looked good were the closeups, which utilized real models. These looked quite realistic. But far away shots of the CGI creatures are not so impressive.

If you want to sit down on a Friday night and just have fun, then pick up The Cave.