Dir.
Bruce Hunt, 2005, USA, 97 mins
Cast:
Cole Hauser, Morris Chestnut, Eddie Cibrian, Lena Headey, Piper Perabo
Following the release of The Descent, The Cave is the second of this year's man vs. underground monster films and comparisons are inevitable. Unlike Neil Marshall's British offering this is caving Hollywood-style - louder, faster and crawling with CGI monsters of all shapes and sizes.
When scientists discover a system of unexplored caves beneath the Carpathian Mountains they call in a team of expert cave divers to lead them underground. Problems arise when the team realise they are not alone in the caves and with their exit blocked and prehistoric monsters out for their blood Jack (Hauser) and his crew are drawn into a deadly fight for survival.
The Cave wastes no time in cutting straight to the action with the first victim of the creatures being picked off soon after the team goes underground. While there is some investigation into what the creatures are and the odd moment of tension between characters, much of the narrative is focused on the expedition's attempts to escape. These also provide the film's finest moments with one set piece in particular, in which Charlie (Perabo) fights off one of the creatures whilst suspended over a crevice, being genuinely thrilling. The creatures themselves are threatening enough but the real terror comes from the periphery of smaller species that inhabit the cave providing an atmosphere of constant dread. However, while The Cave certainly delivers its fair share of monster-battling action it is severely lacking a sense of humour.
The Cave desperately wants to be among the more serious monster films like The Thing or Alien when the parody approach of films such as Deep Rising or Lake Placid would have been more appropriate. Unfortunately, the film takes itself far too seriously and distances its audience as a result. While there is clearly an attempt at character development, particularly in the tested loyalties of the two brothers in the team, Jack and Tyler (Cibrian), there is little to make us like or identify with any of them. The side effect of this is that the humour comes instead from the endless clichés and solemn delivery of lines like, 'Respect the cave'. The Cave is a film we have seen a hundred times before and without a new twist or even the smallest hint of post-modern irony there is little to distinguish it from so many others. On top of this there is an unashamed similarity in the monsters, story and lighting to those of David Twohy's Pitch Black (2000), serving only to remind us of another superior film.
Ultimately The Cave is a rather silly film that refuses to recognise its absurdity but at the same time moves along at a cracking pace and has the benefit of some fantastic set pieces. For an hour-and-a-half of pure Hollywood-by-numbers action the film certainly delivers on its promises, but those looking for innovation, tension and genuine horror should explore the smaller, less flashy but infinitely more terrifying caves of The Descent.
Chris Regan
The Cave is released on Region 2 DVD on 28th November 2005 by Entertainment in Video and contains the following features:
- 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
- English DD5.1 Surround
- English DD2.0 Stereo
- English subtitles
- Into the Cave 'Making of' (18:42mins)
- Designing Evolution: Tatopoulos Studios - Special Effects featurette (10:32mins)
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