The Cave (2005)

Director:

Bruce Hunt

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

26 August 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Horror | Thriller

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 | Church | 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

Directed by
Bruce Hunt

Writing credits (WGA)
Michael Steinberg		(written by) &
Tegan West		(written by)

Produced by
Robert Bernacchi	....	co-producer
Neil Bluhm	....	executive producer
Gary Lucchesi	....	producer
Judd Malkin	....	executive producer
Andrew Mason	....	producer
James McQuaide	....	co-producer
Marco Mehlitz	....	executive producer
Michael Ohoven	....	producer
Tom Rosenberg	....	producer
Richard S. Wright	....	producer (as Richard Wright)

Original Music by
Reinhold Heil
Johnny Klimek

Cinematography by
Ross Emery

Film Editing by
Brian Berdan

Casting by
Deborah Aquila
Tricia Wood

Production Design by
Pier Luigi Basile

Art Direction by
Cristian Corvin
Enrico Fiorentini
Vlad Vieru

Set Decoration by
Malcolm Stone

Costume Design by
Wendy Partridge

Makeup Department
Gabi Cretan	....	makeup artist (as Gabriela Cretan)
Thomas Floutz	....	special makeup effects artist
Bruce Spaulding Fuller	....	special makeup effects artist
Clayton Martinez	....	special makeup effects: Patrick Tatopoulos Design
Gabriella Németh	....	hair stylist (as Gabriella Nemeth)
Ionut Parvu	....	makeup artist
Paul Pattison	....	supervising makeup artist
Zeljka Stanin	....	supervising hair stylist
Patrick Tatopoulos	....	creature and special makeup designer and fabrication supervisor
Andreea Tudose	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Robert Bernacchi	....	unit production manager
Marco Polo Constandse	....	unit manager: second unit, Mexico
Ricardo Del Río	....	unit production supervisor: Mexico
Douglas Dresser	....	unit production manager: second unit
Gabriel Popescu	....	unit production manager
Giancarlo J. Sini	....	production supervisor
Andreea Stanculeanu	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ingrid Cristea	....	second assistant director
Oana Ene	....	second second assistant director
Bogi Móricz	....	second assistant director: second unit
Garry Phillips	....	second unit director
Tom Read	....	second assistant director
Anatol Reghintovschi	....	assistant director
Charles Rotherham	....	first assistant director
Wes Skiles	....	underwater unit director

Art Department
Daniel Alexandru	....	sculptor: All Deco International
Roxana Alexandru	....	draftsman
Dana Andreianu	....	art department coordinator
Adrian Cancer	....	storyboard artist
Cristina Cecili	....	head painter
John Charles	....	software engineer: Sony DAC
Petre Enescu	....	scenery works supervisor
Butiseaca Florin	....	scenic artist
Florin Gavrila	....	scenic painter
Adam Grace	....	propmaker
Liviu Marcu	....	sculptor: All Deco International
Sabo Marian	....	swing gang
Dan Munteanu	....	sculptor
Izabela Niculae	....	construction coordinator
Andreea Popa	....	assistant set dresser
Doina Repanovici	....	draftsman
Geaniloni Sandru	....	scenic painter
Luigi Sergianni	....	construction manager
Andrea Sinigaglia	....	painter
Eusebiu Sirbu	....	scenic artist
Brendan Tolley	....	storyboard artist
Ion Tudor	....	swing gang

Sound Department
Richard Adrian	....	sound effects editor
Julie Altus	....	adr recordist
Gary C. Bourgeois	....	supervising sound mixer
Andrei Chirosca	....	additional adr artist
Andrei Chirosca	....	sound: second unit
Valerie Davidson	....	supervising foley editor
Dane A. Davis	....	supervising sound editor
William R. Dean	....	sound effects editor
Brian Dunlop	....	adr recordist
Ezra Dweck	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dennis Johnson	....	sound recordist
Goro Koyama	....	foley artist
Mark Larry	....	supervising adr editor
Andy Malcolm	....	foley artist
Anna Malkin	....	foley recording assistant
György Mihályi	....	utility sound
Stephen Muir	....	foley recording assistant
Chris Navarro	....	adr recordist
Greg Orloff	....	supervising sound mixer
Jacob Riehle	....	assistant sound editor
Mac Ruth	....	production sound mixer
Mac Ruth	....	sound mixer
Dean St. John	....	adr mixer
Pál Szûrös	....	boom operator
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Bryan O. Watkins	....	sound effects editor
Don White	....	foley recording mixer
Nathan Whitehead	....	assistant sound editor
David Yonson	....	adr mixer

Special Effects by
Nick Allder	....	special effects director
Ken Banks	....	moldmaker: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Veronica Barajas	....	intern: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Gabriel Bartalos	....	special effects crew
David Beneke	....	moldmaker: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Roland Blancaflor	....	foam department supervisor: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Oana Bogdan	....	creature producer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs, Inc.
Julia Bogdan-Rollo	....	production accountant: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Marilee Canaga	....	key costumer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
A. Robert Capwell	....	mechanic: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Jesse D'Angelo	....	shop assistant: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Jon Dawe	....	mechanical designer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Mitch Devane	....	sculptor: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Kevin Draycott	....	special effects foreman
Bill Fesh	....	foam technician: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Eric Fiedler	....	mechanical designer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Damian Fisher	....	moldmaker: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Dan Gates	....	moldmaker: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
James Hall	....	moldmaker: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Karen Hartman	....	seamer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Steve Hartman	....	moldmaker: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Guy Himber	....	creature shop supervisor: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Thasja Hoffman	....	seamer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Stephen Hutchinson	....	special effects senior technician
Carol Jones	....	costume fabricator: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Carol Jones	....	costumer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Mark Jurinko	....	painter: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Hiroshi Katagiri	....	sculptor: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Karen Keener	....	seamer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Rick Kess	....	moldmaker: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Allison Klein	....	assistant to designer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Junko Komori	....	intern: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Charles Kuzela	....	seamer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Don Lanning	....	sculptor: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Tim Larsen	....	painter: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Gilbert Lizarraga	....	assistant mechanic: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Casey Love	....	sculptor: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Russell Lukich	....	painter: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Christine Mansfield	....	seamer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Clayton Martinez	....	moldmaker: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Karen Mason	....	costumer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Cass McClure	....	foam technician: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Kevin McTurk	....	special effects makeup
Amber Meno	....	purchasing agent: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Bruce D. Mitchell	....	fabricator: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Jaimie Nakae	....	intern: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Ed Natividad	....	concept artist: tanks, Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Sylvia Nava	....	hair expert: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Stephane Nicoli	....	seaming department
Gary Pawlowski	....	moldmaker: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Dan Platt	....	sculptor/painter: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Adrian Popescu	....	special effects technician
Anshuman Prasad	....	production assistant: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Mark Roberts	....	special effects technician
Frank Rydberg	....	moldmaker: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Jeff Small	....	assistant moldmaker: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Tully Summers	....	sculptor: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Patrick Tatopoulos	....	creatures designer and supervisor
Ian Thompson	....	special effects technician
Jill Thraves	....	costumer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Kazuhiro Tsuji	....	sculptor: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Mihai Tudoran	....	special effects
Patricia Urias	....	seamer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
A.J. Venuto	....	seamer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Chris Walker	....	seamer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Steve Wang	....	art director: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Lisa Welton	....	seamer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Brandon Whynaucht	....	seamer: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
George Willis	....	moldmaker: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs
Chet Zar	....	sculptor: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs

Visual Effects by
Anuj Anand	....	digital compositor
Erika Bach	....	3D scanning assistant coordinator
Gary E. Beach	....	lead compositor: ProBono Post
Gary E. Beach	....	visual effects supervisor
Karel Benes	....	visual effects
Artaya Boonsoong	....	lead technical supervisor
Paul Braddock	....	digital artist
Alexandre Cancado	....	digital compositor
Kyle Cassidy	....	lighting artist: Luma Pictures
Andy Chih-Jen Chang	....	digital compositor: Luma Pictures
Vincent Cirelli	....	visual effects
Michael Comly	....	compositor: Luma Pictures
Chad Dombrova	....	technical director
Saeed Faridzadeh	....	digital compositor
Kirsten Fazio	....	visual effects producer
Ron Frankel	....	previsualization supervisor: Proof Inc.
Cameron Gray	....	animation director
H Haden Hammond	....	character animator: Luma Pictures
Niles Harrison	....	visual effects coordinator
David Heinz	....	digital artist
Brent Hensarling	....	senior system administrator: Luma Pictures
Justin Johnson	....	visual effects
Bruce Jurgens	....	CG supervisor: Luma Pictures
David Kintner	....	lighting and compositing: Luma Pictures
Wendy Klein	....	visual effects: Luma Pictures
Tony Magaletta	....	first assistant cameraman
Kevin Manning	....	visual effects
Tim Matney	....	matte painter
Tim Matney	....	texture artist
Artin Matousian	....	technical director
Valerie McMahon	....	digital artist
James McQuaide	....	visual effects supervisor
Michael Miller	....	digital compositor
Glenn Morris	....	visual effects producer
Bridget Mroczkowski	....	digital artist
Allan Nadel	....	digital compositor
Ian Noe	....	visual effects producer
Gary Oldroyd	....	digital artist
Miguel Ortega	....	3D modeler
Michael Pecchia	....	digital compositor: Luma Pictures
Pavel Pranevsky	....	digital artist: Luma Pictures
Pimentel A. Raphael	....	lead animator
Burke Roane	....	character animator: Luma Pictures
Trey Roane	....	character animator: Luma Pictures
Christopher Sage	....	texture supervisor: Luma Pictures
David Schoneveld	....	lead effects animator: Luma Pictures
Payam Shohadai	....	visual effects supervisor: Luma Pictures
Pedram Shohadai	....	visual effects artist: 3D modeling and texture mapping, scorpion
Andrew Shuford	....	unit production manager: Fantasy II Film Effects
Thanapoom Siripopungul	....	visual effects artist: Luma Pictures
Mark Skelton	....	digital artist: Luma Pictures
Damon Snyder	....	visual effects
Javier Solsona	....	creature technical director
Robert Sullivan	....	video operations supervisor: Animal Logic
Steven Swanson	....	visual effects producer: Luma Pictures
John Velazquez	....	character animator
Punn Wiantrakoon	....	modeler: Luma Pictures
Simon Yuen	....	character technical director
Daniel E. Zobrist	....	matchmove supervisor

Stunts
Shea Adams	....	stunts
Vasile Albinet	....	stunt player: Romania
Glenn Boswell	....	stunt coordinator
Gabi Burlacu	....	stunt player: Romania (as Gabriel Burlacu)
Andrabulea Cigel	....	stunt player: Romania (as Gigel Andrabulea)
Mihai Danciu	....	stunt player: Romania
Marian Dinca	....	stunt player: Romania
Ciprian Dumitrascu	....	stunt player: Romania
Doru Dumitrescu	....	stunt player: Romania (as Doru Dumitrascu)
Marius Florian	....	stunt player: Romania
Kyle Gardiner	....	stunts
Chris Geer	....	stunt trainer: Piper Perabo
Iulia Muresanu	....	stunt double: Charlie
Daniel Pisica	....	stunt player: Romania (as Dan Fisica)
Rasvan Puiu	....	stunt coordinator: Romania (as Razvan Puiu)
Florin Roata	....	stunt player: Romania
Michael Saliba	....	stunts
Todd Schneider	....	stunts
Bernadette Van Gyen	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Bernadette Van Gyen	....	stunts (as Bernadette van Gyen)
Daniel Visan	....	stunt player: Romania
Kyle Gardiner	....	stunt rigger (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Cos Aelenei	....	still photographer
Lupsa Armand	....	electrician
Leonard Bacica	....	video assist operator
Daniel Balteanu	....	electrician
Ian Bird	....	key grip
Alessio Bramucci	....	best boy electric
Patrick Bramucci	....	gaffer
Daniel Ciobanu	....	generator operator
Calin Constantin	....	location gaffer
Andrei Cretan	....	video assist operator
Colin Deane	....	focus puller: "a" camera
Dalila Dulgheriu	....	epk camera operator
Alexandru Durac	....	second assistant camera
Martin Fargher	....	best boy grip
Florica George	....	electrician
Cristu Ghigiu	....	camera trainee
Robert Hottarek	....	crane technician: Technocrane
Catalin Kislinger	....	electrician
Anthony S. Lenzo	....	second underwater camera operator
Ionut Lupulescu	....	focus puller: second unit
Ionut Lupulescu	....	second assistant camera
Leigh Mackenzie	....	camera operator
Tony Magaletta	....	additional photographer: Los Angeles
Tony Magaletta	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera, LA unit
Simon Manses	....	video crew chief
Ladron de Guevara Manuel	....	best boy
Ladron de Guevara Manuel	....	electrician
Radu Marinescu	....	key rigging grip
Michi Marosszeky	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Calum McFarlane	....	camera operator
Florin Mihalache	....	grip
Florin Niculae	....	gaffer (as Florin Nicolae)
Ted Overton	....	underwater gaffer
Razvan Paslaru	....	head key grip
Marian Pisau	....	grip
Adrien Seffrin	....	focus puller: "b" camera
Bogdan Stanciu	....	camera operator: second unit
Bogdan Talpeanu	....	clapper loader
Gheorghe Ursescu	....	best boy
Nicolae Vasile	....	electrician
Peter Velciov	....	Steadicam operator
Alessandro Cardelli	....	electrician (uncredited)

Animation Department
Angie Jones	....	lead animator: Luma Pictures
Burke Roane	....	animator

Casting Department
Domnica Circiumaru	....	extras casting
Gary Davy	....	casting: UK
Jennifer Ricchiazzi	....	casting assistant
Jennifer L. Smith	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mariana Bujoi	....	costume breakdown
Eli Calin	....	wardrobe assistant
Radu Mada	....	co-wardrobe supervisor
Heather Moore	....	key costume supervisor
Claudia Sarbu	....	costumer
Carmen Stefan	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Alma Cazacu	....	apprentice editor
Mike Chiado	....	digital intermediate technologist
Rob Doolittle	....	digital on-line editor
Siggy Ferstl	....	digital intermediate colorist
David Heinz	....	post-production coordinator
Jackie Lee	....	digital intermediate producer
Dan Mitre	....	colorist
Laurent Morel	....	colorist: dailies
Gary Oldroyd	....	post-production assistant
David Reale	....	first assistant editor
Christopher Reichel	....	digital intermediate assistant editor
Royce Smith	....	color timer

Music Department
James Burt	....	assistant music editor
Leah Curtis	....	orchestrator
Reinhold Heil	....	music producer
Reinhold Heil	....	musician
Jan Holzner	....	music recording engineer
Bronwen Jones	....	orchestrator
Adam Klemens	....	conductor
Johnny Klimek	....	music producer
Johnny Klimek	....	musician
Tommy Lockett	....	music editor
Gabriel Isaac Mounsey	....	additional music programmer
Gabriel Isaac Mounsey	....	music score mixing
Dana Niu	....	orchestrator
Didier Rachou	....	composer: song "Highlander"
Shawn Thomas Odyssey	....	composer: additional score (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Cristi Chitu	....	transportation captain
Marian Pascale	....	transportation coordinator
Derek Raser	....	transportation coordinator: USA/Mexico

Other crew
Vasile Anghel	....	key production assistant
Andra Barbuica	....	script supervisor: second unit
Sallie Beechinor	....	production coordinator
Ilsa Berg	....	assistant to producers
Ioana Bernacchi	....	assistant production coordinator
Josef Brandmaier	....	project manager
Irina Bryson	....	assistant to cast (as Irina Niculin)
Ioana Cernescu	....	assistant to cast
John Charles	....	software engineer: Sony DAC
Raul Cosma	....	key set production assistant: second unit
Dawn Darfus	....	additional accountant: Romania
Ricardo Del Río	....	production services: Mexico
Douglas Dresser	....	supervising location manager
Paul Dusatko	....	consultant: climbing
Enrique Estrada	....	production assistant
Erin Fitzgerald	....	adr artist
Constantinescu Gina	....	translator
Grant Grabowski	....	production coordinator
Grant Grabowski	....	travel coordinator
Laura Grosu	....	assistant to cast
Jill Heinerth	....	technical advisor
Jitka Hyniova	....	underwater double
Gergely Laszlo	....	senior operations manager
Anthony S. Lenzo	....	underwater technician
Simon Manses	....	translator: spanish
Alexandra Marinescu	....	production assistant
Beju Marius	....	underwater set production assistant
Laurentiu Maronese	....	production assistant
Amalia Morar	....	cast accountant
Iana Opran	....	production secretary
Maria Pampu	....	assistant: Bruce Hunt and Andrew Mason
Iulian Pana	....	location manager: Romania
Beatrice Popa	....	production assistant
Dorina Popa	....	cashier
Sanda Popescu	....	production coordinator
Jakub Rehacek	....	underwater double (as Jakub Rehacek Ph.D.)
Letitia Rosculet	....	assistant to cast (as Letitia Laura Rosculet)
Elizabeth Schlater	....	assistant to producers
Kate Schriver	....	assistant to producers
Katalin Schulteisz	....	assistant to producers
Giancarlo J. Sini	....	production controller
Harriet Spalding	....	assistant: Bruce Hunt and Andrew Mason
Bernhard Speck	....	production controller: Cinerenta
Gia Maria Sporea	....	assistant to cast
Stephen Taylor	....	location accountant: underwater scenes
Nick Theodorakis	....	HD digital imaging engineer
Alina Tudor	....	assistant to cast
Aurelian Vulpasu	....	production coordinator
Gideon Emery	....	adr voice match (uncredited)
Liam Ford	....	data manager: CO3 (uncredited)
Michael J. Harker	....	completion bond company representative (uncredited)
Warner Loughlin	....	acting coach (uncredited)

Thanks
Robert L. Benun	....	thanks: end titles
Kerry Rock	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Screen Gems (presents)
• Cinerenta Medienbeteiligungs KG (as Cinerenta) (presents)
• Lakeshore Entertainment (A Lakeshore Entertainment Production)
• City Productions (in association with)
• Cineblue Internationale Filmproduktionsgesellschaft (as Cineblue) (in association with)

Distributors

• Screen Gems (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Entertainment Film Distributors (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (2005) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Falcon (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Medyavizyon (2005) (Turkey) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2005) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Shaw Organisation (2005) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Deltamac Entertainment (2006) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• E Stars Films (2006) (China) (all media)
• Entertainment in Video (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Highlight Film (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Medyavizyon (2005) (Turkey) (all media)
• Nordisk Film (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• RTL Entertainment (2011) (Netherlands) (TV) (RTL7)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Patrick Tatopoulos Design (creatures and make-up effects)
• Luma Pictures (visual effects)
• Sub/Par Pix (additional visual effects)
• Proof (pre-visualization)
• Animal Logic (additional previsualization)
• Effects Associates
• Gentle Giant Studios
• Proof
• Tatopoulos Studios

Other Companies

• All Deco International  set construction and sculptures
• Audiolink Radio Communications  walkie talkies
• Bayerische HypoVereinsbank AG München  film banking [de]
• Danetracks  sound design & editorial
• Earth Media Studios  post-production
• Lakeshore Records  soundtrack published by
• Mediapro Studios  production facilities
• Orbit Digital  Avids
• Orchestra.Net  orchestra

Also Known As:

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:

USA:PG-13 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Singapore:PG | 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

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Company:

Screen Gems

Trivia:

Andrew Mason, one of the film's producers, says they hired some of the world's greatest cave divers as consultants in order to keep the movie as technically plausible as possible.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When asked if he is okay, one of the scuba divers gives the thumbs up signal while underwater. In scuba diving, thumbs up means ascend to the surface.

Quotes:

Charlie:They fly! They frickin' fly!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Zombie Girl: The Movie (2009)

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.