The Cave DVD Review:

The tagline for The Cave is “There are places man was never meant to go”, which is very fitting for the film, but it also would be a fitting tagline for the half-dozen other films that this one seems to resemble. It is a creature film, just like Alien, Anaconda, and many more which are not worth mentioning. Some of them are good, and others just seem like they steal scenes from past creature films. The Cave has a few intense moments and it actually has a few creative twists in the plot, but this is all overshadowed by the many scenes which seem far too familiar to other films. Audiences are bound to lose interest while waiting for something original to happen, and many scares will be seen long before they arrive. It’s too bad, because the creatures are actually kind of creepy looking.

When scientists discover ancient ruins in Romanian forests, they find that there are large caves beneath it. The cave system is so extensive and large that they have to bring in specialists to investigate it. With hopes of finding an underground ecosystem, an American team, led by Jack and his brother Tyler, goes in to explore the cave. Jack and Tyler, played by Cole Hauser and Eddie Cibrian, are the kind of guys who get excited about the opportunity to explore the depths. The larger the challenge, the more exciting to them. They have altered their equipment so that they can stay under water longer, and ultimately stay in the cave for as long as is needed.

Once they find themselves a day into the cave, there is an accident which blocks their path out, and they must go forward with hopes of finding another way out. As if this isn’t a bad enough situation, they find that there are completely different creatures within the walls of the cave. Everything is changed, including a larger and more deadly creature that seems to be hunting them. They continue to move forward as their numbers begin to dwindle and their hop of surviving seems bleak.

This is not the kind of film that you rent for great acting or a mind altering script, which leaves the suspense and horror. The acting is sub-par and the script really is quite bad, which is why there is so much riding on the moments in which the creature appears. These moments are not bad. In fact some of them are quite intense, but that simply is not enough. It is a PG-13 horror film, which doesn’t allow for enough intensity to save the film from becoming a bit too dull.

The DVD itself looks great, which makes it even more upsetting that the film is not very good. There is dark and creepy cover art, and it isn’t glossy which makes it look even better. The menu is a little less satisfying, with a few quick clips and then a still photo as you choose an option. The one great thing about the menu, as well as the film, is the sound. There are creature sounds as well as cave sounds, which are creepy.

The DVD special features include two separate commentary tracks. One is by the director, with the producer and special effects producer as well. This is definitely the better commentary track of the two. The other is a commentary track with the two writers of the film. Other special features include a short featurette about the film, called “Into the Cave”, and a featurette about the special effects used to create the monster. This is very interesting, even if the film is not great. The best part about the film is the creatures, and it is fascinating to see movie magic created.



Ryan Izay