I'm glad I didn't get stuck in a cave; by the looks of it, that
would really suck. Sanctum did a
great job of creating a suspenseful film, but bombed at any attempt of realism.
A team of explorers, including a father and son, decide to dive
into a cave that has regions as yet unmapped by humans. By coincidence a large
storm is brewing and about to hit while the group investigates the depths of
the cave. Choosing not to leave (while it's still possible to do so) is a big
mistake as the storm appears and all must fight to survive the harrowing
situation.
It's obvious that Sanctum
is meant to be a thrilling adventure. Parts of the film had me holding my
breath, and I even had to remind myself that I wasn't trapped below with the
spelunkers. Maybe that comes from my fear of drowning and being stuck in tight
places, but I think the film was shot well enough for the entire audience to
feel that way.
Beyond a wonderful sense of choking claustrophobia, Sanctum has very few redeeming
qualities. The script is one of the worst writing experiences of recent memory,
with laughable lines that dilute scenes, and actors poorly executing every lame
word. I kid you not, in one instance, a man has fallen and when a team member
tries to save him, the father (Roxburgh's Frank), and leader of the group, shouts:
"He's broken every bone in his body," without once looking at the man's wounds.
I also saw this film in 3-D and I doubt that there's much difference
in traditional format, but I almost think that this special feature made a
tepid film a bit more interesting. In particular, the scenes in which the explorers
swim through caves actually look more like footage you'd see on The Discovery
Channel.
Sanctum deserves little
credit for what it accomplished. However, for this genre of film, I had a
perfectly fine time feeling the suspense and looking forward to the moment when
I could breathe fresh air again.
