Could have been brilliant

Rating: 7/10 (19 January 2007)

When I saw the trailer for this movie, I thought it looked like the most terrifying movie I would ever see...but I also thought that it would be more of a psychological thriller than it was. I know that I am selective when it comes to horror films. I'm not into pure blood and gore, and I don't like zombie movies. This movie has elements of both which I find disappointing. The movie has a premise which is terrifying in and of itself--a group of friends trapped in a cave. Why bother with the creatures? The most frightening parts of the movie occurred in the first half, with the single most terrifying being the scene in which one woman gets stuck crawling through the tunnel. I had to remind myself to breathe during that scene. After the intense claustrophobia scene, the standard gory creature-flick feel of the rest is a letdown.
I will give credit where credit is due, however, and this is why I have decided to bump the rating up to a 7. The characters of the movie are more well-developed than I am used to seeing in most American-made horror flicks. The subplots are subtle; no wasted time or energy, nor insults to the audience's intelligence with overly-dramatic scenes that pose as character development. The evolution of the character of "Sarah" is intriguing, and the end of the movie was both shocking and intelligent (for all my "fellow American" fans, I am referring to the original director's cut, not the American release).
I am sure that many horror fans will enjoy this movie immensely. I, however, was hoping for something more. It could have been the scariest movie I'd ever seen if the creatures had just been left out.