Good Start Gone Bad

Rating: 5/10 (21 August 2006)

Greetings again from the darkness. Writer/Director Neil Marshall has had some success in Great Britain, but he doesn't seem to have a feel yet for a mass audience. The set-up of the film is actually very good with a violent life-altering event and some subtle insight into our characters' personalities. Even the initial descent into the cavern is tense and kinda fun.
The film really falls apart once the cave dwelling blind albino cannibals leap fast motion into the story. The critters dominate the second half of the film and really leave us feeling cheated out of a nice female update of "Deliverance". You will even see a touch of "Carrie" in a couple of scenes, but I should be flogged for even mentioning those far superior films in this comment. The script, acting and direction here are not even close to that level.
The best performances come from Shauna Macdonald, Natalie-Jane No one as Holly (she was great in "The Magdalene Sisters") and Natalie Jackson Mendoza as Juno (a direct rip off of Lucy Liu).
On top of all these negatives comes an ending that is just plain horrible. It leaves us feeling empty and cheated. Thrillers just can't let the audience down at the end ... especially after ruining a nice first 30 minutes.