Surprising!

Rating: 8/10 (20 January 2007)

I've seen lots and lots of horror movies and I must admit, this one stands above all I've seen in the past 2 years. I mean in theaters, of course. Not only because it freaks you out -- and believe me, it does -- but because the story is simple and pretty easy to follow too: a bunch of women going to a cave expedition, seeking some adventure.. but the adventure turns out real bad. It has some simplicity to it, which I find somewhat refreshing after all these weird esoteric and complicated horror flicks we see these days. Not that I don't enjoy creepy angry ghosts returning from the afterlife with a thirst for vengeance because what's-their-names did horrible things to them in the past, but sometimes it's nice to just sit back and enjoy the show without having to figure things out too much. Sure, there's somewhat of a mystery to it -- up until we see those creepy creatures following our girls. After that, it's just blood, jump-out-of-your-seat moments... and then some more blood. And lots of fighting, of course. Either kill or be killed.
As for the visual effects, this movie is very good when it comes to conjuring realistic caves: full of large chasms and pretty narrow holes (eeeeck!!), it's dark, it's huge, it's real. And not only the creatures are surprisingly efficient and well done, without this odd 3D feel we often get when it comes to this kind of fictitious beasts, but the actresses are pretty convincing too. And, far more importantly (to me at least), they avoid being simple caricatures who exist solely to be slaughtered.
If you have a strong stomach, and if you enjoy gory movies, I strongly recommend you to watch it.