Somewhat Marred by Pacing

Rating: 5/10 (26 August 2018)

I went into this movie knowing that there were going to be cave creatures (because of the trailer). However, what I didn't know was that they show up about halfway through the movie. The scenes where the creatures attack are effective, but there is such a long trip (no pun intended) to get there. I don't have a problem with movies that have a slower pace, but this one didn't need it as much as others. It wasn't as if it was long for the purpose of telling a story, but it was long just because it took them a long time to climb. My joke was that the first half of the movie is just them breathing, but its actually somewhat true. If there was more background about the characters, their relationship and the tragedy we see at the beginning, it would make us care more about them. However, there is only a brief scene at the beginning showing what happened. Before the cave crawlers show up, there is a lot of silence, breathing and squeezing through holes. After they show up, its a constant frenzy, although it does have an added element of tension that was hinted at in the first half. I feel like if the movie had maintained a balance of tension, story and background about the characters, it would have been better off. For what it is, it definitely does have some parts that are somewhat emotionally resonant and some parts that are very disturbing, but there is not enough story for how long this movie was.