La cueva

Horror story filled with suspense , relentless terror , nudism , profanity , bad language and lots of gore and blood . This frightening Spanish movie concerns about a young group , being trapped into claustrophobic caves . As a group of 5 friends formed by Marta Castellote as Celia , Xoel Fernández as Carlos , Eva García-Vacas as Begoña , Marcos Ortiz as Jaco and Jorge Páez as Iván gather together on holiday to Island Formentera , in the Balearic Islands . Later on , the group goes for a caving hick . Shortly after , they encounter a cave entrance , which they decide to explore . After some exploring deep underground , the expedition gets horribly worse when they become lost , rockfall collapse and they don't find the dark way out . After delivering further into the cavern , things go awry .

This is one of the cheapest horror movies of the last years and it contains thrills , chills , cannibalism , blood and gore . Regular film features an unknown cast , being shot on location in Formentera, Balearic Islands, Spain . It packs a sinister , realistic and horrifying atmosphere , full of eerie scenes by means of shaky camera as well as the former Spanish film titled ¨REC¨ and followings ; as ¨La Cueva¨ itself is realized in similar premise to the Spanish originals . ¨Alfredo Montero's La Cueva¨ was shot with camera over shoulders , in documentary style and itself takes place from point of sight from cameraman . It was shot in ¨Rec¨ style that was followed by Rec II and Rec III , Genesis , all of them written/produced/directed by Paco Plaza and Jaume Balaguero , two magnificent experts on terror genre . And it had an American remake : ¨Quarantine¨ , a solid film , being continued by ¨Quarantine 2¨ . ¨La Cueva¨ or ¨The cave¨ it is an acceptable movie but mediocre , a so-so terror story plenty of suspense , merciless horror , plenty of screams , shocks and tension and in thrilling style . The film takes parts here and there from other films as ¨The Descent¨(2005) , ¨The Cave¨(2005) and , of course , ¨Rec¨ saga . The horror moments are compactly made and fast-moving in which the brutal instincts of survival of the human beings are well shown , by being seen from the POv of a camera that one of the boys is holding . Well worth seeing if you like videos and shaky cameras , such us : ¨Blair witch project¨, ¨28 Days/Weeks¨ and ¨Cloverfield¨ .

Others films dealing with this sub-genre about people caught in caves are the followings : ¨Sub-human¨ (1972) by Gary Sherman with Donald Pleasence , Norman Rossington , David Ladd ; ¨What wait below¨ (1985) by Don Sharp with Robert Powell , Timothy Bottoms , Lisa Blount , Anne Heywood , Richard Johnson . And recently : ¨The cave¨ by Brian Hunt with Cole Houser , Piper Perabo , Eddie Cibrian , Rick Ravanello ; ¨The descent¨(2005) by Neil Marshall with Alex Reid , Natalie Mendoza , Shauna MacDonald , both them dealing with people caught into caverns and besieged , chased , attacked by packs of carnivorous , bloodthirsty , crawling creatures are waiting for them .

The film sticks to typical character stereotypes, like you'd expect from any low-budget movie built around a single premise - in this case, five friends getting lost in a cave. The storytelling and character arcs don't bring anything new and rely heavily on familiar formulas. That also makes the jump scares quite predictable, always showing up exactly where you'd expect them.

However, the film does manage to create some tense and gripping moments, especially when it explores psychological pressure, fear of death, and how people mentally break down in extreme situations. These themes add depth to an otherwise conventional plot.

One thing that always bothers me personally - and this film is no exception - is when friend groups already feel unrealistic during the introduction phase. There's little believable chemistry or genuine connection between them, which makes you wonder as a viewer, 'Why are you even friends if you treat each other like this?'

That said, the ending was satisfying and wrapped things up in a way that felt earned. Also, the choice to use a found footage style was a smart one. It fit the theme very well and added to the intensity and realism of the story.

While the film balances out a decent dose of realism with ultimate savagery and claustrophobic jumpscares, the director is unable to fully commit to the found-footage format, taking away some of its shine. This is essentially The Descent, minus the flesh-hungry creatures, albeit with a more spontaneous (yet dumb) premise and an emotionally weaker set of key characters. A couple of them, in particular, are incredibly annoying and stupid. But I guess that's how groups in general tend to be.

Cave horror is a reasonably engaging subgenre when tackled correctly, and in that regard, director Alfredo Montero is easily able to bring those anxiety levels up, especially when the characters keep crawling their way through tiny spaces. There are a whole bunch of "getting lost" clichés, but the proceedings kept me interested. Since the whole saga unravels quickly, I wasn't able to fully buy into the group's decision to commit cannibalism to stay alive. In a longer and more emotionally drawn-out film, that plot development would've been the most disturbing. But here, the jumpscares and shaky visuals continue overriding it until the very end.

A silly, unrealistic film about idiotic young people doing what they knew they should not do just to impress one another and that predictably goes wrong. A redeeming factor is that it was (at least in part, I guess) really filmed in a cave, and a cave surrounded by a very, very beautiful natural forested/beach location. An aggravating factor is that the plot offers an interesting ethical dilemma which is so badly handled it loses all effectiveness. The audience (should I say victims?) must chose if one thing neutralizes the other or just highlights it; notwithstanding I'd not recommend it.

If you take REC and mix it up with Blair Witch Project and Alive, you get something like La Cueva.

A group of friends venture into a cave on their holidays and just cannot come out of it. Everything is seen from the POV of a camera that one of them is holding (Like REC or Blair Witch). Things get worse by the minute as they suffer from dehydration, their batteries run out, and their general despair increases.

I am unlikely to end up trapped like these guys, as I wouldn't even walk into a dark elevator, but I do believe there's a certain amount of realism in this movie. A few people would have no hesitation in walking into a cave to impress some girls and could end up in a similar situation.

I thought the movie was entertaining for the most part, and it keeps you wondering if they are going to make it out of the cave alive. It even manages to be gripping at some stages.

So if you are into movies such as Blair Witch Project or REC, but didn't love the zombies or ghost aspect, you should enjoy La Cueva quite a lot.