A Caverna

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.

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 group of five friends are on vacation and they explore a cave. However, they become lost inside, and they must do whatever it takes to survive. This movie shows the grittiness and realism of what can happen if you go into an unexplored and unused cave system. I guess this is like a realistic version of The Decent, but instead of showing trained spelunkers and cave-dwelling monsters, it shows how sadistic people can be when their need to survive outweighs all else. This is filmed mostly through a camcorder.

This movie is entirely in Spanish. I do not speak Spanish very well - I picked up a word here and there - but it was easy enough to follow what was going on. I'm hoping they'll release a dubbed version or at least a version with subtitles. Still, you can catch what's happening without that, though I'm not quite certain how the people became lost; perhaps that was mentioned in the dialogue. There are a few jumps in this, which is usually rare for these types of movies, so that was a welcome surprise.

I gave this a 7-star rating because the acting was very good, especially Marta Castellote. The sets were also cool. The filming, as I said earlier, was done via camcorder, so take that how you want. There is a lot of nudity in the beginning; they have full-frontal of a woman and a man. The storyline wasn't very original, but the movie was executed in a very realistic way. There are NO special effects of any kind. Really, the film didn't need them. If you're looking for a creature feature with special effects and such, watch The Decent. If you're looking for realism, watch this. I recommend it.

A simple tale of a group of youths getting lost in a dark dingy cave has a lot more to offer than you expected.

First of all, there are no ghosts. But what has been shown to be as monsters are humans themselves. It is debatable. How do you survive with no food and water nearby? Do you just keep searching searching searching until you pass out or is there an even more devilish way out? This film showcases exactly that.

I am from India and first things first, I find it absolutely hilarious or actually weird to see men and women happily show there naked but*h*les on the camera (one of them actually, on a serious note, goes on to show his naked but*h*le in the camera). Seems, Spanish censor board allows such things. In India, censor board members would have simply passed out not by seeing the main part of the film, but by seeing those naked as*es and bu*th*les .

Next thing is the main part, the cave. It's shot really well. I truly felt tensed and scared as the lost group tried figuring their way out and things get absolutely terrifying towards the climax but its ending is kinda cold and not well made.

Great entertainment for a night.

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.