Movie Review: “Sanctum” (3D)

Seen on: February 8, 2011

The players: Director: Alister Grierson, Writers: Andrew Wight, John Garvin, Cast: Richard Roxburgh, Rhys Wakefield, Ioan Gruffudd

Facts of interest: James Cameron is listed as executive producer.

The plot: A crew of ambitious explorers get trapped in one of the world's most dangerous caves. Now they must find a way out before it's too late...

Our thoughts: Who’s ready for another cave movie? Featuring James Cameron as an executive producer, Alister Grierson’s 3D adventure “Sanctum” follows a group of fearless explorers as they try to uncover the secrets of one of the world’s most mysterious caves. But when a nasty weather storm crashes the party and traps our adventurers hundreds of feet below the ground, panic quickly ensues as they struggle to find a way back to the surface.

If you’re expecting the film’s protagonists to clash with a bunch of ruthless creatures hungry for human flesh, “Sanctum” is most definitely not for you. No, in this cave flick, only Mother Nature is the evil force, and the only threatening characters these explorers have to face is themselves. Stuck in a tight space underground can be pretty nerve-racking, and if the story succeeds at one thing, it’s depicting the growing desperation between the trapped crew members.

The amount of suspense in this movie is limited though, and the main reason here is the lack of an engaging plot. People start dropping like flies as they struggle to find a way out of their mess, and it’s never really hard to figure out who kicks the bucket next. So at least in terms of storytelling, you won’t dig up any surprises here. On top of that, the dialogue is utterly terrible throughout and most of the performances fall flat. The only thing that sporadically works is the 3D, but that’s about it.

“Sanctum” was produced on a budget of around $30 million, and it doesn’t take long to figure out where a big chunk of that money went. The locations/set design is truly stunning, and the way the film was shot does unleash a few claustrophobic scenes boasting a momentary buildup of big-screen tension (some underwater shots are pretty terrifying). Too bad the fun doesn’t last long enough.

The lead cast includes Richard Roxburgh as the expert cave leader, Ioan Gruffudd as an egoistic billionaire, and Rhys Wakefield as a rebel teenager, but as I already mentioned, none of them puts on a mesmerizing show. That said, the lack of thrilling performances clearly has something to do with the weak material these guys were given. As far as I’m concerned, I totally failed to care about any of these characters.

Freaky quote: "Take one step closer, and I will kill you." - Rhys Wakefield

The final word: The list of negatives seems long, but truth be told, “Sanctum” is by no means a disaster. It’s a forgettable experience for sure, but it manages to keep things moving at a swift pace, and that’s worth something. Then again, the movie would certainly have been a lot more interesting with a bunch of crazy monsters running around. For a truly terrifying cave flick, stick with “The Descent” instead.

On the Web: Sanctummovie.com

Article by Franck Tabouring