Sanctum (2011)
Brief review: Alister Grierson's debut feature "Sanctum" may not shine with great originality or brilliant script, but it's a well-shot and consistently gripping adventure flick, that offers enough thrills and suspense to make for a satisfying experience. Basically, "Sanctum" is a fight for survival, and although it often takes itself way too seriously and lacks humor completely, it delivers almost everything it promises in terms of entertainment. Sadly though, the mostly unknown cast fails to impress. All the actors involved play a rather dull and badly-written characters, and as a result, they all give pretty lifeless and unengaging performances, and deliver their lines quite poorly and stiffly. However, "Sanctum" truly succeeds visually. The cave setting is as spectacular as it's utterly creepy, and it creates a very tense and claustrophobic atmosphere that will leave you gasping for air. The underwater scenes are nothing short of breathtaking, the Australian wilderness scenery is beautifully-captured by the first-time director Alister Grierson, and his cinematographer, Jules O'Loughlin, and the panoramic shots are just as fantastic. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see the 3D version, but even in an old-fashioned 2D, the movie looked absolutely striking.
Overall summary: Although "Sanctum" often 'acts' like it doesn't really care about its characters, and it's not without its flaws, it does an excellent job of establishing tension and it certainly delivers plenty of entertainment, and some stunningly-atmospheric visuals.
Overall summary: Although "Sanctum" often 'acts' like it doesn't really care about its characters, and it's not without its flaws, it does an excellent job of establishing tension and it certainly delivers plenty of entertainment, and some stunningly-atmospheric visuals.
10 comments:
I'm a huge fan of The Descent, in spite of my slight claustrophobia, and was looking for a another cave flick to enjoy. I know there's no cannibalistic monsters in here, but I find caves both fascinating and terrifying. I will check this out on DVD as soon as I can.
Will watch on NetFlix for the visuals then.
Mel, The Descent is one of my all time favorite horror flicks. I've seen it more than 5 times and it still gives me the creeps. Sanctum is not nearly as good and scary, but it's just as claustrophobic. The underwater cave it more terrifying than it's fascinating :) Give it a shot!
Alex, it's not half as bad as everyone claims it is. It deserves to be seen for the visuals for sure.
I missed it, but heard good things from friends. Of course, as they don't usually care about all the aspects of a film, I said nothing about lifeless characters, but shared that the movie is a real visual spectacle. I might catch it on dvd (renting).
Lesya, the critics hated it, but the truth is, it's not that bad. It's quite entertaining and definitely a visual spectacle. Give it a shot.. you might enjoy it :)
Sounds good enough for me!! I wouldn't mind seeing this one despite it's flaws. I typically enjoy these adventure type films. : )
Nicole, I do too. Honestly said, I was thoroughly entertained. Yes, it was a bit silly on moments and the script sucked big time, but overall I enjoyed it for what it was.
completely agree with this reviews agaisnt many others I have seen. Yes certainly not without flaws but well worth a watch, I enjoyed it a lot. Great review
Ah, so glad you agree with me on this one, Demps. I thought critics were too hard on it. It certainly deserves more credit than it's been given. I enjoyed it quite a lot, too. Thanks, mate! :)
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