Film Reviews

Sanctum 3D

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring:
• Details: US / 109mins (15A).

To strip it back to its obvious influences, Sanctum 3D is 'The Descent meets The Abyss' and there's nothing wrong with that in my book (you can buy my book - I'm A Fan Of Movies That Are Like The Descent Meets The Abyss (Penguin) - in Eason's). Maybe it's because I can't swim and not great in tight spaces but movies that take place in caves or under water have me on board with the characters' plight immediately. Whereas The Descent had a horror twist and The Abyss a supernatural angle, both are jettisoned here for a basic Man vs. The Elements survival action movie.
There's a lot of fun foreshadowing with lines like, "I'm in control," "I'm not going to let this cave beat me," "There's a storm coming," and "What could go wrong?" Well, you can bet your ass that control will be lost, the cave will take some beating, the storm will be like nothing seen before, and that EVERYTHING will go wrong. Tough nut Frank (Roxborough) heads up a team of explorers as they go deep into Papa New Guinea's Esa-Ala caves, which could be hiding the biggest network of undiscovered caves in the world. Taking his team, which includes his son, Josh (Wakefield), whom he's at loggerheads with, deeper into the caves, a flash flood blocks the exit and the team are forced into undiscovered country in search of another one.
Sanctum 3D (the 3D brings a certain amount of claustrophobia with it, but not enough), wary of some unwanted comparisons, resists the temptation to introduce ghosts, monsters or aliens into the mix and is confident that its own tricks has enough pulling power. There is tension to be had but it does get a bit samey after a while - there's only so many stuck-in-a-tight-tunnel scenes one can take before that cautious, and mood-killing, glance at the watch. Samey, yes, but Sanctum 3D is unexpectedly brave when it wants to be: there are three scenes which one wouldn't normally happen across in popcorn fodder like this.
It might be Wakefield's story but it's Roxborough's movie. All muscle and testosterone, his Frank can be a little hard to take with his tough guy making tough decisions for the greater good... the greater good as he sees it, it must be said. Roxborough's Frank is indicative of the character problems here. There is no one to warm to: Sanctum 3D takes a fair chunk of time to get going as it sets up who's who and what they're about, but no one really stands out.
A decent thriller that will keep you on edge before it plateaus, Sanctum 3D only falls down when it's asked to up the ante in its second half. It's odd too that when they do venture into those undiscovered caves, they aren't given a sense of wonder.

Review by Gavin Burke