WITHIN – The Cave (2005)

Directed by: Olatunde Osunsanmi | 80 minutes | drama, horror, thriller | Actors: Sybil Temtchine, Mustafa Shakir, Ogy Durham, Andrew Caple-Shaw, Danny Jacobs, Andres Hudson, Johnnie Colter, Neno Pervan, Kamen Gabriel, Cassandra Duarden, True Tamplin

‘WIthIN’ is a survival horror by director Olatunde Osunsanmi (‘The Fourth Kind’) and is set in Kazakhstan. Here a group of eight speleologists gather to explore an undiscovered cave. This just seems easier said than done. There is in fact ‘something’ in the cave: a kind of monster that kills the expedition members one by one and also closes the exits. Can anyone in the group make it out of this hellish cavern alive? The plot is reminiscent of the entertaining ‘The Descent’ (also from 2005), in which a group of women descend a cave. Can ‘WIthIN’ reach the same level and offer as much entertainment as this big sister? Not really.

No sooner has the movie started than you are already tempted to check your DVD player’s menu to see if the settings might be wrong. The color adjustment is just not right, the colors are way too bright and make for a nasty viewing experience. We also see a campfire in the first few minutes where the fire is so fake that you actually want to stop the film immediately to aim it into the fireplace and see if fire still exists. As the expedition members prepare to enter the cave, there is a glimmer of hope again. Could they have ridiculed the opening scenes on purpose so that the descent into the cave seems even more exciting? Unfortunately, this heap is immediately dug into the ground, because once inside the cave, the images are indistinct and the faces are generally indistinguishable. The director is probably trying to create some sort of hysterical viewing experience; the film revolves around people who want to get out of a cave and go crazy because of it. But because the images are so unclear, it is impossible to get any connection with the characters. In the Spanish horror film ‘[REC]’ they succeeded very well with this approach. It’s clear that the plot doesn’t embrace much, but why doesn’t the director just stick to the cave and horror? Apparently it was necessary to add another dramatic touch.

A drama that has happened in the past causes a lack of trust between the expedition members. This event is referenced through a number of flashbacks. The only problem is that after a single flashback you already know how the fork is in the stem. The other flashbacks add nothing to this. Not to mention the end of the film, which unnecessarily shows the creation of the monster, removing the last bit of mystery from the film. ‘WIthIN’ fails on every level and could have been better kept in a deep cave.