The Cave (2005 film)
The Cave is a 2005 American action horror film, directed by Bruce Hunt and distributed by Screen Gems. It was written by Michael Steinberg and Tegan West. Its story follows a group of cave-divers and scientists who become trapped while exploring a cave system in Romania, and encounter a pack of deadly creatures. It stars Cole Hauser, Eddie Cibrian, Morris Chestnut, Marcel Iureș, Lena Headey, Rick Ravanello, Piper Perabo and Daniel Dae Kim. The film was produced by Lakeshore Entertainment and Cinerenta and was released on August 26, 2005. It grossed $6.1 million during its opening weekend and $33.3 million worldwide, against a budget of $30 million. It received negative reviews and has a 12% approval rating based on 111 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Plot During the Cold War, a group of Soviet and British plunderers begin to excavate an abandoned 13th-century abbey in the Carpathian Mountains. As they set up a dynamite charge, the floor splits beneath them and they fall through to the bottom of a vast cave system. They descend further into the cave in the hope of finding a way out, and hear strange rattling sounds in the darkness. In the present, a team led by Dr. Nicolai, with his associate Dr. Kathryn Jennings and cameraman Alex Kim, are excavating the site of the former abbey. They discover mysterious mosaics and a river that stretches for miles inside the cave system. Local biologists believe the cave could contain an undiscovered ecosystem, so he hires a group of professional American divers led by brothers Jack and Tyler McAllister. The team includes rock-climbing professional Charlie, first scout Briggs, sonar expert Strode, and survival expert Top Buchanan. After descending to the base of the cave, Briggs is chosen to scout ahead. While he contacts the team, he sees something in the distance and the video crashes. Thinking the problem is an equipment malfunction, the team continues on and eventually finds Briggs downriver. However, Strode is suddenly attacked and dragged away by a large creature. This causes his water scooter to speed off and crash into the cave wall causing a rock fall, leaving them forced to follow the river and search for a new way out. With no way out and a rescue team not scheduled to retrieve them for 12 days, Jack and Top follow the river together along the line left by Strode. Jack is then seized and scratched by one of the creatures that attacked Strode, but is able to sever its claw. Kathryn studies its cells and notices a parasitic mutation, which Nicolai has discovered in all of the caves lifeforms. She explains that all known cave species originated above ground but have adapted over generations to life underground. Kathryn theorizes this new parasite originated in the cave environment and has never been exposed to the outside world. The team eventually stumble across the equipment and remains of previous explorers, while continuing to descend through a series of rapids. Tyler sees Nicolai hanging on to