SparkMore
n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
Zandra
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Raymond Sierra
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
Platypuschow
This British film set in the US is a fine example of what UK cinema used to be before they adopted gangsters & football hooligans as their only subject matter.Starring Robert "The Detectives" Powell it revolves around a specialist set into assist the military in setting up a transmitter deep within an unexplored cave complex.Once inside they discover a lost civilisation who aren't all too happy to see intruders.Robert Powell is excellent and demonstrates again why he has always been a very underutilised actor. The presentation is brilliant as is the score.Allegedly the movie was filmed a couple of miles down in a real cave complex, if so that is highly impressive though a fair few scenes look like they were more likely located in a studio.Not sure why this deserved an R rated but regardless is a damn fine effort and an enjoyable piece of British cinema.The Good: Looks great Robert Powell Decent story The Bad: Falls apart a bit near the end Things I Learnt From This Movie: The black guy can't die first if they don't cast a single black guy Clothes can be crafted from hair
Stoney
I buy a lot of cheap movies, none of them are usually any good but this one surprised me. It is obvious that it had a low budget and the overall film making isn't very good but the ideas behind the story captured my interest. The thoughts of undiscovered caves deep within the earth containing life really excites me. If only this movie could be remade and altered a little on a much larger scale, it could be one of my favourites. This film was let down however by a low budget. The set wasn't bad but the costumes were terrible. The designs of the cavemen looked quite good, the dark eyes, pale skin and increased hearing are what you might imagine from a species who have evolved in a dark cave but I did not like those hairstyles (that's the 80s for you). The acting was poor and some of the characters were pointless. The opening scenes introduced two of the main characters well but other then that it should have been explained what had been going on exactly.Every now and then I'm inspired by a story and want to write something myself along the same lines, this had one of those inspiring stories. I highly recommend watching this if you don't mind B movies.
loza-1
I found the basic story incredible. However, when it comes to horror, stories generally are incredible; and I can think of many horror plots that are worse than this.The plot to begin with is a bit muddled. It is not clear why these soldiers are in the jungle, and who the enemy at the beginning is, and it might have been a better idea to have the two factions slugging it out in the caves as well as having to deal with the rockman.Nevertheless, the cast overcome the script, and Robert Powell shows that if you can play Jesus Christ you can play anything.I am glad that the rockmen never got to talk. It would have been too much if they started speaking American English like the extra-terrestrials do on Star Trek.All in all, this film is watchable.
Al_Truist80
Contains some plot spoilers.I desperately tried to like this having first seen it aged eight, but what seemed exciting / scary back then, I find pretty lame now. It's in the style of Raiders of the Lost Ark or Romancing the Stone, but not half as good. Set in Central America (not in South America, where it claims Belize is ) the story follows the US Army setting up a low-frequency transmitter as a navigational aid to subs. As a precaution this 'beacon' is to be hidden deep underground and to help locate a suitable place is elite mercenary and caveman Rupert Wolfson. When men operating the transmitter mysteriously disappear, `Wolf' and some anthropologists help in the search which takes them deep into the mountain. Here they encounter unforeseen perils, including a race of temperamental albinos. Actually filmed in Alabama and Tennessee (Cathedral & Cumberland Caverns respectively) this suffers from dreadful acting and screenplay, plus lack of imagination as the 'mystery' unfolds (not to mention numerous continuity & editing errors) An atmosphere of intrigue and ambiguous wonder is created to (almost) good effect at the beginning, with the opening monologue discussing unexplored wonders of the Earth accompanied by eerie music. This ambience is lost after some badly directed action and almost ruins the following helicopter distorted lens sequence, meandering us through the unwelcoming landscape like a drunkard. `2001'-style wonder is paired with suspense as we enter the caverns, combining some good cave locations with matte artwork and photography. But the camera seems more interested in what our characters are doing. Before long the low budget is apparent and aside from some interesting monsters, we're treated to silly sets and costumes. Characterisation is based on racial stereotypes and the general level of stupidity of that person. Take our main character: he is suave Englishman Wolfson, acting as a consultant for the army; an expertfighter and all around good-guy. No personality flaws, only bad dresssense. Two ugly English (natch) play scientists who are specifically there to die. The female lead (obligatory love interest) is talkie (but not outspoken) Leslie. Working with the Anthropologists she helps extract long-dead remains but will scream when faced with a fresh one. Not too bright. The main American contingent play embarrassingly inept and unprofessional soldiers obsessed with working the transmitter as if their lives depended on it. Wolf's friend George's only importance to the plot is to tell Wolf about the mission. He is a lieutenant and an idiot. There are also several local Latin-Americans assisting the US, one is accident-prone Santos who acts as a plot device to attract the monsters. Acting is at best poor and veteran Robert Powell doesn't even try to get to grips with his (admittedly awful) script. Apparently the main script was being rewritten every day during the shoot and it shows! There are some good `Predator'-style effects as the humans are viewed as a pink glow through the Lemurians' eyes, but their rock-shattering scream was unconvincing. I did like the idea that the Lemurians are sensitive to ultra-sonic waves though. The plot badly loses its way. The buildup is painfully slow and when the 'mystery' is finally resolved, it's a real anti-climax (not giving anything away, let's say not exactly a Close Encounters moment) The idea of discovering creatures deep inside a tropical mountain landscape appealed to me, but `Secrets of the Phantom Caverns' is a letdown. Underground albinos!
