I recently returned from my honeymoon in Belize and had the awesome experience of going cave tubing while I was there. Examining all the cool rock formations was a lot of fun, but the coolest part was when our headlamps would shine back into the far reaches and we could see that the cave disappeared into a crisp blackness. I wondered how far back it went.
During the tour, our guide pointed to a stairway going up through an opening in the ceiling of the cave, where light was coming through. He asked, “Did anyone see the movie The Descent?” I was excited to be looking at a filming location that was used in one of my favorite modern horror movies.
Coincidentally, at the same time that we were in Belize, I came across the story about Ted the Caver. If you have never read this story, I highly recommend taking some time and exploring his old Angelfire site that’s still around. Needless to say, this was extremely fun to discover and research, especially having recently been in caves.
The story and accompanying images on that website are said to be the very first ‘creepypasta’ ever produced, that is, a story written in the first-person that is made to appear plausibly true. After some research, I now know that Ted is from Utah and is into disc golf these days. His story reels the reader in with its authenticity and technical aspects, then captures the imagination with some great details and tension.
That got me thinking, is there a sub-genre of ‘Cave Horror’ movies and, if so, how many films would potentially belong to it? Are they any good? Let’s see what we can unearth.
The Descent
Obviously this is the number one cave horror movie in terms of quality, scares, and cast. Still a lot of fun to watch.
The Cave
Yep, a list about cave movies needs a movie called The Cave (2005). Unfortunately, this movie is objectively not very good.
Cave
Released in 2016, this movie is even worse than 2005’s The Cave, which is an impressive achievement.
The Cavern AKA Within
This movie is not very good either, in fact it was featured on Season 4 Episode 24 of Bad Movie Beatdown in 2012. The Cavern was released in 2005, the same year as The Descent. Funny how we got three cave movies in 2005. Behold the power of Blockbuster Video and the straight-to-video market.
Sanctum
While Sanctum does list James Cameron as the executive producer, the film is more of a showcase for 3D visuals rather than a compelling story filled with multi-dimentional characters. Still, it’s better than 2005’s The Cave.
The Cave (2019)
Now we’re getting to the better of the movies that are called The Cave. Unfortunately, this is not a horror movie but it is a thriller. This movie is based on the true story of the Thai youth football (soccer) team that was trapped in a cave in the Chiang Rai province while rescue workers scrambled to save them.
The Descent 2
You saw the first one, so you may as well see what happens next in the story. Would you believe she goes back into a cave again?
Living Dark: The Story of Ted The Caver
Here’s one I was delighted to find and I’m happy to report it isn’t the worst movie on this list. It’s a slight departure from the original story but it does capture a lot of the details that made the descriptions of the cave and Ted’s movements unforgettable.
After making this list, it has come to my attention that there need to be more horror movies about caves and cavers.