646f9e108c The U.S. government has been using deep caves in Central Americabases for a special type of radio transmitter used for communicating with submaries. When the signal from one of these transmitters suddenly disappears, a team of soldiers and cave specialists is sent in to find out what happened. After some exploring deep underground, they stumble upon a tribe of albino cave dwellers who have been isolated from the rest of the world for thousands of years. Rupert 'Wolf' Wolfsen works for the US government, he is liaising with the US military in central America to help find a suitable cave where they wish to instigate a new top secret radio device for submarines?. They have trouble finding such a location until after a large landslide an entrance to just such a cave reveals itself. After setting up their equipment, they retire to base camp only to find that when they return the next morning, their irreplaceable transmitter has been taken and the guards dead. A search and rescue mission is authorised to go into the furthest reaches of the cave. Preposterous premise aside this was rather good fun, What Waits Below can only be describeda cross between Marshall's The Descent and Universals The Mole People, right down to the latter's albino civilisation who live there. Don Sharp just about retains an air of quality to proceedings, there may even be some pseudo political message in the ending. Well this has been hiding under the surface,it took a friend to mention about it for me pay notice. The copy I just watched happened to be there's too. 'What Waits Below' is a minor, but completely distinctive and enjoyable horror/adventure trek in some underground caverns. Neil Marshall's 2005 feature 'The Descent' might shoot to mind, but other than featuring albinos' (knownLemurians') living the caves, the tone is much different. The adventure aspect easily beats out the horror elements that are looming. I found it to lose its way in the last 20 minutes,the story shows up its lack of ideas and the script's thin base. Still after a slow beginning it keeps you watching and manages some effective shocks, interesting atmospherics and sprinkles of moody suspense with Denny Jaeger and Michel Rubini's edgily wounding score perfectly streamlining (if at times overshadowing) the presentation. Eerie locations and pastel set-designs within the cave system make it like you've entered another world and the make-up/costumes for the Lemurians' are quite standard. Director Don Sharp's tight and compact handling doesn't let its budget restraints entirely bog it down and the performances are mostly good. Robert Powell is an undervalued actor and makes light work of his performance by presenting an easy-going charm and class. Timothy Bottoms is efficient and the gorgeously fixating Lisa Blount gives a hardy turn. Modest low-budget horror/adventure item that goes on to promise more than it actually delivers.
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370 weeks ago