director on the Matrix trilogy and Dark City, Bruce Hunt is no stranger to inspired and stylish productions. But whereas those films managed to inject new life into tired territory, The Cave, his first effort as director, fails to generate anything resembling innovation." Judy Chia Hui Hsu wrote in The Seattle Times, "the serenity of the largely aquatic underground world framed by majestic stalagmites and serpentine corridors succeeds in capturing the moviegoer’s attention," but added, "The insipid dialog lacks even a hint of comic relief, so the audience is grateful when the action quickly kicks into gear," and "one of the film’s biggest letdowns is that the vicious beast, seen in the full light of the final scenes, is not such a surprise after all. The creature is simply an amalgamation of monsters we’ve seen before". Box office In the US, the film opened ranked #5 grossing $6,147,294 at 2,195 sites, averaging $2,800. It went on to have a final US gross of $15,007,991. In Australia, it opened at 89 sites, averaging A$3,204 grossing A$285,121. It had a second-weekend decrease by 74%, and had a finishing gross of A$570,131. Worldwide, the film has grossed $33,296,457. Soundtrack Two soundtrack CDs were released on August 26, 2005 by Lakeshore Records, one with the score by the film's composers Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek and the other one which features tracks by heavy metal bands including Atreyu, Lacuna Coil, Diecast, Burning Brides, Ill Niño, Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, It Dies Today, Trivium and more. Also, the single Nemo by Nightwish is featured during the end credits of the film. See also The Descent, a 2005 British film with the same premise The Cavern, a third similar film released in 2005 References External links 2005 films American science fiction action films 2005 horror films 2000s science fiction horror films Lakeshore Entertainment films 2000s monster movies Films set in Romania Films shot in Bucharest Films shot in Mexico Films shot in Romania Screen Gems films Adventure horror films American body horror films American action horror films American science fiction horror films American survival films Films produced by Tom Rosenberg Films produced by Gary Lucchesi Films scored by Reinhold Heil Films scored by Johnny Klimek American monster movies 2000s action horror films 2005 directorial debut films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films