The Descent (2005), The Descent 2 (2009), The Cave (2005) and Sanctum (2011)

Group goes into underground caves. Something blocks their way back up. They have to find another way out. In first three movies they find something living down there. I expected Sanctum to be horror movie too but it wasn't. It just shared the premise with first three movies. If I needed fourth horror movie I could have added As Above, So Below which I thought I had reviewed but couldn't find the review.

I am not a horror guy but I had time and I wanted to check what is available in this trapped underground horror genre. Sanctum is disaster movie. I liked it most of these movie basically because not being a horror movie it had more time to study interesting topics. Others had to have the horror elements which took some time from character studies. Otherwise Sanctum suited this group.

Best horror movie was The Descent 2. It and The Descent didn't go overboard like The Cave. The Descent movies stayed more realistic in story and sets. The Cave was just grand sets and big action. Big sets took away the claustrophobic feel of being trapped underground. In other movies you felt like protagonists might end up in dead end and not make it.

I liked The Cave the least. It has many issues. It is too big and tries too much for its own good. The Descent movies are smaller in every way. You have to watch The Descent to get everything out of The Descent 2. Movies were made four years apart but they feel like first and second part of the same movie. They happen within days of each others. Second movie closes some open ends of first movie in a good way. I expected them to be closed in first movie but we had to wait for second movies. In this rare case second movie made first movie better.

There is very little to tell about stories without going into spoilers. Every movie tells about group of people trying to find new way out of the caves. Sanctum and The Descent 2 are actually good movies. With Sanctum you have to endure some time before tone changes. Horror movies follow more familiar formula and you know what you are getting into. Sanctum don't show where it is going from the start. It is disaster movie but it doesn't show how dark it gets.

I watched all these movies back to back in order they are in title. I had seen The Cave before. Others I saw first time. I didn't like The Cave that much first time either. Maybe it was more interesting when I didn't know what will happen. Overall this was interesting marathon. None of the movies were really bad. If you want to have all horror movies you should change Sanctum to As Above, So Below. It is more supernatural than these four so maybe Sanctum is better choice. Or you can watch all five movies.