Sanctum (Blu-ray) (2011)

"...this well-crafted adventure kicks into high gear and never lets up.  Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader
"An underwater thrill ride. Suspenseful!  Jami Philbrick, Movieweb
"Mind-blowing and jaw-dropping.  Sandie Newton, CBS-TV

Editor's Note An intrepid team of explorers gets trapped in a complex underground cave system when a tropical storm makes it impossible to escape the same way they entered in this claustrophobic adventure drama from director Alister Grierson and executive producer James Cameron. Inspired by actual events, SANCTUM tells the tale of Frank McGuire (Richard Roxburgh), a master diver intent on being the first to explore the Esa-ala cave system in the South Pacific. Shortly after Frank descends into the caves with a team that includes his teenage son, Josh (Rhys Wakefield), and expedition bankroller Carl Hurley (Ioan Gruffudd), a massive storm collapses the entrance to the system, forcing the adventurers to plunge deeper into the darkness in search of an alternate exit. With supplies quickly dwindling and water levels rapidly rising, Frank and his team surmise that their best hope for survival is to follow an underground river thought to empty into the ocean. But given that few explorers have ever even dared set foot in the Esa-ala system, no one quite knows for sure whether they're racing toward freedom, or another dead end.

	Dan Wyllie
	Richard Roxburgh
	Ioan Gruffudd
	Alice Parkinson
	Rhys Wakefield
	Allison Cratchley - Co-Star
	John Garvin - Co-Star
	Andrew Hansen - Co-Star
	Sean Dennehy - Co-Star
	Nea Diap - Co-Star
	Nicole Downes - Co-Star
	Christopher Baker - Co-Star
	Cramer Cain - Co-Star
	Chris Anderson - Stunt Coordinator
	Brian Pearce - Special Effects Supervisor
	David Hirschfelder - Composer
	Paul Pirola - Sound
	Paul Pirola - Sound Re-Recording
	Simon Christidis - Photography
	Marc VanBuuren - Post-Production Supervisor
	Andrew Wight - Screenwriter
	Wade Savage - Assistant Director
	Jules O'Loughlin - Director of Photography
	Gail Kane - Hairstylist
	Gail Kane - Makeup
	Rob Mackenzie - Sound Re-Recording
	Tom Wild - Production Manager/UPM
	John Garvin - Screenwriter
	Rosslyn Abernathy - Production Manager/UPM
	Suzy Whitefield - Set Decorator
	Bliss MacGillicuddy - Hairstylist
	Bliss MacGillicuddy - Makeup
	Wizzy Molineaux - Hairstylist
	Wizzy Molineaux - Makeup
	Iloura - Visual Effects Designer
	Alister Grierson - Director

Los Angeles Times
"The premise is strong with SANCTUM....Director Alister Grierson and cinematographer Jules O'Loughlin combine location shooting, digital effects and a considerable amount of soundstage and water-tank footage." 02/04/2011

A.V. Club
"[I]t's easy to get caught up in the action....It's full of stomach-clenching settings, from vertiginous drop-offs to claustrophobic squeezes." 02/03/2011

Box Office
3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]here's plenty of atmosphere and awe....Frightening enough to steer you away from spelunking in an underwater cave in the forests of Papua New Guinea." 02/02/2011

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[The] scenes of gushing torrents, plunging bodies and subaqueous rockslides [are] given a a visceral jolt....It's ethereal imagery like this that sustains fascination." 04/01/2011

ReelViews 8 of 10
Sanctum is loosely based on an experience of co-screenwriter Andrew Wight, although the details have been amplified to fit the movie experience. It's about the survival struggle of five characters who become trapped by a flood deep beneath the earth in New Guinea's Esa-ala caves while exploring deep underwater pockets and trenches...The strength of the film lies in its ability to wring tension from even seemingly mundane circumstances. After all, this is essentially a movie about characters climbing through dark spaces and diving deep under water. Nevertheless, the sense of danger and urgency rarely lets up, even when the end is (apparently) in sight... - James Berardinelli