Ever since i was a little kid, i love seeing horror films with different kinds of bugs attacking humans. Back in the days of VHS rental stores, it was very easy to find several titles that looked like fun B horror movies, with bugs included. The one thing i especially enjoyed about films in this genre, is that they did not take themselves seriously, and just focused on making cheesy B movie horror. You knew that the acting would be bad, and you knew that you would not get fantastic dialogue, but that´s a part of the charm around this genre. One of the bug horror films i especially remember watching is the 1993 film known as Ticks. This was one of those films i must have rented at least 8 times, because this film actually tried to do some practical effects with huge ticks attacking. Ticks manage to combine classic bug horror, and throw is some surprises as well for the 90´s generation. Director Tony Randel ( who is probably most known for directing the sequel to Hellraiser, known as Hellbound: Hellraiser II ) combined some classic B movie ingredients with Ticks and managed to update the concept to fit with the early 90´s style of horror films. If you have not seen Ticks for some reason, i suggest you pick it up on DVD or Blu Ray. Another title that i was reminded of is the 2006 horror film Slither, when a small town is invaded by Alien parasites. This film has a lot of fun horror scenes, that reminded me of the 1986 horror classic Night Of The Creeps. I am not sure, but you can sense that Slither might have been inspired by Night Of The Creeps, and that is of course only a positive sign. It is not often i review bug horror movies, so i decided to do that in a segment called Daniels Bug B Horror Movie Delight, to see a bug horror film i have not seen so far. And i found Caved In: Prehistoric Terror on DVD for a pretty good price. Is this a fun B horror movie for all ages, or is this just as bad as Stephen Baldwin´s film The Least Of These ?
In Switzerland in 1948, a group of miners in a salt mine, discover giant prehestoric rhinoceros beetles. The beetles attack the miners, and swiftly kill them. In the present day, a cave tour guide John Palmer ( Christopher Atkins ) is requested by Vincent ( Colm Meaney ) and Sophia ( Monica Barladenau ), to take a group of explorers down the mine. What they don´t know is that there are high-profile thieves looking for minerals down there, but that´s not their biggest problem. The prehestoric rhinoceros are still down there, and they don´t say no to human flesh.
One of the first things i noticed with the film Caved In, is that this film must have been inspired by old school bug horror films. Even if the bug themselves don´t look fantastic with the CGI effects, you can tell that the film team clearly were inspired by films from the past, and this is something that i appreciate. So what does Caved In have to offer in this genre of B horror movies ? If you appreciate bad fun acting, hearing Romanian actors speak bad English, and bugs attacking people, then Caved In should probably be exactly what you are looking for. This is the kind of film you watch straight as popcorn entertainment, and just for some B movie fun. Even if the acting is not very good, we do have one legendary actor in this film. And that is Irish actor Colm Meaney ( who i especially remember from films such as The Commitments and The Last Of The Mohicans ), who plays the role of Vincent. From an acting perspective, Colm Meaney does at least try and give what you would call an acting performance. But we also have another actor that my generation of the 80´s know who he is, and that is actor Christopher Atkins from the 1980 film The Blue Lagoon. He is the lead character John Palmer in this film. I would not say he gives a good acting performance, but at least he knows how to act compared to some of the Romanian actors. The mine that this film takes place in, does not look too bad. You get a sense that they at least tried to make it look like a real mine, and that is of course a good effort. Considering the limited budget that this film have, i can say that i have seen a lot worse films in the B horror bug film catalogue. The bugs attacking is also pretty fun to watch, even if it´s not the best special effects. And for that reason, i actually had a good time with Caved In, because i knew it was going to be a fun bad film for all the right reasons. Better than all the Fifty Shades Of Grey films, and that has to be a sign that director Richard Pepin ( who directed the classic 1996 action sci fi film Dark Breed ) knew what he was doing with Caved In. Worth picking up on DVD for Christmas, especially if you have a family member who loves bugs.
Rating: DDD
You can find Caved In: Prehestoric Terror here on DVD, just in case you are preparing getting Christmas gifts, and my suggestion, get the used ones, for the best price:
https://www.amazon.com/Caved-Prehistoric-Terror-Colm-Meany/dp/B000EHQ7XI
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