Movie - The Sanctum

Cast

Richard Roxburgh as Frank
Ioan Gruffudd as Carl
Rhys Wakefield as Josh
Alice Parkinson as Victoria
Daniel Wyllie as George
Christopher Baker as J.D.
Nicole Downs as Liz
Allison Cratchley as Judes
Cramer Cain as Luko
Andrew Hansen as Dex
John Garvin as Jim Sergeant

Review

The Sanctum
A movie that kept me at the edge of my chair.
A movie that made me held my breathe without me realizing it.
A movie that made me stiff and hugged myself till the end.

This movie summarizes all about the bad side of a man (which actually has a reason behind it).


One, the selfishness when trying to survive.
When participating in such extreme expeditions like cave-exploring, we have to make sure that we’re equipped with the knowledge and important equipments. If not, we’re exposing ourselves to any possible dangers voluntarily.

As the head of the expedition, one has to become selfish at times to make sure that the group is safe from any risks, including drowning someone. In The Sanctum, someone who is badly hurt is being drowned to death. The reason is not to become mean or heartless, but rather than leaving him/her to suffer it is better to end the pain right away by putting an end to his/her life. Plus, even if the group carries the wounded person, it will only slow down the whole journey and in this such expedition, time is crucial and even a second of lateness may lead the group into something nasty.

Of course, people outside the cave might thing that drowning that person is cruel.

But in risky situations, quick decisions and smart calls from a leader is essential. Rather than risking the whole group’s safety, it is better to sacrifice only one life.


Two, hate for one who does not portray what we want to see.
Also called, double-standardizing or simply, discriminating.
What kinds of people are usually being treated this way? Easy. Black people, disabled people, poor people or just plain weirdo who wear things other don’t, listen to music others hate and just talk so queerly.

In simple words, people who act, talk, dress, or even walk or do things not similar to the majority of the society.

To relate this point to the movie, Joshua has a father (Frank) who has a career different from other fathers. He does not show his love like other fathers do, but only focuses on his job. Yet he often takes Josh to follow him and teaches him a few things about caves, climbing and diving. He always gets mad at Josh, shout at him, treat him coldly and force him do things that he does not like. As a result, Josh hates his father.

But actually, his father does that just to pay all the bills and support their family. It is true that he can do other jobs that can make him work only 9 to 5, so that he can go back home in the evening and spend time with family just like the other fathers. Yet, he feels that the big caves like his own church. A place where he feels that he knows everything, expects the worst scenarios that may happen and still know how to fix it. It is just something he thinks he is best doing. Now we don’t see any harm in that as long as he supports his family and still love his family, do we? How do we know that he loves his family? Well, he recites poems that his wife loved, and he always worries about Josh during the expedition.

And three, the dark consequences from a protective instinct.
A human being, when being in the state of really angry that someone or something he loves is disturbed or harmed; will surely be overcame by emotions and judgment will be blurred.

If we watch National Geography, the animals have their own instinct for survival. For parents, they will surely protect their babies from enemy animals and would kill if any enemy comes close into their area.

As for this movie, this point can be seen when Josh “killed” Carl after Carl tried to kill his father. Seeing his beloved father being hurt like that, Josh got mad and threw himself at Carl. With the anger and rage, he fought with Carl with all his might, punched him and finally (kind of) killed Carl. He became to mad that he could not control himself, in order to protect his father. In the end, Carl got up and clearly he wasn’t dead but only playing dead to trick Josh. Despite of that, we can see that protective instinct can seriously bring out the worst in a person.