Secret of the Cave (2006)

A young American boy, Roy Wallace (Kevin Novotny), knows that his dad (Patrick Bergin) is Irish yet never thought he would be spending his precious summer vacation in a tiny fishing village in Ireland. He feels a long way from home but before long, unexpainable events begin to occur and murmurs of ghosts sweep through the village. Determined o solve the mystery and disprove the supersition of the villagers, Roy takes on the case. When all signs point towards the sea cave, Roy faces his fears and discovers the "Secret of the Cave." Product Description

Believable Human Beings

Whether the film intended a "Christian theme" or not, it shares a sense of humanity and warmth appreciated by many of us. These are people who appear real, not artificial nor unbelievable. No explosions, shootings, crashing cars, profanity, or threats of physical violence. Just people, people with human strengths and weaknesses, who care about each other. Upon first viewing, I had no intention of comparing this film to any of the great masterpieces from film history; however, I was surprised to read that the project was a student effort. Although I felt that the end of the story line could have had more clues leading to it and not been quite so arbitrary, the production was fairly successful. I recommend it not only to families but also to any person who also cares about other people. October 25, 2008

Loved this movie.

I loved the book as a kid, and I thought that the movie was a great version of the book. The accents were a little hard to understand so when I found the subtitles to the movie, that was a great help. January 12, 2008

Secret of the Cave

I thought this was a great family movie! The scenery was breathtaking and the little Irish village where it was filmed was quaint. The movie has a mystery that has you wondering to the end. I thought the actors did an excellent job, and I can see why this movie received the Heartland Crystal Heart Award. It has a good moral and I would like to see more films like this. I have bought some of the DVD's and am going to give them as Christmas gifts. We need some wholesome viewing like this out there for a change! I would recommend this to anyone and give it an A+ rating! December 19, 2007

SINCERELY DREADFUL (BEWARE OF RAVE REVIEWS)

Beautiful cinematography does not make up for inept screenwriting and unimaginative direction. This is a vanity production by a fledgling film department of a private Christian college. More power to all those involved to make movies and especially learn what makes a story a story. And how to transfer that story to moving images in a compelling way. None of that happens in this film. Family films should not be boring to adults or children. And there's nothing wrong with movies that espouse Christian ideas (look at the success of "The Narnia Chronicles").

Regarding the rave reviews. My guess is that some -- maybe all -- are coming from parents or investors in this project. November 27, 2007

An Amazing Movie

This is an amazing film. Amazing, that is, that it got made and even more amazing that it got released. Clearly it was funded by donors who felt they were furthering some sort of "Christian" cause -- not by investors who knew a good film potential when they saw one. The script is terrible. The story was moved to Ireland from the book's Scottish setting--a change that alters much of the sense and sensibilties of the original oh-so-Scottish story. But clearly the amateurs who wrote and produced this film don't get any of that. Beyond that, the directing is some of the worst film-making you'll see in a long time. Pick any of the basics: Timing, Dialog, Composition, Interaction, and especially Reaction. They are so far off as to defy belief that the little Bible college attached to the production even let the film go into release. The original story has wonderful nuance and some (but not a lot of) tension. The screenplay leaves all the good parts out and adds innanity and sacharine elements that simply ruin an otherwise nice story.

One of the worst movies to make it into DVD release in a long time. This director should stick with what he does best -- we assume there is something he does well. It certainly is not film making! November 17, 2007

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