At last -- a horror film that is terrifying, not just disgusting as are most of them these days! This British gem plays on real fears that we already have in place and then adds some new ones. The realistic parts are so plausible that we can fully accept the fantasy elements that surface at midpoint and stay with us until the end.

The plot is simple. Six young women, all of them tough and good looking, set out on a weekend trip to explore an Appalachian Mountain cave. Get out of your mind those beautiful photos of tourist caves, with their skillfully lighted stalactites; this one is dirty and dark, with narrow crawl spaces connected to vast caverns. The only light is from the women’s miner caps, a few flashlights, and a limited quantity of flares. From the moment they descend into the earth, a primal claustrophobic fear is put into play. I remember being in a tourist cave near my home in the Blue Ridge Mountains. When we were in a cavern where we could stand, the guide said they were going to turn the lights out so we could see what it felt like. When the lights were extinguished, I knew what pitch black was, and my heart leapt into my throat while visions of being buried alive danced through my overactive brain. That is what this movie feels like 20 minutes in, as the half-dozen explorers leave sunlight behind.

From the very first explorations, I was alternately wringing my hands and holding on to the theater-seat armrests with a death grip. And unlike somewhat similar genre movies, this one seemed realistic. The dialogue, actions, and reactions seemed within realistic parameters. My breathing became faster. Though the theater was air conditioned, there was perspiration on my forehead. I was scared.

The women come upon a group of bats, and one of them seems to hear odd little noises. These turn out to be a large group of underground-dwelling Gollums who have unseeing eyes, pasty bad skin, and razor-sharp teeth. The action intensifies as the women fight for their lives in a setting that we all know really exists but is alien to most of us. At this point, the film also becomes about empowerment, because these women are no pushovers. Knowing they are outnumbered, most of them pick up the nearest thing that can be used as a weapon and kick, slash, and batter many of their underground foes.

There is a lot of gore at this point, including a subterranean lake filled not with water but blood, yet it never seems gratuitous as it does in so many genre movies. And caught in quick glances as it is, it is unlikely to turn the stomach of weaker audience members. It does contribute to the scare factor. The audience is shown plenty, but not everything. Much is left up to one’s imagination. This is true of all the great horror films. They let us conjure our own version of the demons on screen, giving us just enough material to work with.

This remarkable tour de force horror classic is very low budget, which just goes to show you don’t need big money to get big results. The camera is largely hand held, the cutting is quick. You will experience heightened excitement and unease, and will not notice the low-budget flaws. The lighting is dim, as it would be in such a setting. The acting is good, though none of the women is a household name. The music score supports the action without drowning it out.

Make no mistake; this is not a literary film, or one with deep intellectual thoughts. It was made to scare, and in that, it has succeeded 100 percent. I still cannot make myself go under the house to the crawl space today in order to replace the air-conditioner filter. Maybe tomorrow. But it had better be a sunny day.

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