Cavite
Truly Indie | Release Date: May 26, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
3
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
89
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Cavite isn't a horror film, per se – its nightmarish sense of unreality is thoroughly grounded in the geopolitical here and now – but the emotions it conjures from the audience can be traced straight back to Shockers 101. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
It's all something of a stunt - "Speed" on a shoestring - but very well done. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
A breakneck inner-city odyssey of jump-cut shaky-cam suspense. Read full review
80
Film ThreatRachel Morgan
A thoughtful and skillfully developed story and a true Independent film. Read full review
80
Village VoiceDennis Lim
Cavite is such a shrewd melding of form and content that any seeming contradictions and shortcomings end up working to the film's advantage. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
It's easy to envision the big-budget remake, but hard to imagine a mainstream American production capturing the original's sour, sweaty immediacy. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
This is by no means a polished film. But it has an energy lacking in thrillers that cost hundreds times more to make. It should be viewed as a calling card from gifted and resourceful filmmakers whom I hope some Hollywood producer will have the sense to sign up immediately. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
A thrilling and scary ride. Read full review
70
VarietyRobert Koehler
For a guerrilla-style, no-budget Yank indie to even tackle issues of jihad terror and naive Western thinking is noteworthy in itself, but Gamazon and Dela Llana inflame the issues with a gutsy, athletic filmmaking package that shows what can be done with a minimum of tools. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyStaff (Not credited)
As you stagger out of the theater after 78 breathless minutes of Gamazon and Dela Llana's electrifying location shooting and disquieting insights into Christian-Islamic tensions, you may well feel that your eyes have been opened too. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
A textbook example of seat-of-the-pants guerrilla filmmaking. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
A dark, riveting thriller. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle Smith
There is more style here than story, but the style - slashing cuts delivered in queasy orange sunstroke tones, accompanied by the urgent bleat of the cellphone - is considerable. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
The hand-held camera work gives the film an effective documentary pulse, but it adds up to only half a movie. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
It's not a particularly complex (or pleasant) film, but along the way you get a glimpse of the kinds of neighborhoods that give birth to anti-Western fanatics. Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Though the movie, made for $7,000, can claim the romantic mantle of "guerrilla filmmaking," its herky-jerky camcorder style, jump-cut editing and sustained takes soon wear out their welcome. And dramatically, it's not always convincing. Read full review
25
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
The only rational explanation for how an abysmal no-budget film like Cavite could get released theatrically is that its makers, co-writer/directors Ian Gamazon and Neill Dela Llana, have come up with a from-the-headlines hook too big to deny. Read full review
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