When I sat down to watch the James Cameron-produced Sanctum, a film based on real events, I wasn’t expecting much. Unfortunately, my expectations were met. The film — a survival story about a cave diving expedition gone tragically wrong — is definitely in the style of a James Cameron film, despite not having been written or directed by the famed filmmaker. Although it's a rather small film, especially in comparison to the likes of Titanic and Avatar, Sanctum contains all the familiar tropes of a Cameron action/disaster flick — from the larger than life sets and fancy technical work to the cheesy dialogue and exaggerated plot that we’ve seen before.

Scantum sacrifices good storytelling for melodrama and special effects. I found myself thinking about the similar 2005 horror film The Descent, which was decidedly mediocre, and thinking, “Wow, I’d legitimately rather watch that again than even finish watching this.”

Now in stores, the Sanctum DVD does offer some behind-the-scenes extras that will intrigue those who are particularly interested in the technical aspect of film production. The technical mumbo jumbo is, after all, how Cameron and his crew save their films from being contrived duds (though, in this case, that might be generous to say). But if you’re not so interested in green screens and motion capture, these extras just might put you to sleep.

This article appears in Jun 9-15, 2011.