colin spoelman

On a rainy fall day, five friends descend into a remote Kentucky cave looking for adventure. Jesse, a rugged outdoorsman and Ken, a socially-awkward film student, devise a plan to follow a series of instructions written in Jesse's family Bible rumored to lead to a trunk full of documents and old Confederate money. Ed and Sam, two friends of Jesse's are skeptical, but eager for the adventure. Jesse's girlfriend Julie is also dragged along. Ken intends to put the whole thing on video as a documentary film project.

Once inside the cave, Jesse and Ken lead the group deep into a maze of underground passages. At first their confidence is infectious and the group marvels at beautiful flowstone formations and awe-inspiring stalactites and stalagmites within the cave. As the day wears on, however, Sam and Julie begin to tire of the expedition and worry about getting out safely, given the rising stormwater and the complexity of their path. When it is clear that Jesse has no idea what he is really doing, and the cave is far too large to be explored in one day, the group turns back. But the path is not clear and the dark passages are confusing. Certain landmarks look different, and the water level is rising fast. Panic starts to set in, and in the rush to get out of the cave in a hurry, Jesse reveals that the "treasure" wasn't exactly what he'd led everyone to believe. Furious, Ed leads the group to the only familiar piece of passage, which they soon discover is completely flooded with the risen stream. Exhausted and bickering with one another, they plunge deeper into the cave, hoping to find another connection to the upper passage.

With no food, limited potable water, and most importantly, very few flashlights, the group struggles to cope with increasingly dire circumstances. As hours turn into days, mother and human nature conspire against the safe escape of the group. They lament the hubris that led them into the cave ill-prepared and without telling friends and family their whereabouts. As personalities become strategies for survival, each character must confront his own struggle with mortality in the dark.