Suffers from a ceaselessly roving camera and overuse of shaky handhelds, as well as even less successful editing tropes, and some very fake-looking blood.

| Mar 1, 2007

Arbitrarily arranged and awfully acted... proof positive that well-meaning creative wishes and savvy, low-fi merging of production means and narrative concept doesn't automatically produce heady results.

| Original Score: D- | Sep 17, 2006

A harrowing but ultimately empty indie political thriller about Muslim terrorists.

| Original Score: C+ | Aug 23, 2006

Cavite...will probably be cited in years to come as a classic example of the post-9/11 action thriller

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 20, 2006

...there's...a certain unseemliness to the endeavor that is difficult to dismiss.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Aug 5, 2006

Its herky-jerky camcorder style, jump-cut editing and sustained takes soon wear out their welcome.

| Jul 27, 2006

... cunning meditation on the birthing grounds of religious extremism ...

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 22, 2006

The budget for this film is one of those miniscule amounts when compared to a studio film, which just goes to show it's not how much you spend to make a movie, but what you put into it.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 7, 2006

Cavite will go down in history as a classic of no-budget filmmaking, making such ingenious use of bare resources that it's a wonder the movie is an effective, even thoughtful thriller.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 30, 2006

A thrilling and scary ride through the side streets of a third world that is rarely seen in the movies, and carries a revolutionary message that is frightening in its political implications.

| Original Score: B | Jun 29, 2006

Despite the shaky camera work, it's good to be reminded what talent and dedication can do in 10 days with less than $7,000.

| Jun 24, 2006

Gamazon is a capable actor for this hard tour. He and Dela Llana filmed with the kind of brave hustle and bustle that plows vividly through glib touches, repetition, razzle effects and shocks that whomp us hard.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 16, 2006

This is by no means a polished film. But it has an energy lacking in thrillers that cost hundreds times more to make.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 16, 2006

The film maintains an impressive narrative momentum throughout, but its documentary details make the biggest impression.

| Jun 13, 2006

a fresh bid for indie-thriller cred....[but] watching Gamazon and Dela Llana charge through their limitations is a bit like watching a sprinter run in clogs.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 6, 2006

Though the film seldom deviates from its thriller format, Gamazon and Dela Llana astutely weave in matters of political, cultural and religious importance, elevating Cavite well above mere genre.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 3, 2006

The film is a tender, unflinching look at the brutal conditions of life in the Philippines, its sympathy for its accidental subjects intertwined with a flexible, on-the-fly mode of filmmaking.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 3, 2006

The directing duo brilliantly stretch the limits of their very low budget to moving aesthetic and dramatic effect.

| Jun 1, 2006

One of those blistering no-budget thrillers, like Open Water or Detour, in which the film's economy of means is the trigger for its ingenuity.

| Original Score: B+ | May 31, 2006

A microbudget exercise in sensory overload that leaves you sick on all sorts of levels.

Full Review | May 30, 2006