James Cameron has said that “variety” and “the unexpected” are behind the focus of his new film Sanctum.
Speaking to Reuters, the producer explained that he was inspired by nature’s unpredictability and used that fascination to construct the story, which centres on a diving team that becomes trapped in underwater caves.
“When you deal with the ocean or a cave, it’s going to do what it’s going to do, and it does not care if you’re there. You can get swatted like a fly,” he explained.
“On the other hand, nature offers us incredible gifts, incredible beauty and incredible insights. It’s a give and take.”
Cameron went on to insist that Sanctum offers something different not only from his own previous projects but also from other movies currently in theatres.
“There’s a list of things we have to tell people that Sanctum is not. It’s not a documentary. It’s not a monster movie in a cave. There’s no supernatural component to this. It’s pure survival drama,” he said.
“It’s a labyrinthian environment that continues to evolve, sometimes constricting down to a very claustrophobic space and sometimes opening out to stadium-sized caverns. That variety, along with the unexpected that comes around each corner, is part of what I think propels the movie.”
Sanctum opens in the US and the UK on February 4.