It's the old genre. Some guy has gotten himself trapped in some horrible caves in South America. His sister sets up an expedition to find him. They go to the Cave of Death. But there is an American doctor playing God who is in the way. He knows the superstitions of the native population. He is evil. Hs is also an expert at fungus. His experiments have led to a horrible mess in the caves that threatens the world. Off go the rescuers but they end up facing a group of mutants and an unending explosion of fungus. Actually, it looks like someone went crazy with giant bottle of dishwashing soap. This stuff absorbs human tissue. One problem is that the people are able to understand what they are facing, even though they shouldn't. It is a fight for survival with some scenes of bravery. An OK B-movie. Lots of overacting.

If hearing the rhythmic calypso music at the beginning of the movie gets your fingers snapping and your feet tapping, you just might miss the meaning behind the words. The small town Mexican setting may seem romantic and exotic, but there's horror inside the caves where an explorer (Charles Gray) disappeared, causing his sister (Mala Powers) to arrive to search for him. She finds help with the handsome John Howard who blames himself for her brother's disappearance. The natives become restless, are stirred up, storms brew, and horrific things begin to occur. Slow-moving and talky, this starts off as more psychological than downright horror, but when the cave is explored, the real terror starts, and the mystery of what is beyond those cave openings is really a metaphor of all of our human fears of the unknown. It also reminds us of the customs of those outside our own world and the fact that not all secrets are meant to be known. Decently acted but slowly plotted, this does increase in tension as the film moves along, but it takes a long time in getting there. I didn't quite love it or hate it, and unlike other horror/science fiction movies of the time, I couldn't find anything really to attack. My only complaint really is that it took a long time for me to really get into the film, and I too found myself snapping my fingers and tapping my feet when I heard that delightful music at the start. When the horror does strike, it's truly like a bat arriving out of hell, and you really don't expect it. That's what makes for good horror.

An explorer looking for the legendary "Cave of the Dead" doesn't return. So his sister, "Gina Matthews" (Mala Powers) and her husband, "Dan Matthews" (John Howard) decide to set out to look for him. Before they depart, a former acquaintance of both named "Pete Morgan" (Paul Richards) convinces them to let him come with them since he is an experienced spelunker. When they get to the village in South America where the cave is supposed to be near, they meet a strange American doctor, "Dr. Ramsey" (Gerald Milton) who denies knowing anything about it. At any rate, rather than detailing the entire story I will just say that this horror film is an obvious product of its time. And even though it is clearly a B-movie it isn't that bad. That said, while it isn't that scary it does manage to keep the suspense going for the most part. Recommended only for those who enjoy B-movies from the 50's.

Spoilers are here.I saw this film for the first time a few days ago. After having seen it cited for "Best Use Of Soap Suds in a Horror Film" just after I bought it, I was a little afraid I had wasted my money. Glad to report it is decent, even if it still has its problems. ( They use the same shots over and over again in the climax, and everything just splutters to a halt at the end as if no one had thought that far ahead when they began filming.) BUT FOR A WHILE, the atmosphere is good, evocative of something very juicy-bad about to happen. The character actor Paul Richards, a well-known face from literally countless TV shows of the 60s, has a nice role.