Romania again confirmed its attraction for footlooseinternational productions, with the start this week of principal photography onCave, the supernatural underground thriller from Lakeshore Entertainmentand Screen Gems.

Cave, reportedly budgeted at some $20m, is the featuredebut of acclaimed commercials director Bruce Hunt, who was also second unitdirector on The Matrix.

The action follows a group of adventurers - including ColeHauser, Piper Perabo, and Lena Headey - who discover a cave system that is hometo a mysterious and infectious creature.

Production is largely housed at Bucharest's MediaPro studiosand in its large water tank and will last for 11 weeks.

Written by Michael Steinberg and Tegan West, Cave isproduced by Andrew Mason (Matrix, Scooby-Doo) and LakeshoreEntertainment's Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi. Richard S Wright is executiveproducer, and Robert Bernacchi (Blade II) is co-producing.

Lakeshore previously shot the similar budgeted Underworldin Hungary and Prague, but first ventured into Romania last year withlow-budget horror-thriller Madhouse, directed by William Butler.