[2] Flying back to the Philippines to bury his father, an American man is informed by a mysterious phone caller that his mother and sister have been kidnapped and will be killed if he doesn't comply with certain demands.

The film has a score of 73% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 40 reviews with the consensus being it is "A gritty, low-budget thriller, Cavite takes us on a heart-pounding ride through the seedy Filipino underworld.

"[3] Robert Koehler from Variety in his glowing review of the film said "For a guerrilla-style, no-budget Yank indie to even tackle issues of jihad terror and naive Western thinking is noteworthy in itself, but Gamazon and Dela Llana inflame the issues with a gutsy, athletic filmmaking package.

"[4] Entertainment Weekly gave Cavite a B+ declaring it "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".

[5] Kevin Crust of the Los Angeles Times said "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.