With claustrophobic camera angles and dark lighting, The Descent is a horror movie that slowly brings you to the edge of your seat and then kicks you right off. The film is an example of horror done right and is a much watch for any fan of the genre.
The movie is filled with moody filming, a story that keeps you locked into what is happening on screen, and scares that will make you feel like looking over your shoulder more than once – especially if you are watching it with the lights off.
Written and directed by Neil Marshall (who brought us the surprise hit Dog Soldiers in 2002), it stars Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza (The Great Raid), Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring, Nora-Jane Noone (The Magdalene Sisters), Oliver Milburn, and Molly Kayll.
Like Dog Soldiers, the movie is filled with moody filming, a story that keeps you locked into what is happening on screen, and scares that will make you feel like looking over your shoulder more than once – especially if you are watching it with the lights off.
The friends quickly become trapped underground
The film opens with a group of female friends taking on the rapids of a river. We quickly figure out that the group has been together a long time, and this adventure is a yearly tradition. Sarah (Macdonald) is met at the base of the river by her husband and daughter, but a tragic accident (that hints at the gore that will come later in the film) happens to turn her world upside down. A year later, a grieving Sarah joins her friends for another one of their yearly adventures.
This time the group (along with another woman who is an experienced climber) is going to explore a cavern system. The hope is that the adventure will help Sarah take her mind off her loss and get her back into life. The women are being led by Juno (Mendoza) – who is harboring a little secret of her own concerning Sarah’s tragedy. After deciding with Holly (Noone) that the planned cave is just a tourist trap and boring, Juno changes the group’s plan and finds a new unexplored cavern for the girls. Her idea is to give them an adventure of a lifetime and something that they can all claim (being the first to fully explore the cave, they would get to name it).
Since this is a horror film, things naturally go horribly wrong. A cave-in causes the girls to lose their one way out, and forces them to go deeper into the system to find another passage. As they explore, more accidents cause the group to start turning on each other (mostly on Juno), and also cause Sarah to start to believe they are not alone in the cave. Of course, the friends all believe Sarah is imagining things and blame it on her grief and the stress of being so far underground.
When Sarah is proven right, the girls discover the deadly truth and a fight for survival two miles underground begins. The film then goes into overdrive with lots of classic horror jumps, and plenty of gore. The women not only have to deal with finding a way out of the cave, but also with humanoid creatures that simply want a hot meal.
While this movie is similar to The Cave (which was also released in 2005), The Descent shows how this type of plot can be done right. Marshall, cinematographer Sam McCurdy (who also worked with Marshall on Dog Soldiers), and film editor Jon Harris fill the film with tight shots and fast edits that keep you interested – even if the plot is somewhat familiar. The story works thanks to the dynamics of the friends, and how they splinter as the horror begins.
The film has plenty of scares and lots of gore
The film combines the mental aspects of being buried underground with no known way out with the fear of the dark (and what lurks in the dark) to create the stress that fractures the friendships. Instead of teaming together, the women run in opposite directions, leave fallen friends behind, and even use each other as bait. These combined elements help the movie’s somewhat clichéd plot (creatures underground eating the people who wander into their lair) from feeling anything but clichéd.
I have been waiting to see this film since I first saw its teaser trailer. When the DVD arrived on my desk, I couldn’t wait to put it in the DVD player and hit play. This film makes the anticipation worth it. Like Dog Soldiers, Marshall has made a horror film for the horror fans and makes no apology for it.
Sure, humanoid creatures running around underground trying to eat some explorers is a bit dumb. Who cares! This film is simply fun. It is loaded with classic jumps (where the camera turns at just the right moment for some freaky creature to jump out of the shadows and send the popcorn flying in the air), moments of pure gore (they do like to eat those tasty wayward women), and an ending that will leave you screaming for more.
The DVD comes loaded with special features that take you into the film and shows you (almost step by step) how the movie went from the page to the screen. They include commentary with the director, the cast, and the crew; deleted and extended scenes; behind the scenes looks; storyboard comparisons; outtakes; interviews with Marshall; cast and crew biographies; and a stills gallery.
The two commentaries do a good job of going over the film and what it was like to shoot it. Marshall tries not to say the same thing both times, but there is some repeating of information. The 41-minute “Beneath the Scenes” is a detailed look at the production of the sets, the “crawlers” designs, and the day to day shooting. The outtakes are mostly bloopers and the occasional practical joke. "DescENDING" gives us an alternate look at the film’s ending and why Marshall made changes – the European ending didn’t test well in American audiences.
Marshall and company use claustrophobic camera angles to set the mood
The Descent is a film that is filled with chills, jumps, and attitude. I highly recommend it. If you are a horror fan, there is plenty to love. If you want to watch a good movie that might just make it hard to turn the lights off at night, this is the one for you.
The Descent (Original Unrated Cut) is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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