Directed by:
Neil MarshallScreenplay:
Neil MarshallCinematography:
Sam McCurdyComposer:
David JulyanCast:
Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Jackson Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring, Nora-Jane Noone, Oliver Milburn, Molly Kayll, Craig Conway, Stephen Lamb (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Claustrophobia and bloody mayhem collide in the high-adrenaline horror The Descent. On an annual extreme outdoor adventure, six women meet in a remote part of the Appalachians to explore a cave hidden deep in the woods. Far below the surface of the earth, disaster strikes when a rock fall blocks their exit and there's no way out. The women push on, praying for another exit, but there is something else lurking under the earth. The friends are now prey, forced to unleash their most primal instincts in an all-out war against an unspeakable horror - one that attacks without warning, again and again and again. (Icon Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (10)
The unexplored cave setting works in terms of atmosphere and horror, and some of the climactic passages, such as the climb over the abyss, the first brief glimpses of the monsters or the lair scene, are truly unsettling and frightening. In addition, the women are fine and the bad guys are incredibly good, from the hideous exteriors to the very effective and impressive quick-motion that elevates the few scares to the A-list horror league. Unfortunately, just as the film does a great job in the process of generating an atmosphere of fear and gives you the creeps with its initial hints of the lurking horror, the pure action track it switches to in the final act feels very bland and, despite the overwhelming momentum and a decent amount of brutality, has nothing to surprise a slightly more jaded viewer. However, I appreciate the few imaginative references to its famous predecessors, the refined claustrophobic form and the believable behaviour of the heroines, whose will to survive turns them from minute to minute into senseless and vengeful creatures, so much that I stick to a positive rating, even if it's very, very tight. 70%
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Gollum. Gollum. At the beginning it looks like it’s panning out interestingly, but it gradually descends into the darkness of tiresome mediocrity. This story about cavers isn’t at all horrifying, atmospheric or even interesting. If you suffer from claustrophobia, then I would think long and hard before watching it. It is suspenseful only until the moment when the fount of evil turns up. Then it becomes a classic genre movie with needlessly hectic and confusing editing. Interestingly made from a technical point of view, an appealing environment, but overall nothing special. In terms of genre, this movie is related to The Cave, which is so ridiculous that it is unforgettable and, in a way, you have a good time watching. But there is no chance of that with this movie.
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The characters and the conflicts between them are not great, but the horror storyline is excellent. Neil Marshall moves skillfully in the limited setting, conjuring from it a dense atmosphere of isolation and opening a new door every ten minutes. The scares are perfect, the “bad guys” are terrifying and repulsive, and the quick-motion filming is impressive. And the final action posturing is less awkward than you would expect. Plus a few nice nods to horror connoisseurs (music from The Thing, eye gouging from The Evil Dead...). The Descent is an above-average genre flick conjured up from an average screenplay and a big step forward for the director after Dog Soldiers.
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A super bloody film with nickel-and-dime morale and a very sexy, bloodied main heroine. Unlike the similarly tuned The Cave, here we have a great director, who did a great job with the underground atmosphere, as well as a decent script, which threw a group of women into a cave complex, exposed them to a bunch of hungry Gollums and didn’t bother to worry about anything else. The dialogues are thus limited to the necessary minimum, and you are able to survive even the most barren attempt to somehow exacerbate the relationship within the group. I really liked the stylish ending. I was expecting typical idiotic cliché, but despite the false hint, the end is... well, just as descent as it should be. Neil Marshall has it in hand, and The Descent is actually great horror B-movie with A-movie tone. Although the part before the appearance of the Gollum creatures is significantly more successful, overall, I enjoyed the emancipated murderer spree at the end. I also enjoyed the reference to Morricone's sounds from The Thing. I was not expecting this.
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A convincingly claustrophobic and evocative minimalist horror film that is stunning in the way it makes the viewer feel what the characters feel, trapped and lost in the dark cramped cave passages. But the film works on multiple levels. Mainly because of the relationships between the characters. It's not so much about their confrontation with the cave monsters, but rather how they begin to relate to each other during it. The story also metaphors the main character's uncomfortable overcoming of grief after the death of her husband. But I can't help it - there's almost nothing to see in this film. And sometimes it's hard to tell the characters apart in the darkness. It doesn't help that all of them are wearing helmets most of the time, and they get progressively dirtier and bloodier.
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Gallery (32)
Photo © Lions Gate Films Inc.
![The Descent - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/162/851/162851443_8ab295.jpg)
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