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Director/Writer Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers) really captures the feel of claustrophobia and the tension of being in tight quarters during the first half of The Descent. He perfectly executes the element of foreshadowing in the beginning of the film. Likewise to Hitchcock, he's heavy handed when it comes to symbolism, and doesn't spoil the classic murder scenes by driving them down your throat every two seconds.
The Descent starts to really shine during its second half, when the Crawlers start popping up. I loved how the Crawlers were a necessary breed of a bat, human, etc. The Blair Witch Camera scene was executed very well by Marshall, as it was very surprising and scary. While the Crawlers start attacking and the girls split up, the Sarah vs Juno plot line starts to take center stage. This plot was great because it ultimately showed that once you put humans in a dire straits situation, their behavior starts to dramatically change. Towards the end we see the character of Juno switch from arrogant to brave friend while the other girls that are left go from trustworthy to wanting to leave Sarah for dead.
Furthermore, these characters are not cardboard, one dimensional female damsel's in distress you find in other horror movies nowadays. The Descent is so effective with characterization, that it could be seen as a character study of Sarah (Shauna MacDonald). Her subplot is one of my favorite parts of the film, and keeps your attention from the opening reel.
The Descent is one of my favorite horror movies of all time. In fact, it's not just a horror, but can work as a drama or suspense film as well. There's so much more I could say about this film than I've already said. I wish I had seen it in theaters. As a final note, I'm eager to see what director Neil Marshall comes out with next.
"If nightmare inducing horror is not your bag then the less you know about The Descent the better. Geordie writer-director Neil Marshall has delivered an accomplished, well acted, out and out horror movie that comes as much of a pleasant surprise as his first major feature Dog Soldiers did back in 2002. Shot in a mere 7 weeks The Descent sees a sextet of undeniably attractive action women leaping headfirst into an Appalachian potholing adventure that goes wrong so quickly you are left wondering if any one of them will survive, let alone ever see daylight again.
There are comparisons to be drawn to Marshall's 'Soldiers of course - again the story is stark and wonderfully economic. Again there is group of six people, predominantly one sex accompanied with a lurking, ominous threat and again there are more nods to popular film culture than you probably realise. The Descent however has a sense of humour that is suitably pitch black.
Long before the cave appears we play witness to a traumatic event that underlies the plot and serves to both unite and tear apart relationships in equal measure. Mostly affected are fragile Sarah and physically strong Juno, an adrenaline junkie who leads the group further and further beneath the ground. No time is wasted in recreating the primal feel of crawling through tunnels with hard hats scraping the dust from the rocks, choking and inducing paranoia all the way as it lingers in the stale, torchlit air. It's here Marshall gets a little inventive. Playing with various different lighting techniques our heroines become colour coded through scenes via glow-sticks, flashlights and video camera. Sounds echo when visuals are briefly lost and deliciously bone crunching they are too. Events escalate quickly and the whole ride becomes what can only be described as a non-stop relentless assault on the senses that will demand repeated viewing.
The only thing that will ruin this movie for you is word of mouth, which ironically is exactly what this film will need to become commercially viable. But the less you know, the more you will enjoy it. Have fun spotting references to Carrie and Apocalypse Now by all means, but don't be fooled into thinking this is a mere standard entry into the much saturated genre-movie staple. The Descent will rank as one of the most unashamedly terrifying British films ever made. It was made by people that love good cinema, and it shows. The Descent was made before The Cave, and now has an alternate ending for new audiences." --matt_cub, imdb.com
An absolutely terrifying movie. I went to see this the week before my birthday, back in 2006 when it came out in the US, with my mom. By the time the creatures strike, we were both sinking in our seats. I'm not claustrophobic, but the scenes in the cave were absolutely freaky. I felt like I was stuck down there with them.
The screenplay is very well-written -- some of the characters are relatable, though I wish some of the more minor female characters could've been fleshed out more. I felt absolutely nothing for anyone but Juno, Sarah and Beth... but I think that was the intention as Sarah is obviously from the beginning the centerpiece of the film, and is played wonderfully by Shauna MacDonald.
The gore effects and the creatures all seem very real, and some of the scenes are genuinely scary, unlike recent films like Shutter, or One Missed Call. Please, keep the Asian Horror remakes away and bring more films like this into theaters. It's what we really want to see.
This film was OK. I didn’t find any of the characters interesting, so I didn’t even care if any of them got out of the cave. The film moves too fast to build any real tension and never slows down to really focus on anything. A poor follow up to Dog Soldiers for Neil Marshall.
This movie is really good. The storyline is good and the characters interaction is well done. The creatures were freaky. The tension in the cave was really good. We wend down in a cave a couple weeks later and man it was on my mind the whole time. The movie is fast paced and full of tense moments to keep you on the edge of your seat.
rent this or just go buy it.
I just brought the dvd 2day b/c it was on sale for $9.99 and, couldn't resist buying it. I had omce rented the movie before but didn't watch it. I just finished watching it and i LOVED IT!!!!!!
This movie was good. good characters, good script and good blood and gore! one hell of a fun horror movie that needs to be in any horror fans collection!!!
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