Reviews page
The Descent - 2005
Director and writer Neil Marshall has chosen his setting well; the tunnels our heroines must scrabble through are horribly small and you feel claustrophobic just watching them. As helmets scrape against rocks, clothes become coated in dust and the girls struggle against obstacle after obstacle, a creeping sense of dread pervades the film, a feeling that they are merely burrowing deeper towards danger rather than finding a way back to civilisation. These are no damsels in distress; they are all capable, outdoorsy types that don't scare easily, but their desperate situation begins to eat away at their confidence. The writing and performances perfectly capture how the natural bonds and banter between these friends disintegrate into bickering and distrust, and the tension builds to an almost unbearable level until...well, suffice to say, everything kicks off. And then some.
Those expecting graphic violence and shocking jump moments will not be disappointed; The Descent is extremely gory and absolutely terrifying. It's pure horror, concerned with the appalling damage that can be done to the human body, and with the things that go bump in the night (or in this case, underground, where our protagonists are woefully unequipped to cope without torches and flares). It's also a psychological thriller, as these women find out exactly what they are prepared to do to survive. After the slow build of the first act, and the explosion of activity that signals the next, lethal stage of our characters' journey, the pace hardly slows. Characters get separated, bad things happen, and people die in nasty ways. Knowing what the girls are facing deflates some of the tension but by this point, you'll probably be too busy whimpering behind your hands to really mind or even notice.
The Descent is a British horror film that utilises its modest budget to wring every ounce of terror out of an original and compelling setup. The script is efficient and effective, while Marshall's direction is often inspired. He makes particularly good use of the night-vision on one character's video-camera and exploits the visual possibilities of the torches and flares to light scenes in a way that is eerie and strangely beautiful, despite the carnage that they illuminate. Shocking, chilling, and impossible to forget, The Descent is a must-see for horror fans and anyone else brave enough to give it a try.
by Catherine Leopold - 2009-01-10
A year after the tragic death of her husband and daughter in a car accident, Sarah meets up with five of her friends to go on a caving expedition, an adventure that is meant to be a fun bonding experience. When one of the tunnels they are using collapses, it's revealed that the leader of the trip, Juno, hasn't been entirely honest about their whereabouts. This is not the 'tourist trap' they were meant to be exploring, but a new and uncharted cave that Juno wanted them to be the first to discover. Hostilities arise within the group as they attempt to find another exit from the cave, but the girls soon realise that they have a much bigger problem to deal with.Director and writer Neil Marshall has chosen his setting well; the tunnels our heroines must scrabble through are horribly small and you feel claustrophobic just watching them. As helmets scrape against rocks, clothes become coated in dust and the girls struggle against obstacle after obstacle, a creeping sense of dread pervades the film, a feeling that they are merely burrowing deeper towards danger rather than finding a way back to civilisation. These are no damsels in distress; they are all capable, outdoorsy types that don't scare easily, but their desperate situation begins to eat away at their confidence. The writing and performances perfectly capture how the natural bonds and banter between these friends disintegrate into bickering and distrust, and the tension builds to an almost unbearable level until...well, suffice to say, everything kicks off. And then some.
Those expecting graphic violence and shocking jump moments will not be disappointed; The Descent is extremely gory and absolutely terrifying. It's pure horror, concerned with the appalling damage that can be done to the human body, and with the things that go bump in the night (or in this case, underground, where our protagonists are woefully unequipped to cope without torches and flares). It's also a psychological thriller, as these women find out exactly what they are prepared to do to survive. After the slow build of the first act, and the explosion of activity that signals the next, lethal stage of our characters' journey, the pace hardly slows. Characters get separated, bad things happen, and people die in nasty ways. Knowing what the girls are facing deflates some of the tension but by this point, you'll probably be too busy whimpering behind your hands to really mind or even notice.
The Descent is a British horror film that utilises its modest budget to wring every ounce of terror out of an original and compelling setup. The script is efficient and effective, while Marshall's direction is often inspired. He makes particularly good use of the night-vision on one character's video-camera and exploits the visual possibilities of the torches and flares to light scenes in a way that is eerie and strangely beautiful, despite the carnage that they illuminate. Shocking, chilling, and impossible to forget, The Descent is a must-see for horror fans and anyone else brave enough to give it a try.