The Descent (2005)

Director: Neil Marshall
Format: DVD
DVD Features: commentary, outtakes, stills, bios, interview, featurette
Starring: Saskia Mulder, Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid
Trailer

I seem to be getting all of my movie recommendations lately from the same pair of friends. The Descent was no exception. Knowing that my tastes lean toward horror, they immediately suggested that I add this movie to my list. The two of them were quite fond of it, but I didn’t get much more information than that. I suppose that not everyone is willing to spend hours upon hours trying to form their opinions about movies into coherent paragraphs. Go figure.

Fold together one part drama, one part horror, and a dash of confusion and you’ve got The Descent. It reminded me of the way From Dusk ‘Till Dawn was half Reservoir Dogs and half John Carpenter’s Vampires (or Dracula 2000). The story centers around a group of female friends who have formed an informal extreme adventure club. On this particular trip, their leader, Juno (Natalie Mendoza) decides that the group will go spelunking in an undiscovered cavern. While they may be prepared for rock climbing and cramped passageways, they certainly aren’t expecting to be attacked by Homo-Microchiroptera. I feel I should warn that anyone with claustrophobia might have serious issues with this movie. I’m not particularly claustrophobic, but I found it difficult to breathe during the more intense scenes.

The first part of the film almost could have been made into a full length feature of its own. Much more focus is given to character development than is common for the genre. I found that the back story about Rebecca’s (Saskia Mulder) family was awkward and unnecessary and that the film would have been better off without it. It seemed like something the writers decided on as an afterthought and then tried to work into the plot after most of the movie had been shot.

By the time the monsters begin to appear, you may have forgotten that The Descent is a horror film. I wasn’t terribly frightened by the beasts in the caves. I don’t even see that they had any teeth, but they must have for all the biting they did. Most of the attack sequences were filmed with a sort of strobe light effect, making it very difficult to make out the action. I assume that the director used this technique, thinking that it would be more frightening for the audience to only see bits and pieces of the action. However, I feel it’s more akin to typical American action films in that the focus is too close in on the actors and the confusion doesn’t result in terror, but rather…well…confusion.

To sum up, I think that the first half of the movie would be excellent if followed through to a full length feature. The second part isn’t very frightening and the subplot felt tacked on. I certainly recommend the rental, but The Descent isn’t going to make it to my “to buy” list unless I can find it in the $5.00 bin.

Overall Rating: 3 ½
Hottie Rating: 4 (lots of athletic young women, sweating)

Alternate viewing: The Blair Witch Project
Official site
IMDB site
Rotten Tomatoes review

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