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The Descent [Blu-ray] [2005] [US Import]


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Terrifying
Review date: 2008-06-03 Rating: 10 out of 10

The Descent is often patronisingly refered to as 'one of the great British horror films in recent years'. I take exception to that. This is simply a great horror film. The fact that it is British is irrelevant. The plot is simple, the premise sound. The sub-plot of an implied affair doesn't really pan out or detract. The twist - spot on.

Well acted. The real star of this film is the darkness. The real monster, the cave.
If you're claustrophobic (as I am) you'll probably find the sequences before 'the crawlers' show up to be the most terrifying of all.

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Reviews


Ahhh!!
Review date: 2008-03-18 Rating: 8 out of 10

Ok, coming from the biggest wet blanket when it comes to mutant-horror films I was absolutely terrified! However, I adore thrillers and have come to love this film!

I first watch it on the television, and was so frightened I had to call a friend whilst watching it just so I didn't feel alone (I did say I was a wet blanket!) I had to buy it on DVD to get rid of the fear!

I can completely appreciate why some of the hard-core horror film lovers found it a bit dull and silly. It's unrealistic in the sense of a group of cavers going into an unknown cave vastly unequipped without telling anyone...

If anyone is intending to buy this film and is rubbish with horrors then I would suggest not watching it alone. If you have seen this and scared yourself silly watch the 'Making Of' on the other disc, the guys who play 'the crawlers' are HILAIRIOUS!!!

Once you have overcome the fear show it too all of your friends and when it comes to the jumpy bits turn away from the screen and watch their reactions... brilliant.

All in all this film is a fantastic cardio workout and will put off anyone from going caving... EVER!!
Not for the faint hearted and serious horror lovers won't be too impressed.

A HORROR FILM NOT TO BE MISSED
Review date: 2007-10-25 Rating: 10 out of 10

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.

One of the scariest films I've ever seen
Review date: 2007-09-03 Rating: 10 out of 10

'The Descent' begins when there is an accident on the way home from a white-water rafting holiday, killing (the lead character) Sarah's husband and daughter. A year later, Sarah and her five friends meet up in a wood in America to go caving, only to find out (once it is too late) that the cave they have gone down has apparently been undiscovered before, so there are no maps or guides to the exits and there is also something living down there - some kind of creatures that are believed to have evolved from humans but have adapted to live in the dark.

I'm not usually someone who gets that scared by horror films but 'The Descent' was absolutely terrifying. As a majority of the film is based in the very dark, very compact caves, it makes this film very claustrophobic and the feeling that they can't see anything around them in the thick darkness is very unnerving indeed. There's a fair amount of blood and gore but it is all necessary, not just a splatterfest that most recent horrors go for these days. The "creatures" are also very creepy, being almost human adds a bit more realism to it all. The camera-work is very impressive, taking the claustrophobic feeling to the maximum. There is one scene in particular where the characters a crawling though a crack (literally) in the rock when the entrance caves in, which is honestly the stuff nightmares are made of! This scene also proves that this is a terrifying film even before they meet the creatures living down there.

Overall this is without a doubt one of the best horror films I have seen for a long, long time (British or otherwise). If you're after a tense, exciting, shocking and scary horror film, I can't recommend anything better than this. However it may put you off going caving for life!


Not as good on a small screen
Review date: 2007-07-31 Rating: 6 out of 10

I watched this at the cinema and it scared the pants off me. Everyone was shrieking and jumping and it was great! Personally I think just being stuck in a cave was scary enough, and it was a little disappointing when suddenly there are weird mutants trying to kill them as well. Turned a believable horror into a bit of a hammer horror, but it was enjoyable none the less!

HOWEVER! Having loved it in the cinema I bought it on DVD for someone and they said it was laughable and not at all frightening, so I borrowed it and watched it again myself. Wow! I completely understood what they meant - this is definitely a film to be seen on the big screen and when viewed on a small one, all the scary bits seem to be lost and it really isn't as good. It's a great shame, but I would only recommend this film to people with huge screens and good surround sound, otherwise it just hasn't got the same effect.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Shauna Macdonald
Alex Reid (III)
Natalie Jackson Mendoza
Saskia Mulder
MyAnna Buring

Creators:
Shauna Macdonald (Primary Contributor)
Natalie Jackson Mendoza (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Lions Gate
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
EAN: 0031398205937
Binding: Blu-ray
Number of items: 1
Format: AC-3, Colour, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen,
Release date: 2006-12-26
Universal product code (UPC): 031398205937
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Running time: 99 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2006-08-04
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)

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