STARRING:
Nora-Jane Noon, Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia
2006, 99 Minutes, Directed by: Neil Marshall
Description:In a remote mountain range, six girlfriends meet for
their yearly adventure, a caving trip into the arteries of the earth. The
group makes their way through the remote cave system, enjoying the
hazardous but beautiful surroundings. Then, deep inside the cave, disaster
strikes when their route back to the surface is blocked by a rockfall.
When they learn that Juno, always pushing herself that little bit further,
has brought them to an unexplored cave, and that no one is coming to
rescue them, the group starts to splinter. Left with no other option, they
push on through the cave, praying for another exit. The women battle
through this harsh underground world, pitting their strength and
determination against each new challenge. Unbeknownst to them, there is
something else lurking under the earth, a race of monstrous creatures
hidden from the light, evolved to live perfectly in the dark. As the
friends realize they have become prey, they are forced to unleash their
most primal instincts to face the creatures. As old wounds break open and
loyalties disintegrate, the women realize the horrible truth-they have
most to fear from one another.
It isn’t necessarily the story you tell,
but how you tell it. This is particularly true of The Descent. Sure, this
British horror movie borrows the old Alien plot template of a group of
people cut off from civilisation being killed off one by one by one by
hostile creatures, but it manages to do something wholly gripping and
unexpected with the material at hand.
"I rather resented the way in which it managed to scare the
heebie-jeebies out of me . . ."
A group of 4X4
driving alpha females go spelunking in an unknown cave in the Appalachian
wilderness, miles from any civilisation. (They spend the evening before in
a wooden hut that is almost an exact replica of the one featured in the
Evil Dead movies. If any of them had watched any horror movies, they would
have run like hell!)
Soon a tremor cuts
off their escape route and they have to find a new one: no-one knows
they’re there so there won’t be any rescue attempts. However, their plight
turns desperate when it turns out that the caves are home to a group of
vicious mutated cannibals who start hunting them for food. The mutants are
perfectly adapted to the dark underground world of the caves, giving them
a distinct advantage. However the odds are a bit evened by the fact that
the mutants are blind and have to find their way by hearing and touch
alone. Soon the group of friends are fighting for their lives and find
they have to resort to their basest and cruellest instincts if they are to
survive.
So far, so very The
Cave. But rather think The Hills Have Eyes. Whereas The Cave was a rather uninvolving and murky movie which was difficult to follow (everybody
looked the same in their diving gear), The Descent makes a point of
clearly delineating its characters so that we almost always follow what is
happening and to whom it is happening. Also, director Neil Marshall (of Dog Soldiers fame) knows his stuff: a few too many sudden jump moments
aside, The Descent manages to pack in some unexpected scares. The movie
pulls no punches in scaring audiences and to be honest, I rather resented
the way in which it managed to scare the heebie-jeebies out of
me. This is thrilling, yet gruesome stuff that always manages to veer off
into unexpected directions.
Of course it is always difficult to recommend horror movies because not
everyone can stomach the gore involved in such stories, but I cannot help
but recommend The Descent for horror/action fans with stronger
constitutions. It is simply the scariest movie we have seen in quite a
while . . .
Description: In a remote mountain range, six girlfriends meet for
their yearly adventure, a caving trip into the arteries of the earth. The
group makes their way through the remote cave system, enjoying the
hazardous but beautiful surroundings. Then, deep inside the cave, disaster
strikes when their route back to the surface is blocked by a rockfall.
When they learn that Juno, always pushing herself that little bit further,
has brought them to an unexplored cave, and that no one is coming to
rescue them, the group starts to splinter. Left with no other option, they
push on through the cave, praying for another exit. The women battle
through this harsh underground world, pitting their strength and
determination against each new challenge. Unbeknownst to them, there is
something else lurking under the earth, a race of monstrous creatures
hidden from the light, evolved to live perfectly in the dark. As the
friends realize they have become prey, they are forced to unleash their
most primal instincts to face the creatures. As old wounds break open and
loyalties disintegrate, the women realize the horrible truth-they have
most to fear from one another.