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The Descent (2005)

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953 comments in total

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250 out of 354 people found the following comment useful :-
Brilliantly tense from start to finish, 9 julio 2005

Author: enoonmai de United Kingdom

With Dog Soldiers, Neil Marshall created a tight and claustrophobic atmosphere then added the scares to create a very good horror film. However, the tension was often released with humour and the audience were allowed to catch their breath and relax. At no point in The Descent are you allowed to relax as Marshall grabs your attention within the first few minutes and doesn't let go until the credits roll at the end.

With the film set almost entirely underground, the lack of light is used to wonderful effect and Marshall keeps you on edge for 100 minutes; if you liked Dog Soldiers, 28 Days Later and/or Haute Tension and are sick of the formulaic rubbish being pumped out of Hollywood then The Descent is likely to be right up your street.

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237 out of 330 people found the following comment useful :-
Masterful horror film. Spoiler free review(some sad git thinks otherwise)., 12 julio 2005

Author: matt_cub de United Kingdom

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.

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204 out of 275 people found the following comment useful :-
Easy to miss, hard to forget., 9 julio 2005

Author: outy de United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

There aren't that many British horror films, so it's not too much of a stretch to call this one of the best British horror movies i've seen. It has flaws, but i've only seen a few films in my life that don't. It's incredibly entertaining though.

The basic premise: Fun-loving, adventurous Sarah suffers a personal tragedy, a year later her friends rally round and they go on a caving trip in the Appalachian Mountains in the US. Things go awry.

It's a slow starter this film, the tension is palpable from the start but things don't properly kick off for nearly an hour. Don't get me wrong, it's never dull, but the pacing of the film is similar to that of a roller-coaster. There's an uphill wind-up that builds suspense, but when it goes over the edge it just doesn't let up until you come to a juddering halt. All the horror techniques are used here, there are enough jumps (both telegraphed and not) that every pause will have you ready to flinch, but there's also fantastic use of suspense and everything about the film oozes menace and foreboding. A special mention is needed for the music. Like all good scores, it goes mostly unnoticed. But it's intertwined beautifully with the film, it moves you and misleads you, it swells from background plinks and plonks to grand, blaring orchestral pieces. The lighting is also masterful. When the girls split up, Marshall uses different lighting to indicate which person or group you are looking at. Whether it's through infra-red camera, luminous green light-sticks or red flares and torches, you instantly know who you're looking at, and that cuts down on the confusion very effectively. Flaws? The dialogue is a little clunky at the start, there's a few moments of cgi as they first enter the cave that are pretty shoddy. Other than that it ticks all the right boxes. Great acting, great plot, excellent gore levels, perfect ending. Not everyones cup of tea, but definitely mine. Hell hath no fury

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173 out of 249 people found the following comment useful :-
Gripping Horror/Thriller, 9 julio 2005

Author: HairyMart1 de Sheffield, UK

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

If you've seen the trailer you'll know what your going to get – suspenseful, claustrophobic thriller, when horrible things happen to a group exploring a cave system.

Sounds simple but the direction is top notch, good performances from all involved and it somehow manages to dodge most current horror/thriller clichés to deliver a well paced film, filled with enough jump inducing moments to even give this harden horror buff a few scares ! I was so glad I saw this during the day – stepping out into warm sunshine after seeing this film was such a relief after 90 min of on-screen darkness and terror

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203 out of 317 people found the following comment useful :-
Great, 10 julio 2005

Author: David Curtis de Brighton, England

I loved it, I went in expecting something along the lines of "Dog soldiers", something funny and enjoyable but instead I got a roller coaster ride of tension and fear. So often these days horror movies just aren't scary, they make you jump they have a little bit of atmosphere and that's it, well this film was scary. It was tense, well acted, and the director made great use of the setting to scare the hell out of you. I don't want to go in to a lot of detail in this review, as I don't want to spoil the experience for anyone who reads it, and that is what this film is an experience I came out of the cinema shaking. This film is well worth your time.

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197 out of 314 people found the following comment useful :-
Leaves you sitting on your lunch, 14 julio 2005

Author: fireworkz2k de United Kingdom

The descent is purely terrifying. It will provide you with an experience that relates entirely to those of the characters on screen. Each one is trapped, isolated and alone. In that theatre, you will understand the fear of having no escape. The film, like it's big brother 'Dog Soldiers', takes British horror to it's deserved glory. Unlike such films as 'Creep', which was a complete mess, The Descent is a chilling experience that places believable characters into a situation that is strangely real, despite the obvious fiction. After a quarter of the film has passed, you pray for the characters escape as, in a way, you will also be saved from the mental onslaught that drives into your mind throughout. I didn't expect anything from this film before I walked into the theatre it, yet it is the greatest horror I have ever seen, and am likely to for a very long time.

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167 out of 270 people found the following comment useful :-
Magnificent gore fest, 8 julio 2005

Author: Larks-2 de Cork, Ireland

The Descent is an exceptionally good film. I just wanted to state that at the start of this review, because it is easy to dismiss a film like The Descent as having some good gore scenes, but little else to commend it from a directorial or cinematographic point of view. However, with what must have been a budget that pales into insignificance when compared to films like Ring 2, the film packs in top class gore with exquisitely detailed 'creatures' and brilliantly claustrophobic cinematography.

Films with great gore abound, for example Jason X, with the audience just waiting for the next gruesome killing to end the tedium in between. However, The Descent keeps you at the edge of your seat throughout, struggling for breath as you feel the walls in the cinema closing in. This is a film to watch in a very dark cinema with great surround sound. You almost feel the creatures closing in around you.

I would have given 10 out of 10, but some of the acting is not top class, so that brings it down to 9 out of 10 for me. That aside, this is a must watch film for those who complain that horror films just aren't scary anymore. Just make sure that whoever you take with you is prepared for the experience. Word of mouth is sure to make this film a success.

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56 out of 78 people found the following comment useful :-
Good Scary Movie, 18 agosto 2006

Author: barberoux de Philadelphia

When I read that "The Descent" featured an all women cast I expected a T+A extravaganza with spelunkers in too tight T-shirts and panties cavorting beneath the earth. I was disappointed. What I saw was a scary movie. I am not by nature claustrophobic but a few scenes of the close quarters they were climbing through left me squirming in my seat. I can't continue the review without issuing a SPOILER alert since I will be discussing critical movie facts. The movie was very spookily lit with looming shadows and false colors and was expertly designed. The creatures living below ground were creepy and scary since often they were only glimpsed in the shadows. I hadn't expected the death count to be so high nor the movie to be so bloody. I flinched often during the movie due to the sudden appearance of the creatures or from the wounds suffered by the cast. The pace of the movie once they began the cave exploration was very fast and of course with this type of movie a deeper examination of the facts reveals some plot holes but events move too fast for reflection. I can't say I liked or agreed with some events in the end of the movie. I think Juno, maybe not the best person in the group, was unfairly judged and condemned. None the less the movie was very effective in scaring me and holding my attention. The fact that it had, primarily, an all women cast was hardly noticeable. This is not a chick flic. Worth seeing.

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153 out of 272 people found the following comment useful :-
Finally, I lived to see a good horror film!, 14 julio 2005

Author: kyleroberts de Bucharest, Romania

I actually wanted to go see Mr and Mrs Smith but it was showing too late in the evening so we chose this one, not having a clue what it was about.

I read the synopsis, a team of women exploring some cave and finding they were not alone...

Well, just prepare yourself for your worst nightmare, because once it starts, it doesn't stop until the end.

Just brilliant!!! The 'negative' character is built in a very realistic way to scare your spirit off.

To me, this was a FLAWLESS horror movie that couldn't have been done better! Must be seen, but go to the gym and get your muscles in shape cause you might have to hold your girlfriend all the way through (if she does not ask you to leave before it's over!).

Enjoy!

PS> Hopefully, they will not make a sequel, cause it would spoil the whole thing!

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49 out of 69 people found the following comment useful :-
Dark, claustrophobic thriller hits the mark, 26 agosto 2006

Author: NewEnglandPat de Virginia

This tense, edgy thriller seemingly has come from out of nowhere to grab the attention of American moviegoers who are rewarded with a gut-wrenching, terrifying chronicle of six brave young women who set out to explore caves in the Appalachian Mountains. The plucky lasses find nothing but unspeakable horror thousands of feet down and realize that they're trapped with no way to retrace their steps and search frantically for another way out, not knowing, at least at first, that an awful, harrowing death awaits each girl around the tunnel's next bend. The film is reminiscent of "The Lost Patrol" as the ladies band together as much as they can against a ghoulish and unseen foe, with each girl's nerves pushed to the breaking point. The movie's dark, claustrophobic look adds realism to the ghastly dangers that the young women face and the spare, understated music score is effective and never calls attention to itself. The girls have several hand-to-hand encounters with the predators in various subterranean abattoirs, using torches, climbing gear and fists to survive, at least for the moment. Natalie Mendoza has a good turn as Juno, the group's ambitious leader who misleads the other women about the caves and also tries to cover up an awful deed she's guilty of in a wild flight to flee from their carnivorous, relentless pursuers. Saskia Mulder and the four other spunky girls on this ill-fated expedition also acquit themselves very well. This movie is certainly one of the best films of 2006.

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