The Descent Movie Review:


After his witty werewolf freak-out Dog Soldiers, Marshall heads underground for this even more gruesome horror movie. It's almost unbearably tense and claustrophobic, and Marshall cleverly sets us up for maximum joltage even if the film struggles to relate with us.

After a horrific family car crash, Sarah (Macdonald) is finally ready to start her life over again with her four best friends (Mendoza, Reid, Buring and Mulder), plus one new one (Noone). Their traditional extreme holiday this time involves cave exploration, but a stupid decision and a couple of accidents leave them lost underground. They spot signs that they're not the first spelunkers to pass this way. And also that they may not be alone in the dark.

The closed-in space makes a superb horror movie set--we can barely stand to watch them squirm through the tiny gaps, traverse Lord of the Rings-size chasms, and cope with things that go bump in the dark. It helps that Marshall spends just the right amount of time setting up the situation before the women head into the cave. They're all well played, but only Macdonald, Mendoza and Noone are able to add any real definition; the other three feel completely interchangeable.

To make up for this, Marshall lays on the chills early on, with the terrible car crash, dream sequences, jumps and false starts, sudden birds and bats lunging at the camera. And most of all, an obvious willingness to get seriously grisly. By the time the women see strange marks on the cave walls, we're already completely unnerved. Then it gets increasingly blood-soaked and primal. There are some problems, mostly in the difficulty we have in meaningfully connecting with any of the characters, and it's not easy to keep up with the chaotic, poorly lit action sequences.

But Marshall is clearly having fun here, and he effectively assembles all of the elements to gross us out and scare us half to death. References abound, most obviously The Blair Witch Project and Carrie. While the final turn of events (well, the final few turns of events) are seriously unhinged--and surprisingly emotional for this genre.



Rich Cline

Trying to take Sarah’s (Macdonald) mind off the events that happened a year earlier, Juno (Mendoza), Rebecca (Mulder), Beth (Reid), Sam (Buring) and Holly (Noone) organise a caving trip in the US Appalachian Mountains, as they try and recapture their love for extreme sports. Thinking they are tackling an already discovered cave, things start to go wrong when Juno informs them that no one has been in this cave system before and Sarah thinks that they may not be alone.

The British horror movie is making a bit of a comeback but does ‘The Descent’ have what it takes to draw you into the light or will it drag you down into a bottomless pit.

From the writer/director of the cult werewolf/action horror ‘Dog Soldiers’, Neil Marshall takes you down a more conventional fright path, forgetting about the comic banter that made his last film such a hit. This is the movie’s main flaw. The sense of British horror humour has disappeared to be replaced by an all out survival horror take, which feels far too Hollywood for its own good. The film descends into a ‘who will die next’ scenario bringing nothing new to the genre and no real invention, that you would have expected from the writer/director.

What it does do is deliver a formulaic horror movie that is still a cut above anything that is coming out of Tinsel Town at the moment, however. This is an action movie with strong survival horror traits and female leads. Not wanting to bog itself down with romantic subplots, the all female cast have to fight for their lives as soon as the cave reveals its dark and deadly secret. This is when the film really takes off and becomes a fun, popcorn ride for the viewer.

What precedes it is a slow, careful build up that establishes the key characters and the claustrophobic darkness of the cave. While this is slightly over long, Marshall skilfully uses this time to create fear and tension with the group and the audience. As soon as the danger is revealed, it becomes a matter of gruesome death and survival but Marshall plays with the formulaic principles of the genre and throws in a few twists and turns to try and spark some originality into the mix.

On the acting front there are two standout performances from the six female principle and these are Shauna Macdonald and Natalie Jackson Mendoza as Sarah and Juno. Each of them plays strong female parts that come into their own when the trouble really starts. Macdonald’s Sarah sees the most growth, as her character switches from a woman riddled with images from her traumatic past and an overwhelming feeling of grief, which you can’t blame her for to someone who takes on the fight, wanting to survive. Mendoza’s Juno is also a strong female character. Brave and willing to take risks, most of the time for her own gratification, Juno has much to make up for with Sarah but at what expense. Both of these performances are strong and should get both of these actresses noticed. The rest of the cast don’t get the same amount of development or screen time however, especially the very talented Nora-Jane Noone who is completely wasted, leading you to make the conclusion that they are just gore fodder and outlining the fact that Macdonald and Mendoza are the lead characters.

‘The Descent’ is a good addition to the action horror genre but from a British point of view it doesn’t inject enough creativity or imagination to match films like ‘Shaun of the Dead’ or Marshall’s pervious effort’ Dog Soldier’. As a popcorn horror however, there is enough gore and scares to keep you entertained but just don’t expect it to be another cult classic.



Jamie Kelwick

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