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Feb
04
2006

The Descent Review

Posted by Todd Brown at 2:14am.

Posted in Film & DVD Reviews , Horror, UK, Ireland, Australia & New Zealand.

descent.jpg

The lengthy delay bringing Neil Marshall’s The Descent to North American shores makes a certain degree of sense on a business level. After all, there was the remarkably similar, and US studio backed, film The Cave on the way and the powers that be didn’t want to risk open the two too closely together for fear of oversaturating and / or confusing the market. However, it must be said that any world in which The Cave – a film positively loathed by critics and ignored by audiences – takes precedence over Marshall’s impeccably crafted film is a world run by idiots.

Already well loved by genre fans for his work on Dog Soldiers Marshall has here crafted a nearly flawless horror film. The Descent tells the story of six women, adrenaline junkies all, on a thrill seeking trip spelunking in the Appalachians. The women are trapped underground when a tunnel collapses, after which they are taught a lesson in the consequences of long term inbreeding and vitamin D deficiency by a horribly deformed clan of subterranean dwellers.

The film breaks neatly into two parts, the first half playing as a horribly claustrophobic psychological thriller – this film will give claustrophobic viewers absolute fits – with all hell breaking loose once the bottom dwellers appear on the scene as the second half plays as a brilliantly blood soaked jump a minute monster picture. Taken as a whole the film gives you well nigh everything you could ask from a genre picture: solid characters, a tight and well written script, a brilliantly foreign yet recognizable setting, fantastic creature designs, and intensely uncomfortable horror sequences based on a mix of realistic situations – say it with me, “Compound fracture, no anaesthetic” – and nightmarish fantasy.

Why does The Descent succeed so admirably where The Cave failed so badly? Three reasons: script, cast and execution.

On the script level Marshall – who wrote as well as directed – proves himself a master of genre film, hitting all the right notes while also showing himself willing and able to go the extra mile. With this sort of film he could probably have gotten away with writing very simple characters and going straight for the gore but his refusal to do that elevates Marshall’s work above the genre pack. He builds a deep relationship between his characters, particularly between the central three, layering in depths of meaning and subtext with subtlety and grace, and those extra grace notes go a long way towards selling the story once the more extreme elements kick in. And as for those more extreme elements, Marshall simply nails them.

As for the cast the entire group is strong with Shauna MacDonald turning in a particularly strong performance in the lead, and most emotionally demanding role. Group dynamics are a hard thing to get right, particular in a group this size made up almost entirely of people who are supposed to have been close friends for years, and this group makes it look effortless. All of the players are also dead solid when it comes to selling the more physical elements of things and, let’s be honest here, who doesn’t love the sight of a blood drenched woman bashing in the skull of an underground ghoul with the thigh of some long dead animal?

And finally, the execution. Marshall is simply dead solid behind the camera. He shoots gorgeous film and paces things beautifully. He shifts gears seamlessly between moods and always knows when to tease and when to deliver. He establishes his mastery with a pair of early sequences. He uses the opening three minutes of the film – a river rafting sequence revolving around the central three characters – to instantly and easily establish the relationship between the three while also delivering the tragedy that will drive MacDonald’s character through the rest of the film with casual, ruthless efficiency. And again, when the film jumps forward in time a year to get us to the larger group, Marshall needs just a few minutes to establish and link each of his six characters. With just a few minutes we easily understand each of them and their relationship to one another. That he can pull this off so easily is no small feat. And Marshall’s not just good with character, he is a maestro at manipulating tension and sending in the gushes of blood.

The only significant mis-step in the film is the curiously doubled up ending – either option would have been fine individually but Marshall opts to include two – but it is a relatively minor issue, certainly nothing major enough to spoil the film and for the rest of the run time The Descent stands as a stellar piece of film making, a film that would have people mentioning Marshall’s name in the same breath as new wave horror maestros such as Eli Roth if only he’d been American rather than British. As it is we are left waiting for the film to hit theaters on these shores. And studio execs wonder why import DVDs are so popular …

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Reader Comments

  1. Christ 02/04/2006 @ 4:16am

    I was really sucker punched into believing this was a good movie but oh lord god no :(

  2. Gummo 02/04/2006 @ 4:30am

    Really? I love this movie, and thought Todd’s review was pretty much spot on! (aside from the fact I particularly liked the double-ending).

    Just out of curiosity then, what do you think is a good horror movie?

  3. missmahoney 02/04/2006 @ 7:04am

    I as well thought the movie was one of the better horror films I’ve seen this year. Also, I would like to know what Christ considers a good horror film.

    I’ve shown this movie to all my friends.

  4. Swarez 02/04/2006 @ 7:09am

    The best horror film in years and one of last years best films. I’ve never felt so uncomfortable in the theatre as I did watching this.

  5. Peter 02/04/2006 @ 7:54am

    I thought the Descent was an incredible let down. I hadn’t even been reading much hype about it at the point when I saw it, but it was a joke.

    The characters are incredibly unbelievable in execution, there is little to no agency in anything they do (other than the obvious choice to try to leave the cave). Juno was a bore and I don’t see how anyone could ever buy that she, some random woman from the UK, knows the exact location of an otherwise globably unknown and unexplored cave system and no one else does.

    All the scares were derived from either quick cuts or fast filling of negative space. Not to mention the repeated shots that completely mimiced the Alien franchise. I’m all for homage in a movie, but not when you’re taking one of the most iconic shots in genre history; especially when its a shot that is so well known it actually found its way into the Simpsons more than once.

    I dug the creatures. I’ll give Marshall that. But otherwise I find the Descent to be just another example of people making a puddle out to be an ocean. These waters be shallow.

  6. BtoFu 02/04/2006 @ 1:50pm

    Nice review, Todd..hella cool film in my book.

  7. Rebort 02/05/2006 @ 5:26am

    Is this a review of the DVD or a cut you saw at Sundance? There’s a rumor floating around that either Marshall or Lion’s Gate has cut the movie’s ending for US theatrical release, although I can’t find any confirmation one way or another on it.

  8. Christ 02/05/2006 @ 8:12am

    Gummo > both the lady and I enjoyed it straight up til the attack of the creatures. I always feel that as soon as they introduce creatures, or such, you can calculate the frights easily. I’d been mightly impressed if they just kept on exploring the dark and using that as they had begun.

    ps. sorry for whatever lingual problems I seem to have, it’s SB sunday so i’m kranky today. btw go Seattle! ds.

  9. Todd Brown 02/05/2006 @ 9:02am

    REview is based on the UK DVD. Which is excellent, by the way ...

  10. Caterpillar 02/05/2006 @ 12:02pm

    I think the reason why I liked this film so much has in part to do with the terrible piece of shit film called THE CAVE that came out in the US last August. I seriously thought that DESCENT would be just as bad and only watched it one evening out of complete boredom. Ended up being my favorite film of 2005.

  11. Tim 02/05/2006 @ 9:09pm

    Who is gonna think i’m lame? Saw “The Cave” first...didn’t think it was half bad. I was expecting much worse and was slightly suprised by the outcome.

    Now “The Desdent” was exceptional compared to the previous mentioned film. I will always wonder if there was some sort of connection?

  12. Daniel 02/06/2006 @ 2:27am

    Rented this the other day after hearing that it was a great film… it’s not rubbish, but in typical horror movie fashion people are routinely committing suicidal acts of stupidity (exploring unexplored caves without telling anyone or the rest of the group? running flat out in a cave in total darkness? WTF!), followed by everyone getting eaten by gollum’s cousins.

    Actually, that part was quite entertaining, especially the first incident between Tomb raid… I mean Juno, the creatures and the first girl to get eaten, who is dealt with in a ruthless fashion. The double ending did seem a bit unnecessary because it felt like there should have been more to the ending despite the fact that Marshall left it up to the audience to decide what happens. It’s not a horror classic, it’s not better than Dog Soldiers, but it is a decent film.

  13. Gummo 02/06/2006 @ 4:54am

    OK - SPOILER ALERT!!! IF YOU’VE NOT SEEN THIS MOVIE.. DONT READ THIS!

    Y’see Daniel, I didnt think Marshall left it up to the audience to decide what happens..

    The ending is that (you know who) has gone cuckoo and is still in the cave. I liked the way it was a thrill ride and after all that went on Marshall offers some hope; A light at the end of the tunnel for a (semi) happy ending - Only for him to pull the rug out from under the feet of the audience and end on a dark note after all. Genius! A completely black humoured and damn fine punchy ending as far as I was concerned! Instead of the usual hero escapes stuff, this was giving the finger and refusing to conform, while completely throwing the audience at the same time.

    A very clever move I thought.

  14. Lynne 03/11/2006 @ 4:01pm

    OMG how can people NOT love this movie?! It was fantastic! I’ve watched it over a million times! lol It’s great, it was s*** scary when I saw it in the cinema and I still jump at a couple of bits with the huge buildup! The extras on the special edition dvd are amazing! Certainly give this movie *****stars

  15. Maya 05/09/2006 @ 10:57am

    Caught this at 2006 SFIFF where executive director Graham Leggat promoted it by saying that, when he saw it at Sundance, he peed his pants. How’s that for an endorsement? Let alone that he was seeing it for the third time when I caught it. I loved the film. I screamed and screamed like a girl and had to apologize to the young ladies beside me who also screamed like girls. Todd’s review, as ever, is spot on. I took the ending to mean that the protagonist had flipped out and, just as she kept hearing her daughter, now she was going to keep seeing her dead friends. It wasn’t my favorite ending, but as Todd said, didn’t ruin the film for me.

  16. Toni 07/23/2006 @ 3:40am

    this movie has no happy ending.

    I cannot understand who could have thought something like that.

    you cannot make it anymore clear. maybe she should have said something like: “oh my god it’s only a dream, i’m gonna die down here with all of my friends” -

    and about the other comment that the tomb raider girl is ridiculous and the plot device of entering an uncharted cave is stupid -> I live in austria and have a few friends living in the alps: going climbing, hiking, kite-surfing, snowboarding, whatever, you get it -> THEY ARE EXACTLY like the TombRaider Character only male.

    take my word: the tomb raider character is flawless and spot-on.

    AND running away into complete darkness: you ever been confronted with an VIOLENT life-death situation: I WAS. what did i do ?

    I RAN MINDLESSLY AWAY INTO COMPLETE DARKNESS.

    and it saved me.

    please excuse any typos.

  17. toshiromifune69 08/12/2006 @ 8:52am

    I just saw this amazing ode to tight, dark places after getting it off of usenet--I have the 2dvd set coming from an eBayer in the UK(but I couldn’t wait)--and I have to say it’s one of the best horror films I’ve seen in years--if Marshall continues to make films like this and DOG SOLDIERS than he can single-handedly save the English horror film. Did anyone else pick up on the fact that Juno had been having an affair with Sarah’s husband? Looks the reason for both his head-on crash and Juno’s determination to get Sarah out alive(out of guilt I assume).

  18. maureen 01/24/2007 @ 2:00pm

    The Descent is a good Girl movie to see. The first 22 minutes is all Girl Talk-One for all and all for one talk. The action starts when they descend into the cave. The creatures were ugly and gruesome. I like the ending to the movie. It was different from other horror movies. Did Juno have an affair with Sarah’s husband? The women didn’t discuss it or have a fight about it. The movie just suggested that there was an affair.Good DVD to buy. Just fast forward 22 minutes until they enter the cave.

  19. JACKI 02/04/2007 @ 9:18am

    i do not understand what the endind means....can someone help me?it felt like it was left for the audience to decide but i cant help but wonder what it means.....

  20. Daniel Van Weert 03/30/2007 @ 4:08pm

    I just finished watching ‘The Descent’ and while I cannot lay claim to picking up on an affair aspect, I certainly loved the movie. It was great. The characters actually went all out and kicked some ass. It is really nice to see the transformation of characters during a movie. I didn’t like the second ending. I would have much preferred something wherein she survived and the army went back and smoked those buggers out. Aside from that, I think there were two serious problems in the film. 1. The ‘earthquake’ was unnecessary and could have been done without. I am sure that those ladies would have continued on regardless. 2. They didn’t sense the heat coming off of her torch, they acted as if they could see and moved as if they could see. Only someone with sight would have positioned them in the last fight. The golluminators would have gone for a small cramped tunnel. I also believe that they would react to the heat of her torch. There is no way on earth that they would be accustomed to something like that. All in all though, I really liked it!!
    -----

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