We’re about halfway to October, and a recommendation brought me to the 2005 British horror film “The Descent.”
While the idea is a thriller in itself; a group of adventure seeking friends lost amidst the depths and darkness of an unexplored cave, the movie quickly suffers from the overly gruesome and absurd second half that morphs from intriguing thriller to the garbage that is a typical slasher horror.
Six friends with a history of adventure and thrill seeking, ranging from mountain climbing to white water rafting, are set to explore a cave nestled in the Appalachian Mountains. The women are close with each other, but the story revolves primarily around Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) who has recently suffered an immense tragedy. Sarah’s friend and cave exploration leader, Juno (Natalie Mendoza) seems immediately to have more going on than she is revealing.
“The Descent” has jump scares in its opening act, and several had me on edge as I watched. The real terror comes from the exploration of the cave itself. The darkness, coupled with an unparalleled feeling of isolation, claustrophobia, and deafening silence is displayed perfectly by director/writer Neil Marshall and is enough to spook even the most hardened of horror buffs.
One great early scene depicts the women crawling through an increasingly narrowing tunnel, with little room to do anything other than continue plodding forward. Primitive cave drawings , chilling sounds, and deceptive shadow play begin to offer clues that the women may not be alone in the cave.
I think “The Descent” would have been better served leaving the terror at the setting of the cave and the immense fear of the unknown, that is – are they or aren’t they alone i the darkness. Once the reveal occurs, the rest of the movie is nothing more than a disgusting bloodbath of nonsense – and a sloppy one at that.
Where the darkness once served as a powerful ally, it cripples much of the mayhem as the viewer struggles to discern what the hell is going on. When you do get a clear shot, you may find yourself sickened at the gratuitous nature of the terror, and the laughable special effects.
You may not recognize any of the stars, but all play the characters well. Six friends, snarky and close with each other, and all trapped in an impossible situation. We get the feeling that the women have shared a tight kinship for years, and would do anything to help each other if needed. Sadly, the story is taken from them when the “horror” begins, and again worsens the result.
“The Descent” is a sub par movie. You may find it bloody enough to get your horror fix as you wait for October, but you won’t find it overly appealing.
