Two big flaws, otherwise a nice little feminist horror movie that makes you think

Rating: 7/10 (6 August 2006)

I went in with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised. The movie is gory, but the gore never seems gratuitous. Most importantly, it's a lot of fun to debate to what extent this can be considered a feminist allegory. There are the tried and true baptism and rebirth scenes, and lots and lots of penetrations and narrow tunnels, but besides all the cheesy overdone stuff, there is an underlying message about violence against females and the difficulty women have surviving in a male dominated world that tries its best to consume them or pit them against each other.
The two huge flaws in the movie come pretty early on. In the first, two of the women accomplish a physical feat that requires superhuman strength. I won't spoil it, but it involves hanging by one arm from a rock (try doing it from a plastic ring for a while if you doubt this is difficult) while simultaneously setting climbing gear into the ceiling. It is not utterly impossible (almost, but not quite), but the nonchalant way in which it is accomplished by such obviously weak women destroys the credibility of the movie early on. I just assumed it was a dark fairy tale, and enjoyed the rest of the movie as an allegory.
The second flaw is the reliance on the old cheap scare tactics of lesser horror films (the CG bats are laughable). The first four or five jump-in-your-seat scares are so by-the-books that everyone in the audience knows: A - exactly when they will happen, and B - that they will turn out not to be the creatures. Once the creatures show up, these silly telegraphed moments go away for the most part.
Besides these two flaws, the film is entertaining, well-directed, and genuinely scary. Many viewers will comment on the lack of character development. It's not really an issue. You know all you need to know about the two main characters in the movie. There are two major plot twists which are very violent, the second hurts the feminist vibe of the movie a bit, but it also gives the film a little bit of a moral center to discuss in addition to the feminist angle.
There are many ignorant male theater patrons (female as well I suppose) who complain that the stars are not "hot" and that there are no breast flaunting, hip-waggling, pelvis grinding moments. This is actually a good thing, but if you're going in hopes of some brainless T and A action, stay at home los lonely boys. Thankfully, the movie never stoops to flashing skin, at least not nubile female skin... there's plenty of pale cave-dweller skin.
There are a slew of negative reviews lately that seem to be some kind of backlash against the critical praise that this movie has received. Make no mistake, this movie is not "the next Alien" or the greatest horror film of the decade, but it is worth watching on the big screen. The ending was altered significantly from the European version which is disappointing, but the movie retains most of its value even with its slight Hollywoodish sugar-coating. If you want some thrills in a dark fairy tale, if you like watching women kick ass instead of screaming and tripping over their miniskirts, and if you don't mind thinking a little after a movie (to what extent is it a feminist film?), Descent is well worth the price of a ticket.