Slow to start but worth the wait

Rating: 8/10 (5 April 2007)

The Descent is the tale of a group of girls who go caving. Naturally, things aren't quite what they seem, and things start to go very wrong very quickly. The first section of the film aims to provide us with some background, some character development, so that we can differentiate between the girls later, when they're alone in the dark. As a result, impaling aside, this section's quite slow and drags on a bit. Once they go caving and the film properly starts though, it gets a lot more exciting. The scares are well paced, and they're effective even when it's pretty obvious that they're coming up; credit to the claustrophobic atmosphere of the caves for this. A lot of the film is without music, the silence truly eerie, and the lighting is also very effective. The use of headlamps and night-vision in certain sections makes sudden movement almost impossible to track and therefore quite scary. Nonetheless, it's still a little slow until the ego's take over underground. As the girls argue, they are being tracked by something that's been living in the cave and is none too pleased with their intrusion. Being stalked underground by a highly developed hunter is quite a freaky premise, and as a result you're left in a perpetual state of unease for the rest of the film as it turns from a girls night out into an underground zombie movie. This is a good thing, and it rattles along at a high pace for the second half, which makes The Descent tense, uncomfortable but ultimately enjoyable viewing. Worth it!