Some of the best modern horror to be found.

Rating: 8/10 (10 July 2010)

The Descent is a movie of several different kinds of fear. Fear of oppressing, endless darkness. Claustrophobic fear of being trapped in small space miles under the surface, with possibly no way out. Fear of unknown, bloodthirsty monsters. Fear of your own companions and their actions.
I've seen this so many times that I shouldn't be frightened by it anymore, but I certainly am. It's the atmosphere and the uncomfortable ease that you can find yourself drawn into this unknown cave system with these women, their underlying issues, and the unseen terrors in the dark. I keep watching it again because it's so entertaining, even beyond the normal parameters of a horror movie.
The Descent dabbles successfully in both primal and psychological horror, features a setting that would inspire panic without any additional enemies, and sticks a great cast right in the middle of it. There will never be a horror movie that appeals to absolutely everyone (the nature of fear is too subjective for that), but this is one of the few movies in the genre that I think comes close to being universal. If you have any slight interest in horror of any kind, you should make seeing this an imperative.