The Descent into greatness!

Rating: 9/10 (2 August 2008)

After having seen this film for about the fifth time i thought it fit to finally comment on how great i think this film is! Not only did it manage to scare the living crap out of me but it also gave me hope that there is a future for horror films after all. For me this is taking horror to a whole new level almost reinventing the genre all together! Thats a bit of an overstatement but what strikes me the most about this film was the very fact that the horror itself didn't lie within the savage creatures which where eating our lovely ladies one by one but the internal horrors themselves.
These creatures are just merely a metaphor for something much more deeper in this film. They are symbols of the internal horrors which lay within each of the three main characters which all share a secret which has the ability to tear them apart for good. At the very start of the film we witness the horrific death of Sarahs husband and child and this then sets up the rest of the film. I say this because the death of her family is a far more horrific horror then the creatures in the cave. For Sarahs character defeating these creatures is a right of passage which was created by these deaths. In order for her to even survive for as long as what she did (and its not because she is the main character and that she HAS to survive) she had to deal with the death of her family. Surviving these creatures has given her the strength to survive and move on. This deep character development and growth is hardly present in horror films these days and if it is it tries to hard. This is clearly depicted when she bursts her way through to the surface clearly indicating that she has been reborn and has dealt with the death of her family. Here lies the reason why i found this film so good. Its ability to deliver the subplot without getting lost in the gore and guts.
Another factor which makes this film so terrifying is the claustrophobic feel of the entire film. Straight from the first shot of the woman crawling into the squashed and tight holes which these crazy girls climb through. It sends chills down your spin knowing that there is no where for these girls to turn when they begin to squirm there way to the exit of the tunnel. Why someone would actually do this i would have no idea but it makes for a good scare. The feeling of not being able to defend or escape such a inescapable situation is so dense and thick in this film it makes it so hard at times you actually have to look away. Also the only lighting source used in this film was the lights which are located on there helmets only added more panic and dread to the film knowing that you could never actually look behind you and see everything and that there is a chance as soon as you move your lighting that something could take its place in the darkness. Hearing the distress in the female voices sends chills down your spins as the panic in the air begins to thicken as you start to think what would happen if that was me??...
Something else which i found a little terrifying was that maybe a sequel is on the way...