"Love each day"

Rating: 8/10 (14 December 2007)

The most intelligent, well-structured, and poetic horror movie to be made in first decade of the new century. It will likely be the only one for a good while longer.
Disclaimer: If you want to get the full effect, watch the uncut version. If just want to see a good movie, watch the American theatrical release and do not read the following.
The Descent is about the descent into madness. As such it begins with reality, linearity, and rationality, but de-evolves into parable, circularity, and emotion. There are several markers which will help you through the darkness of this complex and intimidating plot. One is the "Birthday Candles." There is one candle for each of the friends. This plot device is not a cheap-trick, that is, don't expect one candle after another to be snuffed out as each friend is killed! It is merely a structural marker to tell you where you are in the plot! They don't spell out a code or anything as absurd or gimmicky as all that, they are like the axe-heads from Homer's Odysseya sort of thematic placeholder to lend the story structure and cause it to reverberate with its own resonance. If the break-down so far has scared you, fear not, it will become clearer.
There are several places the "birthday candles" show up. The first is as the friends are enjoying drinks in their cabin. A strange shot shows a row of beer-bottles, out of focus, with the light of the fire-place glowing in-between. The beer-bottles are not important! He's drawing your attention to the negative space in-between them. This is your first glimpse of "the candles." Later, as the friends drive to the cave, there is a deer-crossing sign which is riddled with bullet holes. Again, the light shining through the holes is your "birthday candles" marker.
Then, as the friends are approaching the cave on foot, they find a slain elk its antlers are another reverberation of the theme.
Now, I'm not going to say anymore about "the birthday candles" because this isn't an essay and I want you to figure out for yourself where the other instances are, and what they ultimately lead up to. Also keep in mind that I've only listed a few "easy to miss" shots what I've pointed out is not all that has gone on so far I purposely left stuff out so that you can fully enjoy the effect without my giving it all away.
Here's your second clue. The plot of this movie is not linear. It comes full circle. Remember that. Pay VERY close attention to the beginning or "prologue" of the film. Don't look for petty little details, because you'll just waste your time. Just try to remember it, and keep it in mind. In particular, think about the abstract structure of the film, and compare the beginning to the end and see if you can't figure out why the ending isn't just a random twist.
Your third clue is the screams. Notice how the girls scream in the beginning. Towards the end of the film, are they still screaming? What other sounds do you hear? How do the sounds change? What do the sounds remind you of? Are there any sounds that seem out of place?
Your fourth clue is the crawlers themselves. The director of this film said, in an interview "the crawlers are the cavemen who never left the cave." Some of you may be quick to point out that there were no cave-men in that part of north-America. You're right, but the director's not stupid! The crawlers are men who have "de-evolved," what else is de-evolving? Why are there old mining helmets and other signs of human life among the crawlers? Are there any female crawlers? And child crawlers? If so, is there a meaningful reaction between these special crawlers and any of the girls? Does this interaction come at a critical point in the plot? When the crawlers first appear, who sees them? Who doesn't see them? What about the camera that was brought along, what does it see? Is there a significance as to when the camera is lost? When the others finally see a crawler, how is it that they see him?
Finally, I leave you with this question. Who's fault is it that everything goes so horribly wrong? The answer may surprise you And this is my final hint. It isn't Juno. It isn't Sarah. But it is someone! You'll have to wait to the end of the uncut version to find out! Hope that helps! I know this film ain't easy!
At its heart, The Descent is a parable for and meditation on destructive jealously... not a true horror film, action film, nor is it a vindictive tirade against the treacherousness of women or some other form of limited satire. I challenge you to figure out what (or perhaps whom) is central object of this jealously. Your last hints are as follows: It isn't the necklace. It isn't Sarah's husband. Holly is part of the answer, who is makes up the other?
((The Descent is a blisteringly intelligent film and beautifully made, but too cerebral to be widely understood 100% for a tremendous concept and execution, but -20% for its extreme difficulty and the fact that even fans of the movie fail to understand it. Final grade 80%. B grade work only limited by its own refusal to be less cryptic in its message))