Disappointing

Rating: 3/10 (3 October 2013)

Disappointing. After a fairly promising buildup in which reasonably believable characters are established, things quickly deteriorate into conventional boo moments and run-of-the-mill action. The direction is nothing original; the acting, so-so. Super-loud music and noises, intended to heighten the scares, abound, only emphasizing that all has devolved to physical fights with inhuman creatures in a cave. It's more or less a 50s monster flick with gloss but nothing new to offer. One of our group of six spelunkers - sort of a female rip-off of Burt Reynolds' character in Deliverance - *intentionally* leads her companions into an uncharted cave rather than the mapped cave they thought they'd be exploring (that's how we know we're in for a heavy moral a la Deliverance at some point). Said character does something even more heinous later on, to warrant her inevitable comeuppance, because sacrificing her friends to her own ego is too subtle a sin for likely fans of "The Descent".