A surprisingly effective and brilliant movie

Rating: 9/10 (12 December 2005)

After the mediocre The Cave I had low expectations for this movie, being another cave movie with slightly similar premise. But it was to my pleasant surprise that The Descent easily surpasses The Cave by miles. This is the movie that should have replaced The Cave.
After a very shocking start that will take you completely off guard, the movie sets up the main theme, a group consisting solely of women, heads out into the wilderness to explore a cave. As expected, things go bump in the night, and what started as a wonderful experience soon becomes their worst nightmare, and a fight for their lives.
There are several reasons why this movie works so well. The cast is down to earth, normal looking persons. They feel and act real, and some scenes are nailed perfectly thanks to their acting. They express great emotion by their voices, movements and facial expressions, and as the situation gradually worsens, they change with it. The lead character Sarah is amazing, and without spoiling anything, she changes a lot during the movie and the events that occurs, and she plays it perfectly all the way. Another character, who's name shall be unspoiled for your enjoyments sake, is incredible when she accidentally does something horrible. The moment of realization, the look in her face, if it doesn't make you shocked and thinking, nothing will. It is masterfully played by her, and definitely one of the best moments in the movie. After the movie, ask yourself if you'd be able to live with the same situation.
Another thing that works so well, is how the movie plays well on various fears you might have. Suffering from Claustrophobia? You'll find some of the parts in this movie very disturbing and hard to watch. Fear of Darkness, being trapped, the unknown, heights...it's all there, and it's all very effective.
There's a lot of gore, and it's definitely not for the squeamish. Some scenes had me cringing, simply because they work so well. The gore never becomes silly, it makes the movie effective, and it's also well used to portrait the changes in the characters and how they respond to the events that unfolds. Lightning, Camera-work and Music are also topnotch, and they enhance the mood to great degrees.
This movie can be strongly recommended to both horror fans, and those tired of the same old, overproduced, flashy pop inspired horror movies these days(The mess that is The Cave in mind). This is a chilling, effective and brilliant movie that leaves you shocked and unsettled. And it even manages to give you a major twist at the end, something that managed to shock me more than any other movie the last few years. The question isn't IF you should watch this movie, it's How Soon.