Going down is more fun then getting there

Rating: 6/10 (22 December 2006)

Visceral horror movie delves deep into atmospheric terror as six female adventurers set off on their annual group expedition, this years trip being centered around the lovely cave expedition one member has planned. With a finely implemented pace, The Descent moves along with a stylistic and palpable urgency usually not found in the horror genre, especially in what devolved into a more generic one. What, for at least half the film, felt like an anxious buildup of suspense carried impressively by the claustrophobic design, sadly reared off course into a less gripping scenario of stalker-based antics, followed by your surefire balls-out showdown providing fans with their much needed and satisfactorily delivered gore fix. The atmosphere intensive and psychologically compelling buildup far outweighed the more generic follow through to me, however that is not to say that these later action scenes, though edited beyond some recognition, are not executed with the same artistic integrity shown throughout the impressive shoot. For many of the inevitable generic trappings the nemesis can be compared with, credit must given to Neil Marshall for imagining this particularly arresting set design in order to let his mechanisms convincingly thrive. The all female cast make the journey a little more unique, bringing some interesting, albeit underdeveloped characters with intriguing though undercooked subplots to the table, but it is surely the setting itself that wins the attention of most.. an outstanding horror backdrop, to play out some less outstanding actual horror.