A decent descent

Rating: 7/10 (26 May 2009)

The Descent uses an old horror formula, but with a few twists, a little artistic creativity, and some clever directing, the movie succeeds where other horror films have failed. The tension is well orchestrated, and highly subjective, bringing a real sense of claustrophobia to the viewer. Some effort has been put forward to building a realistic, scary setting rather than an artificial fantasy world like that in 'The Cave', and with a lot of hand-held camera-work and minimalist lighting, The illusion is real enough to get the audience hooked.
In the Appalachian mountains, six girls go on a cave exploration trip, deep under the earth. Soon the fun adventure ends, and a real one begins when they get lost, and find themselves stocked by strange creatures who are fast agile climbers, and vicious carnivores.
The funny thing about The Descent is how the scares are quite predictable, but they make you jump anyway. Sometimes you know when something is going to happen, but you don't know what. Other times you know what is going to happen, but you don't know when. When the ending comes, It's quite obvious that there is going to be one last surprise, but it comes in a way that is not only surprising, but provides a clever bookending to the protagonist's journey, the journey into madness.
If this is your kind of thing, I can assure you that you wont be bored. From the moment the characters make their descent into the inevitable, we the viewers descend with them.