All they wanted was a vacation

Rating: 9/10 (3 April 2012)

After watching Neil Marshall's The Descent I seem to have less motivation to go spelunking and get involved in cave exploration. If that's even possible. I hate claustrophobic locations, but love them in films. I've mentioned before the reason I admire them is because due to limitations geographically, the film must work intricately in the fields of progression, character development, and suspense. Suddenly, the neglected things in horror films become the dominant things, and that's the beauty of a film with a limited setting.
The Descent left me with an almost incorruptible feeling of sorrow and dread for its characters, so much so, I can safely say the last horror film I was this depressed by was Frank Darabont's The Mist. This is a gloomy, pitiless film focusing on a group of women, lead by thrill-seeker Juno (Mendoza), who go out to explore an unnamed cave that no one has entered before. Juno neglects to mention that part.
The reasoning behind the trip is one of the girls, Sarah (Macdonald), lost her husband and young daughter in a collision a year ago, and they want to have a grand adventure, throw caution to the wind, and just take their mind off the depressing events that occurred the previous year. This is where the sentimental part of the film really kicks in. All they wanted was a good time. It reminded me of Open Water (one could dub that a claustrophobic film if they wanted to), a film about a couple who boarded a ship to go diving, hoping to have a fun, enjoyable, and peaceful time. Instead, they were forgotten in the water, and are left without resources in a shark infested sea of despair.
I can sympathize and pity characters who were looking for a fun, distracting getaway. It's a bit difficult to do such a thing when the characters are just concerned about getting high and having sex. It's much more sentimental when we see characters trying to escape the monotony of reality, and sincerely wanted to have a good time, but circumstances go beyond sour and they are left fighting for their own lives. It's the strongest example of calamity I can think of.
The gang winds up getting trapped in the cave, and are lost, hopeless, and growing weary of the darkness and murkiness of the underground. They discover they aren't the only ones down there, as they find vicious creatures who hunt by sound and movement. Once these beings are presented, the film becomes relentless, as it not only makes its characters lost and wandering, but gives them unknown predators to fear.
The film avoids misogyny by actually (a) giving most of the women identifiable traits and (b) portraying them as fighters, not weaklings. Hostel: Part II, a deplorable exercise of snuff and cruelty, portrayed women as helpless mutts with no story to present other than "we want to party." Here, these women are strong and capable, as both characters and actresses.
Also, for a film set underground, it's beautifully lit. A few years back, I watched James Cameron's Sanctum, which took place deep underground in caves as well. In 3D nonetheless; the absolute last place you'd want to see in a dimmer, more murky area. The film was drab, repetitive, void of substance, and an all around bland experience, mostly because character development was replaced with care and attention to cinematography. The Descent multitasks as Neil Marshall, who also worked on the impressive yet unsung B-movie Dog Soldiers, gives us about forty minutes to get acquainted with these characters. Enough time to form a liking for them, and sympathize when things turn sour.
The Descent is a pleasant surprise in the field of horror. It reaches the feeling one doesn't get very often, and that is dread. Scenes are difficult to watch, one comes exactly at the hour mark, and the fear and hopelessness practically bleed through the screen in no time. The ending is again like The Mist; gloomy, disheartening, and full of despair. Not that it's different from the rest of the film. I guess you can say, it stays true to the central tone, and by then, it's perfectly clear what that tone is.
Starring: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring, and Nora Jane No one. Directed by: Neil Marshall.