Does 'The Descent' hit rock bottom?

Rating: 8/10 (12 July 2005)

Chasing his acclaimed cult first film, Dog Soldiers, Neil Marshall brings us another horror flick within the same vein as that ever so comical werewolf movie. Does it hold up to it? Why yes it does!
Although the beginning half of the movie it doesn't appear at all to be a horror movie, instead a dramatic thriller simply about six girls who get trapped down a cave while rock climbing. It's only until an hour in when...WHAM!..the whole situation changes. The movie has a whole change of tone from tight spaces to human hunting creatures from...I've not the slightest idea where the hell from. Hmm, maybe hell, who knows.
It's a common writer/director technique to change the genre/tone half way in. Tarantino and Rodriguez explored this with From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). It's used to tell the story so the audience feel as shocked as the six girl had. Does it work? Indeed. The creatures are fragmented enough so that we are slowly introduced to the beautifully ugly buggers.
The look of the creatures is very much like the Orcs from Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and you get the impression inspiration originated from there. The make-up is the main star of the film in my opinion. Like in Dog Soldiers little digital effects are used and gives the film a more synthetic, ultimately realistic, texture.
The gore factor just increases as the movie goes on, and I felt a slight homage to Brian De Palma's Carrie when our main character turns almost in-humane while drenched in blood after committing several killings.
Overall the film qualifies with flying colours. Though the film may not be a box office success it may gather its deserved attention in DVD sales upon its release in a few months time.