Perhaps Too Grim To Be A Total Success

Rating: 6/10 (3 December 2007)

I really enjoyed Neil Marshall's DOG SOLDIERS and knew right away that here was a genre director to keep an eye on . For some strange reason it wasn't until tonight that I got round to seeing THE DESCENT and felt disappointed with it . If you're after a film that delivers buckets of gore and has you jumping out of your seat then you will not be disappointed . If however you're after a film that has the same sort of charm as DOG SOLDIERS then you'll be as disappointed as I was
That's the problem with THE DESCENT because it lacks any sort of charm , humour or warmth and unfortunately if you liked one of Neil's films you'll probably dislike the other . The one problem I had with DOG SOLDIERS is that it took a long time to get into its stride and it's possibly the only thing it shares with this film , though to be honest it's worse in that respect because we have to wait almost a whole hour before the monsters turn up and until then we have to endure a girls get together in the remote American wilderness . Compare this narrative structure to something like 28 DAYS LATER which instantly draws the audience into the story , or even better 28 WEEKS LATER which has an absolutely awesome opening ten minutes
Right away you can see the difference between the two movies . In one we have good natured British squaddies complete with a blokey attitude while in the other we have a cosmopolitan bunch of unsympathetic women who I found very annoying , so much so that I found myself cheering for the monsters . Not a very charitable attitude I know but compare this with the characterization of Sgt Wells , Coop and Spoon from the earlier movie where you couldn't not like the characters . Likewise throughout THE DESCENT there's a totally grim , bleak and nihilistic atmosph ere that is reflected in thestoryline and you won't feel like smiling after watching this . You can make the argument that Neil Marshall has made two horror films that are poles apart and you'd be right , but shouldn't a horror film be fun ? Isn't this the reason why DOG SOLDIERS was so enjoyable ?
Despite my criticism THE DESCENT was met with critical and commercial success and put Neil Marshall on the map in America . Seeing as we have a horror director who can make very different genre films I can't help thinking that if the rumoured 28 MONTHS LATER makes it into production then Neil Marshall would be a strong contender for director . One common criticism of the first two films in the franchise is that the second halves have a problem sustaining the momentum which is not a problem I've seen with this director's previous work and a grim , downbeat ending would be more in keeping with the 28 franchise than with this type of horror movie