the decent horror of "the descent"

Rating: 6/10 (30 January 2007)

Six thrill seeking friends explore an uncharted cave system in the Appalachian Mountains only to find themselves trapped without a map in "The Descent". As the all-female cast traverse into the bowels of the wilderness, or the metaphoric equivalent of Mother Nature's womb, disaster begins to strike at every turn. The film builds with a well-plotted tension rarely seen in modern horror, but unfortunately it falls apart in the latter half regardless of how deliberately orgasmic the young women's screams sound. There is a fine line between satisfying the audience for the audience's sake and by virtue of spinning a worthwhile tale. The early strengths of "The Descent" are squandered by uninvited guests, so to speak. No matter how much the filmmakers might believe otherwise, the heightened dangers discovered in the second half actually detract from the frightening, claustrophobic, man (or woman) versus nature realism it sets up with such skill.