A Claustrophobic's Nightmare

Rating: 8/10 (25 August 2006)

Six adventurous twenty-something girlfriends go on a daring descent into uncharted caves. One woman is dealing with the loss of her husband and daughter, and by the end of the movie she has lost a lot more than that; including her sanity.
With an almost all female cast, The Descent stands out in the field of horror movies. It's a fresh, original plot with creepy monsters and great jumpy scares. But with a misleading trailer and not-quite-wide-enough release, I'm afraid this one will get passed over at the box office.
Throughout the movie, we are thrown into almost complete darkness many times. There are scenes which would make claustrophobics hyperventilate. There's no denying it: This is a scary one. But it's so much more than that. It's a study of how one emotionally damaged woman deals with circumstances that would make grown men wet themselves. Friendships begin and end, secrets come out, and we are left stunned as these women battle not only the cave monsters, but their own instincts.
Final Score: 8/10