A darkness within and below

Rating: 8/10 (8 October 2006)

The Descent proves to me that the idea, or subject, of a movie doesn't always have to be interesting in itself. Sometimes it is the presentation that matters. Quite simply The Descent is about some women who go into a cave. Hijinks soon follow. The A.P.W. (read: All Powerful Writer) is tempted to say that The Descent is nothing original--that the A.P.W has seen movies like it before, years ago, when scary movies weren't afraid to show consequence and a good fright for a fear of appearing "unsophisticated". But it is this return to basic scare tactics that makes The Descent work. The director uses misdirection, develops characters, shocks, and unfolds events like a pro. The creatures too (I thought of them as subhumanoids) are well constructed--even if couldn't believe that they were unaware of fire, or heavy breathing, on a few occasions. The A.P.W. also had a little difficulty believing that a character could throw a dangerous tool with such lethality in a cave with zero visibility.
But these leaps of cinematic logic are, in a way, what keep this movie entertaining. The director, Neil Marshall, knows when to push the movie into more excessively stylistic territory without making it seem forced. In the end The Descent is an excellent movie, if somewhat unoriginal.