The best horror film of the decade thus far

Rating: 9/10 (18 August 2007)

Neil Marshall's follow up to Dog Soldiers sounds quite similar when you consider the plot synopsis: a group of six female friends on a caving trip in the mountains are attacked by cannibalistic subhumans. But while the same-sex group under attack in a tightly packed space, located in the wilderness motif may be repetitive, The Descent is actually a significantly different film. Dog Soldiers, for all its wanton gore and violence was played as much for laughs as horror, off-setting the werewolf frenzy with bickering between the soldiers and references to the Evil Dead. The Descent on the other hand plays it relatively straight. There are still nods to pop culture but from the horrific opening sequence to the beautifully dark ending, there isn't a laugh to be had. Instead, Marshall plunges cast and audience alike into a claustrophobic nightmare scenario and the result is not only the most relentless horror of the decade thus far, but arguably the finest as well.
What is especially striking about The Descent is that you could quite feasibly remove the monsters from the story and still have an hour and a half of raw terror. Central to this is the lighting, the film foregoing all standard light rigs and relying solely on the fluorescent caving equipment and helmet bulbs to illuminate the darkness. When a bulb breaks, the screen is plunged into darkness. As a result, light becomes the most precious commodity in the film and simply watching the cast crawling through tight spaces and narrow tunnels in the rock is a nerve-shredding experience. Dust falls from the ceiling and there is the constant threat of a cave-in looming overhead, providing The Descent with a bleak and oppressive atmosphere even before the first monster comes crawling into view.
When they do though, Marshall pushes the tension as close to breaking point as film is likely to get. The teasing snippets of drooling shadows and huddled, shadowy forms give way to some highly effective 'jump out of the seat' scares. And don't think for a second that just because the protagonists are women that the director will be pulling punches, the violence is brutal, messy and grim. While this will be nothing new to genre fans who in the past few years have seen flesh eating viruses, blood splattered Euro-torture and rural massacres brought vividly to life on screen, The Descent is still effective: one scene where a girl trembles in fright, watching the corpse of a friend being ripped asunder through a video-camera lens only inches away finding the perfect balance between old-school claret and white-knuckled tension.
Marshall's trump card though is the level of intelligence that he provides, something that is sorely lacking from the large number of mainstream horror films. There is a subtle implication of adultery motivating character actions and an even more subtle hint that the entire scenario may simply be the nightmare delusions of the lead heroine. After all, she experiences hallucinations before the trip and noticeably leaves a prescription bottle of pills behind. This grants the film an edge over its contemporaries, as it rewards repeat viewings by allowing the possibility of multiple interpretations.
In short, the best film to crop up from the resurgence in old-school horror. It's definitely aware of its genre heritage, mixing elements of Deliverance (same sex activity trip) with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the blood-drenched lead looks just like the 'final girl' Sally) and even Alien (the trip into the cave resembles the entrance to the derelict) but reconfigures them for an intense and unforgiving ride. Decades from now, this one will be considered a classic and no doubt, the 2030 remake will result in all kinds of derision.