An absolutely bloodcurdling terror film.

Rating: 10/10 (4 August 2006)

Director Neil Marshall (who gave us the smashing werewolf movie Dog Soldiers in 2002) returns to the horror scene with an even more intense and horrific adventure.
In the North Carolina mountains a band of girlfriends are exploring underground caverns and learn that they are not alone in the black depths of the unknown.
The Descent is a fine horror film that has quite a lot of good things going for it, but one thing above all makes this an excellent horror outing - it delivers genuine fear! Frankly, it had the audience I was viewing it with screaming on a number of occasions! Unfortunately, I can't say the same for most horror movies I watch in the theaters.
Marshall's story is one that builds extreme tension, even from its opening scenes. It builds to terrifically intense action and plenty of bloody violence. All of this is capped off with a surprisingly twisted finale. Even more effectively disturbing is just how claustrophobic this movie is! The setting is dark and tight, leaving the audience in just as much unsettling blackness as the characters in the film. This adds up to some solidly jolting scares. The cinematography is stylishly well-done, the filming locations are beautiful, and the special 'creature' FX are gruesomely good. Oh yes, and there's lots of bloodiness to be had for all you gore hounds!
The cast is quite good as well. Shauna Macdonald is perhaps the best of the cast, as a young woman who lost her child in a tragic car wreck and now must fight to save her friends.
The Descent is a movie that I almost didn't see, but thankfully after reading some strong reviews for it I did. Believe me, I am one happy horror fan for having done so! The Descent will undoubtedly go down as one of the best horror films of the year!
**** out of ****