A decent horror

Rating: 8/10 (8 August 2005)

If you have not seen this film don't read this review or come to that any other reviews. Just go and see it. The less you know about the film beforehand the better.
This is an extremely atmospheric and disturbing film. The first scene cleverly lulls you into a false sense of security only to reawaken you from it with a sharp shock that will leave you reeling for the rest of the film. Making good and frequent use of the sudden jump and with just enough psychological edge to have your nerves well frayed by the time they begin their descent into the caves' claustrophobic depths.
The story follows an all girl group of adventure sport enthusiasts, as they embark on a subterranean bonding session to try to patch their relationship. In particular it focuses on the relationship of the 3 central girls, which has become strained after the opening events of the film. They are joined by 3 others, two Swedish sisters and a cocky Irish teenage protégé. But the girls' confidence soon begins to evaporate as they quickly run into trouble down in the caves, and their situation suddenly becomes much worse when they realise they are not alone in the dark.
The group's all female makeup appears to be a conscious decision by Neil Marshal to set it apart from the laddishness seen in his previous film 'Dog Soldiers', and to distance the main character from Martin Sean's character in 'Apocalypse now'.
Unusually for a horror film the emphasis is on the relationship between the girls, providing much of the films tension. A considerable amount of time is spent at beginning of the film developing that tension, which makes it all the more interesting later on watching the girls' relationship crack as they are put under increasing strain in the caves. This builds to an ending where you are as concerned about what they might do to one another as to what the monsters might do to them.
This has a plot that has you thinking throughout and probably for a good while afterward. It trusts the audience to come to conclusions in their own time. The number of comments left on the IMDb show that it has stuck in people's minds after the film has ended. The reason for the final twist, in particular, is not immediately obvious but becomes apparent when you consider the double meaning behind the films title.
The modern horror genre is a complicated one, with so many categories: psychological horror (Psycho/Seven), minimalist Japanese horror (The Ring), slasher (Halloween), ghost story (The Sixth Sense), zombie (28 Days Later), disaster (Alive), and monster movies (Aliens) to choose from. The Descent manages to combine elements of all these into a genuinely disturbing whole.