An above average horror flick

Rating: 7/10 (7 January 2007)

This is a movie by the same guy,Neil Marshall, that gave us "Dog Soldiers",a great werewolf movie.While "The Descent" isn't quite as good, the guy without a doubt knows how to make a movie.This movie is an England product and in fact it is a bit bothersome that the best of the modern horror movies seems to come from overseas these days.Maybe the US has enough horror these days without having to make movies,huh? Oh well as long as someone keeps making good horror movies....
Anyway six women go into an uncharted cave in Appalachia and soon discover that they are not alone.They find themselves 2 miles underground with their original route no longer accessible.They battle with each other and the cave dwellers to try and find a way to the surface.What would live 2 miles underground in total darkness? It can't be anything good.
This movie is well paced and well written and the acting is decent,although at times some of the actresses were emoting a bit too much.The gore is plentiful and the special effects are very well done.This movie will make you jump a few times.And I like that.
The only downside to the movie I found was the darkness.Taking place in a cave there was a lot of darkness ,of course, and for me a dark movie has always been hard to follow even on a big screen in a theater.This movie was a bit hard to keep up with at times due to the lack of light,especially some of the fast paced fight scenes.I tweaked the brightness a bit on my TV and that helped some.Also some of the women have a bit of an accent that was hard to follow at times with the cave echo and the screaming.Even with six women there was no skin in this movie but the movie was so well done I didn't miss it much.
This is a fairly original movie that will keep your attention throughout.For me a great a movie is one I'll rate an 8 or higher.I gave this a 7 because of the constant battle to see what was happening in the dark setting.While it may not be a great movie it is a cut way above most of the dreck that is called "horror" these days.