A genre classic? Probably...

Rating: 10/10 (22 August 2006)

I just finished watching 'The Descent' for the second time. To tell the truth, i wasn't really scared after the first viewing, can't explain why really, possibly because i was watching it with eight dollar speakers. But the second time was more effective, probably because of the sub-woofer.
I was waiting to see a good horror film for a few years and then came 2006, which brought me THREE great horror films - Wolf Creek, The Hills Have Eyes Remake and now The Descent. At first, when i read about the film, i wasn't really thrilled about the premise(people go into a cave, meet monsters, monsters eat the people). It reminded me too much of 'The Cave', which was an enormous disappointment. I only decided to watch it after reading positive reviews on 'Aint It Cool News'.
So, about the movie. The film opens with scenes of a few women rafting, after which one of them, Sarah goes somewhere with her husband and daughter, the later two meet tragic fate on the way. Sarah is then left with a deep trauma, and sees visions of her daughter through out the film, which plays an important part in the ending of the film. A year has passed since the tragic accident, and Sarah is now on her way to what seems to be a perfect vacation with her friends. They decide to go cave-diving and they're guide through this experience is Juno, Sarah's close friend. She tells everybody, that the cave is already discovered and everything is safe. After a small passage inside the cave collapses, lies are revealed, trust falls, one of the women, Holly, breaks her leg. But that isn't the only problem... In a tense scene, where the women argue over whether there is a way out or not, something attacks them, and all hell breaks loose..
Now, to get to the action in this films, you have to wait. Through this time, you get to know every woman in the group, specially Juno, who at first seems like a very supportive friend, but in the end turns out pretty much a liar.
Now, about the ending... As we all may or may not know, there are two versions of the ending to 'The Descent'. In the original ending, Sarah falls into a pile of bones, sees light, wake's up and runs to it. She gets out of the cave, drives to a highway, after which she wakes up in the cave, realizing it was a dream. She then sees her daughter once again and stay's in the cave awaiting her fate. In the alternate ending, the films ends with Sarah driving to the highway, which is a very corny ending, if you ask me. The original ending, however, is much deeper and has more meaning to it. Sarah's mind cannot take more. Her husband and daughter died in a tragic accident, and now her closest fiends have died horrifying deaths, and Sarah simply looses her mind and believes, that her daughter is really there in the cave.
Overall, this is a simply amazing horror film, probably, the best of this year and it could easily become a classic of the genre. If people are ready to accept it, that is.
10/10