Product: The Descent (Original Unrated Cut) [Blu-ray] (2006)
Rating: 2.0
CRASH! BANG! POW!
Are you scared?This is yet another episode of "How to Frighten Audiences With Loud, Unexpected Noises" ... except, by now, we can see them coming from a mile away.Certainly, The Descent was full of promise -- a stunning accident leaves a woman alone, shattered. She's a risk-taker, a spelunker, together with a group of female friends who like edging up close to death and feeling the thrill. But, with the accident, she apparently folds up, and her friends don't stick around to help.And so, sometime later, these "friends" agree to draw her out with an exciting new adventure -- caving in the depths of Appalachia. Maybe, they figure, the danger and excitement will reignite their friendships, and maybe their friend's life.And so, down we go into this gaping hole of a cave, deeper and deeper into the Earth ... and maybe the subconscious. Monsters of the Id and all that.But, if that sounds provocative, rest assured that The Descent is nothing more than a spoiled opportunity ... a half-baked, half-executed, and never more than spottily realized exercise. Sure, the cinematography is first rate, filled with interesting angles and colors. The cave scenes are spooky, and the claustrophobic moments work.But, sadly, we have a director who thinks that jarring and unexpected noises are the most profound way to frighten an audience ... and that if you introduce an undiscovered race of demonoid creatures, an audience will suspend all disbelief ... and that a horror movie can survive even if all of its human characters are entirely unsympathetic, and many downright unlikable.In the end, The Descent is a film version of a roller coaster ride. Sure, the crazy spins and falls will get teenagers (and maybe a few adults) to scream and cheer, but those looking for a good story and some genuine scares will likely be disappointed, particularly with what could have been.