Product: The Descent (Original Unrated Cut) [Blu-ray] (2006)
Rating: 5.0
A hellish descent!!!!
I'm a pretty recent convert to the horror genre, only coming to enjoy good horror films in the last three to four years. I could care less for films that feature naked teens running around and being slaughtered by the likes of Michael, Jason or Freddy. To me, being scared by the darkness, what you can't see or what you can't explain, is much more frightening! Give me "The Others" or "The Ring" anyday over Chucky and his ridiculous bride! "The Descent" gives you that kind of fear (darkeness and the unknown) and does so on several levels.The story features six action lovin' gals who decided to go cave exploring in the Appalachian Mountains. The alpha female, Juno, is an adrenline junkie and decides, without informing the others, that they will descend into an unexplored cave. Her friend, Sarah, only a year earlier lost her husband and daughter in a terrible car accident and is still battling the emotional demons of that tragedy, perhaps using the trip as a way to move on, trying to distance herself from the pain of loss. Holly, another adventurer, is quite reckless and also prone, like Juno, to a big adrenline rush.Once the women are inside, they are trapped by a rock fall and eventually become aware of underground creatures that see them as a walking meal. The creatures are very creepy and the tight shots of the ladies spelunking and later trying to escape the cave dwellers will tie your stomach in knots. The camera work is great, making you feel the claustrophobic horror that the women are experiencing and giving you only enough light to see the terror that is being inflicted upon them. Add to that trust issues among the friends and personl problems that add to the drama and you have a lot of emotion and fear.The film takes a little while to get into but once in the cave, the suspense builds with each scene. There is a lot of blood and gore, but it isn't overdone and only adds to the shock of what is happening to the team of spelunkers. I'm looking forward to seeing the original ending which was changed for American audiences because it offered a less than positive ending. Even with the American ending, I highly recommend this film to fans of horror movies. I will definitely add this one to my dvd collection!