Product: The Descent (Original Unrated Cut) [Blu-ray] (2006)
Rating: 5.0
"The Descent" Trancends Genre
Others have spent a great deal of time writing details about this movie. Instead, I'll make only a few observations.I always loved 'good' horror movies, but for many years I didn't know what differentiated 'good' from substandard fare. Good horror aren't just tales about horrifying events. Instead, they are tales about people in horrifying circumstances.The distinction is critical, and that's where the vast majority of horror films fail. They portray events without relating the horror to the film's characters - or worse, they leave us not caring at all and able only to think about the graphic nature of the film.Some people think "The Descent" is a movie about six women who 'descend' into a cave and are attacked by man-eating monsters. Yes, those things occur. But that is not what the movie is about. The monsters acted only as a catalyst, and the movie easily could have been made without them.If one actually watches "The Descent" instead of pre-dismissing it before the screening, there is much more to it. It is a tale about the protagonist's descent into savagery, and her final plunge into madness. It wasn't made in Hollywood, so don't look for a happy ending.This was not a perfect movie - there were significant flaws. However, at least for me, even the flaws could not interfere with the story-telling. Examples of a few flaws: In the film-making - there were at least two cheap-scares too many. Mr. Marshall should have trusted his material enough to leave them out, as this story did NOT need them. Story logic - if people are in a cave that contains bones and bodies of dozens (or more) of large, dead creatures, the stench would permeate the cave. Finding bodies would not be a surprise - you'd be looking for them. Creature design - they bore a striking resemblance to the 'Uber-vampires' in the 7th season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".The flaws faded to insignificance because of the strengths. I was surprised by this movie, pleasantly so. It was much more than I expected, and more than any horror movie has been for many, many years.I highly recommend it - although, if you are someone who really enjoys the "Friday the 13th" style of no-story/slasher/blood-guts/graphic violence, then you may not enjoy it very much - there is far more story than graphic violence.