Product: The Descent (Original Unrated Cut) [Blu-ray] (2006)
Rating: 4.0
This is how I like my horror.
Neil Marshall, hot on the heels of his brisk & entertaining were-wolf debut "Dog Soldiers", comes up with another character-driven monster movie in the tradition of the classics ( Night of the Living Dead, Alien ).The story starts with a tragic event for the main character, after which we are introduced to the women with whom she is involved in a amatuer adventurer's club of sorts. During some casual 'hanging out' the characters have a chance to interact - we see some of their strengths and weaknesses + get hints at the tensions between them. Their banter comes off as reasonably convincing, while the intro as a whole is peppered with ominous bits of forshadowing.After some bad choices leave them stranded in a subterranean cavern, things go from bad to worse as they discover they are not alone... and that the other inhabitants may not be human. As the terror mounts, attacking mutants, human flaws and character conflicts lead most of the group to their doom. In the end, the viewer must decide which is worse: the mindless beast or the darkest, deepest pit of the human urge for self-preservation.Neil Marshall provides thrills and shocks of the visceral, you-are-there variety; the result is lean, mean and morally ambiguous. The production values and effects are stripped-down, favoring physical reality instead of overdone CG.As someone who avoids 'slasher flicks' ( sadistic humans killing their own kind ) in favor of horror with monsters or supernatural elements, this really hit the spot for me - delivering the primal horror. I am officially adding Mr. Marshall to my list of horror directors to watch for.