Product: The Descent (Original Unrated Cut) [Blu-ray] (2006)
Rating: 5.0
Can quickly become one of my favorite horror films
To be honest, I have no idea what gravitated me towards the Descent. I think it was because word of mouth was very kind to the film and someone mentioned that "this is what the Cave wasn't: good". Missing the chance to watch it in theatres thanks to shoddy management, I had to check out the film when it was released on DVD and despite all the hype I had of "I have to see this movie" it actually delivered for once and while it does slightly have the trapping of recent horror films, it's a quite exceptional, if not entirely original, horror movie but it's certainly a standout among the recent factory conveyor belt turnouts.Sarah and a group of friends are thrill seekers who are enjoying a white-water rafting trip but on the way back, Sarah gets in an accident which kills her husband and daughter. A year later, still grieving, she decides to get back into the game and go cave spelunking. So Sarah and her friends Juno, Sam, Rebecca, Beth and Holly go into a cave system that was actually uncharted and turns out there's a reason since something scary and threatening are in the caves looking for unfortunate travellers.In recent films like Hostel, Wolf Creek, Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake and prequel, even the Saw films, the emphasis as been on out-and-out carnage. Gore galore I guess you can say and there's a couple scenes where it does get gruesome but's not in a frat-boy giddyness where they're chuckling away while having an eyeball hanging from a socket. Instead the film is mainly played for atmosphere and tension for a good section of the film then the fit hits the shan and it becomes a battle movie where the creatures attack and even the girls put up a fight too. While it's easy to see where the film shifts gears (made notable by probably one of the most effective jump scares since Alien's chestburster or the Exorcist III's nurse scene). Speaking of which, hope you didn't watch the trailer since it's more effective if you never saw it.Scream in a way started this: it's been harder and harder to care for characters who get sliced or any other thing. Strangely I did find myself caring for the women that had to fight their way out. Maybe it's because the genuine opinion is that men can handle themselves so we're not as emphathic whereas with women, one casualty is one too many. As far as our "other" cast members, they are appropriately creepy and scary but in a weird way, they're on screen too much so the feeling of guy-in-a-suit syndrome pops up but luckily they're so effective you don't even bother thinking of it.The one fault people might find although personally I didn't mind is the length of time it takes before the creatures show up. We get extended pre-cave stuff, then cave travelling then having to figure how to get out THEN they show up. While the film actually made it so that you hoped they wouldn't show up since you cared about the women so much, viewers might get impatient. Plus there is some gory shots but they're not as detailed or well-lit as recent films so thankfully the film isn't focused on gore to provide the scare. Gore is meant to create disgust and relying on it like Hostel doesnt make it a scary movie, it just makes you go "...eww".Let's see how repeat viewings will hold up but by and large, this is probably one of the better horror movies I've seen without having to rent old movies or stuff from Korea.