Product: The Descent (Original Unrated Cut) [Blu-ray] (2006)
Rating: 4.0
Suspenseful and Disturbing
I wanted to rate this 5 stars but there are several things, I felt, that could have made this good movie into a great movie. But let me begin by saying what a joyous thrill it was to finally watch a modern horror film that mangaged to be scary, suspenseful, disturbing and genuinely creepy. What an experience it was to see these women battle something so heinus, so imaginatively disturbing, so humanly wrong that my jaw was sore from holding my mouth open for 90 minutes. Don't waste your time thinking you'll know what is going to play out in this film because you will be dead wrong. The films disturbingly wondrous discoveries are part of its powerful impact. And that's all I'll say about the great qualities this movie posesses.I enjoy the opportunity to "remake" a movie as to how I think it should have been made. So, let me start by saying that the beginning needs to go. Movies need to land on their feet running, and to have us sludge through back story and needless character development is a waste of precious film time. The movie should have started from the moment they decend into the cave. A few hints and commments about their life stories and why they are all together could have been done during the cave exploration scenes. Nevermind the overused explanation as to why they were on this trip to begin with (the tragic death of a loved one prompts the characters to go on a retreat to recouperate and deal with their grief). It simply doesn't matter. I also felt that there were too many characters. I say this only because it grew rather confusing to keep track of who was who when certain characters were in peril. Throw in the darkness of the cave and it was even more confusing to identify who the victims were. Finally, I have to mention the AWFUL ending. I won't reveal it but I will just say it deflates the incredible adrenline rush that the brilliant last hour of the film provides.