Product: The Descent (Original Unrated Cut) [Blu-ray] (2006)
Rating: 4.0
Mountain Pick Chicks in the Cannibal Cave of Death
Neill Marshal gave British horror flicks a bite in the arm with his funny and thrilling Zulu-with-werewolves flick Dog Soldiers, but he ain't joking in The Descent. Unlike overhyped, undernourished recent local efforts like glorified TV pilot 28 Days Later, this is a real movie made by someone who knows exactly what he's doing, and who does it well. More importantly, he's not afraid to take his time to ground the story and the characters before getting to the main course. There are a couple of hokey false alarms before his heroines find themselves trapped in an unexplored cave system, but the first two thirds are a pretty good survival story in their own right, making you wonder if he really needs to give the gals company down there: big mistake, because when they finally do meet the locals, the film shifts into high gear that makes Cameron and Sigourney look like wimps. Aside from some terrific action scenes, Marshall even manages to subvert the expected it's-not-really-the-ending ending, turning it from the usually schlocky cliché into something that is genuinely haunting. Which is a shame for those of who saw it theatrically Stateside, because that ending can only be found on the unrated special edition (it's only the last minute that's been cut, but that's enough to leave you with the standard one-size-fits-all horror movie ending). Still, I suppose we should be grateful at least that Lion's Gate didn't retitle it Mountain-Pick Chicks in the Cannibal Cave of Death....