Product: The Descent (Original Unrated Cut) [Blu-ray] (2006)
Rating: 5.0
Delivers more than just gore but sets a mood that will chill you to the bone...
When `The Descent' was released I had heard all the hype, I had read all the reviews and so I was dying to see it, but I truly had no idea all that I was really in for. Have you ever watched a film that nestled so far beneath the surface of your skin that even when things aren't outright horrific you still find yourself shaking in anticipation of all that is bound to go wrong? That is the feeling I got when watching this film for the first time. This feeling is owed in large part to the breathtaking direction on the part of Neil Marshall who just went for it here, throwing caution to the wind and delivering a brutally heart racing horror film. The one thing that will stick with you though throughout the whole of `The Descent' is the feeling of hopelessness, and I think that is due to the setting. Having this horror film take place below the depths of the Earth was a brilliant, and I mean brilliant, idea. Not only are we in fear of the `crawlers' but the audience is able to share in the claustrophobic feelings of those in the film.There are scenes within this film where I literally felt as though I couldn't breathe.The film opens with a tragic accident. Friends Sarah, Beth and Juno have been rafting down rapids while Sarah's husband and daughter hang back and watch. Upon their departure home though, tragedy strikes and both Sarah's husband and daughter are killed. The movie then jumps forward a year and we meet up with the three women again. This time they are accompanied by three other women, sisters Sam and Rebecca and newcomer Holly. They have met in the Appellation Mountains for a caving trip. We are given a few moments to get to know our cast of women before they set off and descend down a cave. Juno has appointed herself the guide since the trip was her idea, but unbeknownst to the group Juno has taken it upon herself to lead them into a cave that has never been charted, a decision that proves disastrous.Upon their entry the audience can immediately feel the tension. Your skin starts to tighten and your breath gets short as you contemplate the feelings of confined closure. It reminds me of the feeling I got the first time I watched `Jaws', that creepy crawling sensation that ran across your legs as you imagined what you couldn't see gnawing at your skin from beneath the depths of the water. It's that fear of the unknown, the unseen horrors that prove the most effective. Soon after descent the group finds themselves trapped as their point of entry caves in.This sense of hopelessness only intensifies when the girls get their first sighting of the `crawlers'. I expected the `crawlers' since the trailer gave many a hint to their presence but what I didn't expect was to be afraid of so much more than just some creatures. The `crawlers' are in fact horrifying to encounter. They are disturbing to the sight and deadly to the touch. What makes their presence even more disturbing is the setting. I keep coming back to the fact that they are confined underground for a reason. I deeply feel that if the setting were more open, like say the woods or something, the fear would be less extensive. When you can barely move, let alone run, and you can see no further than a few feet ahead of you, let alone behind you, then any and everything becomes all the more terrifying.Another major plus to the film is the acting. The cast of actresses are strong, neither of them resorting to overacting, which is a problem very common in this breed of horror film. Shauna Macdonald and Natalie Mendoza (who play Sarah and Juno) are especially effective here, but the entire cast is well rounded and balanced. As a part of the cast (so to speak) Neil Marshall makes his presence known with such flare in the director's seat. He layers his film, setting the perfect foundation of terror so that the audience can become absorbed in this horror masterpiece.`The Descent' is brilliantly crafted and masterfully delivered, a truly horrific film that makes for one of the most engaging and rewarding times at the movies last year. `The Descent' breaks my top ten of the year, maybe even my top five (I have to revisit this year a little more closely) and is a film that I will recommend till the day I die. If you are tired of the onslaught of generic and ridiculously `unscary' horror films that seem to dominate the box office then you are in for a treat for `The Descent' will chill your bones and boil your blood. It's about time we get what we pay for.