Product: The Descent (Original Unrated Cut) [Blu-ray] (2006)
Rating: 5.0
A True Horror Film
Good horror films aren't just tales about horrifying events. Instead, they are stories about people in horrifying circumstances.The distinction is critical, and that's where the vast majority of horror films fail. They portray events without relating the horror to the film's characters - or worse, they leave us not caring at all and able only to think about the graphic nature of the film.Some think "The Descent" is a movie about six women who 'descend' into a cave and are attacked by man-eating monsters. Yes, those things occur. But that is not what the movie is about. The monsters only catalyzed the most horrifying aspects of the story. "The Descent" easily could have been made without them."The Descent" is a tale about friendship, adventure, and betrayal; it's about the women's descent into savagery as the price they paid for grim survival; and, for one, it's about a final plunge into madness. This film wasn't made in Hollywood, so don't look for a happy ending. While the US release has an outwardly softer ending than the British version, appearances can be deceptive.This wasn't a perfect movie. It did contain a few noticeable flaws, but the flaws faded to insignificance because of the power of the lean story-telling. I was surprised by this movie, pleasantly so. It was much more than I expected, and more than any recent horror movie I have seen for many, many years.I highly recommend it. And, having seen both the US and the UK versions, I believe the UK version is slightly superior. The ending is simply a better fit - although strangely, while the UK ending is outwardly darker than the the US version, in a very real sense, it also is a more merciful end to the tale.