Product: The Descent (Original Unrated Cut) [Blu-ray] (2006)
Rating: 4.0
Going Down into the Cave: Well-made Horror Film
Not to be confused with `Descent' a very bad sci-fi film starring Luke Perry.Neil Marshall (`Dog Soldiers') did it again. With much lower budget than most of the Hollywood films, Marshall succeeded in creating one of the most claustrophobic pictures in recent years. To be frank, I find Marshall's `The Descent' a bit too long, and wish that he cut the latter half of the film, in which I was amazed by one of the most disturbingly gory scenes I ever saw. Well, but it is impressive, and of that fact I am sure.From the opening chapter (that includes one shock sequence), we are to meet six females, amateur explorers going deep down into a cave among the Appalachian Mountains. When things are going well, one unnecessary step results in a roof fall which cuts off the way out.The basic rule to survive in this extreme situation is, as you know, to stick together all the time. The point of the film is that the explorers are not always capable of doing that. One of the merits of the film is its psychological nuances behind the behaviors of the people under the pressure, and the film is clever in suggesting that these explorers are going to get into a trouble in several of the scenes prior to caving.The second part of the film gives stress to another aspect, the `secret' of the cave which I should not reveal here. All I can say is that you are to experience the drastic change of the tone with more bloody fight and lots of gore.Technically the film is superb with the perfect lighting and sound effect that are both unnerving. Though scientifically Neil Marshall's story requires suspense of disbelief, and probably those who really enjoy caving expedition would say a word or two about the probability of the story, the fact that `The Descent' is a gripping horror film remains true.American version has a different ending. I saw the original British one, which I think is superior. I hope that you can compare them after the DVD release.