descent

AC/GV/SL 2006 99m ENGLISH

CAST: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring, Nora-Jane Noone, Oliver Milburn

CREDITS: Director/Screenwriter: Neil Marshall; Producer: Christian Colson; Director of Photography: Sam McCurdy; Production Designer: Simon Bowles; Editor: Jon Harris; Costume Designer: Nancy Thompson; Special Make-up & FX Designer: Paul Hyett; Music: David Julyan

THE SYNOPSIS

One year after the tragic deaths of her husband and child in a grisly car accident, young Sarah (Macdonald) joins her girlfriends on a cave-exploring expedition in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. There’s alpha-female Juno (Mendoza), kindly Beth (Reid), sisters Rebecca (Mulder) & Sam (Buring) and wild Holly (Noone). The girls make their way into the cave system and enjoy their time...

Until disaster strikes (in the form of underground avalanches) and their entranceway is sealed off. Also, Juno--on her power-trip--intentionally left the cave map back in the car...and took them down into the wrong cave. Why? To test their mettle. Thanx Juno!

Wait...it gets worse. There are cave-dwelling creatures down in their midsts and they begin to attack the frightened party. The group splinters apart as loyalties are tested and tragic betrayals occur. Who will survive the drama and the onslaught of these dastardly, cannibalistic creatures to make it back onto the surface alive? See the movie and find out yourself!

THE CRITIQUE

Going into the theater to see THE DESCENT one evening, it must be duly noted that my expectations were low. Having already seen last year’s other cave movie The Cave (and shrugging at its B-movie mediocrity), I was bracing myself for more of the same. Man, was I wrong!

This movie kicks some ass! Starting out a bit lackadaisically, the movie’s creators slowly turn the screws and ratchet up the tension. Once I realized who was at the helm, I relaxed and went along for the ride. Before I get to that, let me just say that I loved the ladies in front of the camera. All play their roles as potential victims-turned-survivalists to the hilt.

THE DESCENT was produced by the same English blokes who made 2002’s terrific Dog Soldiers (and I recommend that any readers who have not seen this lycanthropic horror flick do so ASAP). Just like that one, this movie was written & directed by Neil Marshall--who is slowly carving a name for himself here in the USA as a go-to horror maven.

Utilizing the camera to positive effect and moving the pace right-along, Marshall is totally in-step with today’s horror audiences--without succumbing to their ADD levels. Definitely a style-over-substance movie.

Equally impressive is the atmospheric and red-tinged widescreen-lensing by Marshall’s usual cinematographer, Sam McCurdy (Dog Soldiers/The Hills Have Eyes II). Again, nice compositions and terrific use of the film frame go a long way in creating and maintaining the mood. McCurdy (under Marshall’s direction) gets a kudo!

Other tech credits (razor sharp editing, massive production design, etc.) are all top-notch, considering the genre and budget (around $6 million). Though set in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, the movie was in fact shot on location in Scotland and at Pinewood Studios in England.

Released in Europe in 2005, those viewers got more gore in their version--while we got a slightly-edited down version (boo, MPAA, boo!!). I’m hoping to see an uncut version on DVD soon. Here’s hoping!

THE BOTTOM LINE

Another kick-ass horror movie from director Neil Marshall and his crew. The gals will dig it because of female empowerment issues and the guys’ll watch it because--hey, who doesn’t like hot-broads-in-peril types of horror movies? Am I right? OK--seriously: it’s a solid horror movie and may also be used as an anti-spelunking campaign ad!