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Director: Neil Marshall
Release Date: August 4th, 2006
Rating: R (For super-gory violence and some language said upon seeing such violence)
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 The Descent is what the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood should have been.
Six thrill-seeking girls decide to go spelunking (cave-diving) in the Appalachian Mountains. A year prior, one of the girls lost her husband and daughter in a car accident. Trying to pull her out of her funk, the girls want to be adventurous again. And what could be more adventurous than crawling through caves? Doing it without a map.
The leader of the pack decides to throw out the map and lead the girls down an uncharted cave. Moving through pitch black darkness and claustrophobic tunnels, the girls find themselves in the middle of some disemboweling, gory goodness.
The film breaks away from common horror film protocol. Throwing out the map is really the first and last stupid act in the whole movie. I was not subjected to a series of moments that made me scream lame stuff like "Girl, don't open that door!"
The instinct for survival drives the girls to do whatever they have to do in order to survive. And since they're not stupid, that makes this movie an action flick as well.
The Descent is violent and suspenseful. Nothing makes you feel more helpless than crawling through a hole that suddenly becomes unstable. Being lost in a hole and having your flashlight battery die sucks too. And let's not forget the flesh-eating monsters either.
The filming style is perfect for the cave. Everything is constantly dark and flashlights only help so much. This only adds to the suspense as your constantly trying to figure out what is a creature and what is just the lighting playing tricks on you.
It's all very entertaining and keeps you at the edge of your seat. The monsters are scary and even probable after a shot of vodka. The whole thing is pure fast-paced, gut-ripping fun until the credits start rolling.
A pleasant surprise
The movie is a pleasant surprise. It is certainly the best horror/action film I've seen in a long time.
The cast is made up of six unknown girls who have played in very little and in one case, nothing at all. The girls put on a great show dealing with internal struggles (jealousy, ego-trips, etc.) while covered in blood and dodging falling rocks.
In reality, this movie is a chick-flick and my wife owes me for taking her to see it.
Related links:
The Descent official website
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