Movie Reviews
The Descent 
Rated R, 1:33 (2006)
Starring: Natalie Mendoza, Shauna MacDonald, Oliver Milburn, Molly Kayll, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder
Direction: Neil Marshall
Production: Christian Colson
Screenplay:
Neil Marshall
by Vincent St. James
The dark, eerie atmosphere is well-suited for this patient yet haunting film.
When a group of women decide to go for some adventure, things begin to go wrong and the darkness that surrounds them is indicative of the uncertainty of the outcome of their horrific situation...but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Director Neil Marshall does a remarkable job with the beginning of this tale. He shows that for an early 21st century horror flick, thisis very different than its competition. Whereas most flicks begin with a bang looking to shock the viewer with innovative gore or an outrageous introductory plotline (think Saw II) or try to (think of most teen "horror" movies), this one is very real and doesn't succomb to outrageous self-promotion. The shock-value at the beginning comes with the actual event, which is very real yet very stunning when it happens, and establishes that this flick is not supposed to be some cheap thrill. Marshall creates a distinct feel for a horror flick early on, and that it's just a bunch of mature gals (i.e., not high school cheerleader types, no offense) trying to genuinely bond in what is seemingly the middle of nowhere makes the atmosphere more real, more ominous.
Juno (Natalie Mendoza) leads a group of her gal-friends to the Appalachian Mountains. There is a bit of tension between her and her friend Sarah (Shauna MacDonald) as they make there way what seems like a sinister cave. Before long, the group gets lost and must confront an army of cave-dwelling, maneating freaks.
The film does not rush into things. The conflict between the two main human characters is well established by the second act in which the crew gets lost in desperation. The situation as presented is very lifelike...I imagined that I was down there with them. The fears and reactions one would have are well presented. The air is so ominous that even before the main action, the viewer will have a feeling of dread.
The scares are real when they come, and the gore is used to good effect. The main point of the movie isn't the gore, but what the gore conveys about this group's horrible situation, such as a bone sticking out of a fellow adventurer's broken leg.
What isn't too well done in this film is the use of some of the motifs. A lot is made about the loss of one character's child, but not much comes of it. I was looking for an ending that had a connection to this recurring theme, but one wasn't made...or maybe what was supposed to be a connection didn't do too much "connecting" for me. I'm glad the filmmakers tried to make this deeper than your typical horror flick, but it doesn't quite work as well as it could've.
The main premise of the later part of this film isn't all to original, neither. What saves the film is the style, tone, character conflicts and even some level of real acting (surprisingly). The movie isn't too different, however, from any other film that has goblins chasing protagonists, although the lack of a male lead serves up an interesting twist.
Overall, as far as horror flicks go, this one proves to be better than most.
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