8 Pies

Reviewed by Yankee

Plot Summary

A caving expedition goes horribly wrong as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.

Review

I remember seeing commercials for this movie a few years ago and being slightly turned off by all the hype. I think fan boys of any genre and general movie lovers can understand my disposition in situations like this, because the general public tends to eat up commercial movies that are insulting to the art. Naturally, the immutable laws of probability dictate that there WILL be movies that live up to their hype or at least aren't a disappointment. Bearing that in mind, I never ruled out “The Descent” and it went on my mental “movies to add to my Netflix queue” list and had been forgotten since… until a certain British pal of mine stuck it under my proverbial Christmas tree to review for tonight!

Quotes:

Holly: Hey, there's something down here...

Juno: What happened to you?

Beth: This is not good, guys

Jessica: Mummy?

Spook Factor: ¾ Pie

The Descent has a way of exploiting our basic fears of real things … like claustrophobia, the dark, heights, the unknown and so much more. What impressed me was how frightening the movie was while it was still only about amateur cave explorers trying to find their way out… monsters not yet considered.

Antagonist: ½ Pie

The creatures found in these caverns are fast, sneaky, ugly, terrifying, heartless and primal. They are efficient hunters that know what it means to survive. However, once they lose the element of surprise, they are only a real threat in large numbers.

Story: 1 Pie

The plot is simple and linear but the story is quite strong. The viewer becomes engaged with the characters and feels the horror of their plight. In a time where it's become more difficult to keep the audiences attention without big explosions or ADD like gags, The Descent delivers on all levels keeping you on the edge of your seat with what would normally sound like a boring plot.

Acting: 1 Pie

As much as the story skillfully provides you with a terror filled journey through the unknown, it would hold little value if the cast didn't sell it. The actresses were given the hardest job in this movie… making you believe! To believe is to care enough to be scared.

Directing:1 Pie

It comes as no surprise to me that the man who wrote and directed Dog Soldiers is also the man who wrote and directed this movie. In the three short years between these two films, he has managed to hone his skills and show growth beyond that time frame. This movie is a great testament to his talents and vision.

Soundtrack: ½ Pie

Quite honestly, the music in this film is easily forgettable. This is not always a bad thing. It was well scored for the visual source material and played its part in building the tension and anticipation for each scene. But after that, you had no reason to remember it.

Special Effects: ¾ Pie

It's difficult and maybe even unfair to give a top score for special effects when so much is obscured by darkness and panning. However, mostly everything in this film is visually on point.

Gore: ¾ Pie

There is plenty of gore to go around here but it's done realistically and only used to drive the point home. And boy does it drive it home! It's not often that I cringe from gore…

Replay, Rewatch, Rewind: 1 Pie

I most certainly consider this to have a high rewatch value! And I am willing to bet that if you were to repeatedly watch it, you will notice many cool things that you missed on previous viewings. It's the gift that keeps on giving….

Pros

A modern horror movie that is fresh, scary and original.

Cons

Sometimes the poor lighting can be a distraction. I understand that they were somewhere completely dark but I like being able to see my future fiancé, Natalie Mendoza! ;-)

Final Word

The Descent is an elegant reminder to us all that sometimes the hype of a movie IS well deserved. Even non fans could agree upon viewing that this is not your typical 21 st century horror film. I consider it to be an instant classic and the best Christmas gift Limey has ever given to me.

Oh my God, I'm gonna die!