IMDb > The Descent (2005)
The Descent
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The Descent (2005) More at IMDbPro »

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The Descent (2005) -- A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.
The Descent (2005) -- A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.
The Descent (2005) -- ZuGuide.com - Trailer (Flash)
The Descent (2005) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)
The Descent (2005) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   50,739 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 118% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Neil Marshall
Writer:
Neil Marshall (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Descent on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
4 August 2006 (USA) more
Tagline:
Scream your last breath. more
Plot:
A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
7 wins & 10 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(225 articles)
The Descent: Part 2 - Trailer 2
 (From LateFilmFull. 6 November 2009, 10:25 PM, PST)

Several Clips: The Descent Part 2
 (From Dread Central. 6 November 2009, 12:49 PM, PST)

User Comments:
Masterful horror film. Spoiler free review more (999 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Crawlspace (UK) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for strong violence/gore and language.
Runtime:
99 min | 100 min (original unrated cut)
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS (US prints) | Dolby Digital EX
Company:
Celador Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Among the bones that Sarah falls into is a wolf's head which came from one of the werewolves from Neil Marshall's previous film Dog Soldiers (2002). more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: The green light almost never matches the green glowsticks supposedly casting them. Several times the actors' shadows fall in the direction of the glowstick, rather than away from it. more
Quotes:
Holly: Hey, there's something down here... more
Movie Connections:
References Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) more

FAQ

Did Juno sleep with Sarah's husband?
Did Sarah imagine the crawlers?
Who was in the car with Sarah at the end?
more
278 out of 382 people found the following comment useful.
Masterful horror film. Spoiler free review, 12 July 2005
9/10
Author: matt_cub from United Kingdom

If nightmare inducing horror is not your bag then the less you know about The Descent the better. Geordie writer-director Neil Marshall has delivered an accomplished, well acted, out and out horror movie that comes as much of a pleasant surprise as his first major feature Dog Soldiers did back in 2002. Shot in a mere 7 weeks The Descent sees a sextet of undeniably attractive action women leaping headfirst into an Appalachian potholing adventure that goes wrong so quickly you are left wondering if any one of them will survive, let alone ever see daylight again.

There are comparisons to be drawn to Marshall's 'Soldiers of course - again the story is stark and wonderfully economic. Again there is group of six people, predominantly one sex accompanied with a lurking, ominous threat and again there are more nods to popular film culture than you probably realise. The Descent however has a sense of humour that is suitably pitch black.

Long before the cave appears we play witness to a traumatic event that underlies the plot and serves to both unite and tear apart relationships in equal measure. Mostly affected are fragile Sarah and physically strong Juno, an adrenaline junkie who leads the group further and further beneath the ground. No time is wasted in recreating the primal feel of crawling through tunnels with hard hats scraping the dust from the rocks, choking and inducing paranoia all the way as it lingers in the stale, torchlit air. It's here Marshall gets a little inventive. Playing with various different lighting techniques our heroines become colour coded through scenes via glow-sticks, flashlights and video camera. Sounds echo when visuals are briefly lost and deliciously bone crunching they are too. Events escalate quickly and the whole ride becomes what can only be described as a non-stop relentless assault on the senses that will demand repeated viewing.

The only thing that will ruin this movie for you is word of mouth, which ironically is exactly what this film will need to become commercially viable. But the less you know, the more you will enjoy it. Have fun spotting references to Carrie and Apocalypse Now by all means, but don't be fooled into thinking this is a mere standard entry into the much saturated genre-movie staple. The Descent will rank as one of the most unashamedly terrifying British films ever made. It was made by people that love good cinema, and it shows. The Descent was made before The Cave, and now has an alternate ending for new audiences.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Descent (2005)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
REAL cave movie CaptainStrange
Confused jdpm-1992
Whoa. This was bad. Captain_Bevo
*Spoilers* What happens to Sarah in the end? Blonde2291
Stop talking about Juno's race Crystobal
Is it better to see/not see the creatures? zowie9000-1
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