The Descent (2005)

Director:

Neil Marshall

Writer:

Neil Marshall (writer)

Release Date:

4 August 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Scream your last breath.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Head On Collision | Nikon Camera | Profanity | Logging Truck | Killing Spree

Awards:

7 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Shauna Macdonald	...	Sarah
Natalie Jackson Mendoza	...	Juno (as Natalie Mendoza)
Alex Reid	...	Beth
Saskia Mulder	...	Rebecca
MyAnna Buring	...	Sam
Nora-Jane Noone	...	Holly
Oliver Milburn	...	Paul
Molly Kayll	...	Jessica
Craig Conway	...	Crawler - Scar
Leslie Simpson	...	Crawler
Mark Cronfield	...	Crawler
Stephen Lamb	...	Crawler (as Steve Lamb)
Catherine Dyson	...	Crawler
Julie Ellis	...	Crawler
Sophie Trott	...	Crawler

Also Known As:

Crawlspace (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence/gore and language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS (US prints) | Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Argentina:16 | Taiwan:R-18 | Singapore:R21 | Finland:K-18 | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:M18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Norway:15 | South Korea:18 | Germany:18 | Iceland:16 | Brazil:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Japan:R-18 | New Zealand:R16 | USA:R (certificate #41746) | Singapore:M18 (cut) | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Sweden:15 | France:-16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Italy:VM14 | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:MA | Netherlands:16 (cut) | Germany:16 (cut version) | Ireland:18 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Celador Films

Trivia:

According to the audio commentary on the special edition DVD, there was a exact replica made of Nora-Jane Noone and after the movie was finished, she got to keep the head of the doll and put it in her mother's freezer as a joke.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The large dead deer the girls encounter at the beginning of their adventure is actually a North American elk. The elk's home range is predominantly in the west; you would not find an elk carcass in North Carolina.

Quotes:

Rebecca: The noise she's making, she'll bring every one of those things down on her head.
Sam: As long as it's not on mine.

Movie Connections:

References "Sesame Street" (1969)

Masterful horror film. Spoiler free review(some sad git thinks otherwise).

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.