The Descent (2005)

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

Director:

Neil Marshall

Writer:

Neil Marshall

Stars:

Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid

8 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shauna Macdonald	...	Sarah
Natalie Mendoza	...	Juno
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

Storyline

A woman goes on vacation with her friends after her husband and daughter encounter a tragic accident. One year later she goes hiking with her friends and they get trapped in the cave. With a lack of supply, they struggle to survive and they meet strange blood thirsty creatures.

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Plot Keywords:

cave | fear | group of friends | survival horror | expedition | 

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Taglines:

Afraid of the dark? You will be.

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Genres:

Adventure | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence/gore and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The opening river rafting scene is only the first of several references to Deliverance (1972) which also includes Juno's sleeveless wetsuit top. There are also brief homages and references to The Shining (1980), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Alien (1979), The Howling (1981), Apocalypse Now (1979), Carrie (1976), and Alan Partridge.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 21 mins) When one of the girls is looking for climbing equipment, but doesn't have any with her, she says, "Oh, fuck," but her mouth doesn't move.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

The creature's snarling sound can be heard at the end of the credits.

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Alternate Versions

SPOILER: The endings of the US and UK versions differ. In the end, Sarah wakes up at the bottom of the cave, crawls out, and makes her way back to the car. When she is driving away, she pulls over and vomits, and when she leans back into the car, she is startled by the ghost of Juno sitting in the passenger seat. The US version cuts to the credits here. In the UK version, this apparition causes Sarah to wake up for real at the bottom of the cave, revealing her escape to be just a dream. She then has a vision of her daughter's birthday cake, which we see is just her torch. The camera backs out, the voices of the creatures can be heard again and are increasing in strength as they are closing in on her, and the movie ends. This ending was considered "too dark" for US audiences.

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Connections

Referenced in Show of the Week: Inside and 5 Harrowing Things We've Done to Progress in a Game (2016)

User Reviews

Claustrophobics beware

Not the strongest movie for the first hour, but really brings it home in the end. Ideal viewing in a small, very dark room. Really brings you into the world.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 August 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Descent

Filming Locations:

Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP3,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,911,330, 6 August 2006

Gross USA:

$26,024,456

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$57,130,027

Company Credits

Production Co:

Celador Films, Northmen Productions, Pathe UK

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 100 min (original unrated cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS (US prints) Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1