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

Every actress in the group is from a different country: Shauna Macdonald (Sarah) was raised in Scotland but born in Malaysia; Natalie Mendoza (Juno) comes from Hong Kong and lived all over the world; Alex Reid (Beth) was born in England; Saskia Mulder (Rebecca) is from the Netherlands; MyAnna Buring (Sam) is originally from Sweden before moving to Great Britain, and Nora-Jane Noone (Holly) comes from Ireland.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 17 mins) When Sarah falls into the pool of blood, the torch falls behind the big rock to her left. In the next shots, the torch is on the top of the rock.

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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

While the credits start rolling, there is a picture of all the girls on the background.

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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

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Dumbest Decisions in Horror Movies (2016)

User Reviews

One of the greatest British horrors ever made.

Focusing on the fear of claustrophobia with the simple dread of the unknown, The Descent puts likable characters in frightening situations. As a horror fanatic, this film floats at the top of my list of best scary films in recent years. The setup feels like it moves quickly and seamlessly into the main storyline, but that's because it's so beautifully shot, well-acted, and scripted so that we know and care enough about the characters to worry once they belay down into the dark cave. This character knowledge carries weight throughout the movie, as the group variously splinters and works together to escape. Shocks and jolts start before the central scare appears. And props to an all-woman cast that feels totally natural and not slapped together to achieve cheap feminist self-congratulations. Well-acted and atmospheric, I recommend this movie to anyone wanting to see a solid, scary horror movie that doesn't reinvent the genre, but definitely strays from the norm.

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