A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.
- Awards
- 8 wins & 22 nominations
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Stephen Lamb
- Crawleras Crawler
- (as Steve Lamb)
- Director
- Writer
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe "crawlers" were designed to resemble Nosferatu from the film Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922). They also had huge white eyes to begin with, but this idea was done away with because they looked too silly. It took three and a half hours in makeup to transform an actor into a "crawler." They had to shave off their body hair as well.
- Goofs(at around 25 mins) When Juno lights the flare to reveal the interior of the cave, a crew man is visible below them.
- Crazy creditsThe creature's snarling sound can be heard at the end of the credits.
- Alternate versionsSPOILER: 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.
Top review
If you go in there...
After watching "The Descent", my bud Robert and I decided that spelunking would now come off both our "To Do" listsfor good. Writer and Director Neil Marshall's "The Descent" crafts and sustains an unrelenting tension throughout, once you get past the suspended disbelief. As I watched the women one by one crawl through the tiny water filled crevice to enter the caverns somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains, I thought, "How are they going to get back? They've got to be nuts!" Well, you just have to go with it. Well, kind of. Fortunately, director Marshall effectively pretexts the story. The prior thrill-seeking jaunt for the group was a white water rafting trip. Following that trip, Sarah (Shauna MacDonald) suffers a life altering tragedy. A year later, Sarah and her close friend Beth (Alex Reid) join up with the gang at a cabin in the Appalachians. The 6 women are gearing up for a cave exploration trip headed by Juno (Natalie Mendoza). Apparently, Juno regrets not being there for Sarah following her personal tragedy and recovery. Juno sees this trip as an opportunity to empower Sarah. Those along for the ride include Becca (Saskia Mulder), Sam (MyAnna Buring), and Holly (Nora-Jane No one).
The trip starts out curious enough when Juno (Mendoza) discards her map of the caves. The women proceed, and are undeterred by the telltale signs of mysterious animal carcasses. Not surprisingly, the cave exploration goes horribly wrong. They are lost without a clue how to get out, and they are being hunted by terrifying fleshing eating creatures. So the women are literally in the fight for their lives. Marshall masterfully orchestrates the mood and tension. My bud Robert keenly pointed out that what really works in "The Descent" is that it never evolves into a trite action movie. No one screams, "Take that you, Mother F-----!" Granted Marshall may have intended his story as an empowerment allegory. The women are authentically terrified, and fight with all their courage and heart amidst their overwhelming fear. Somehow while they are thrashing and being thrashed by the fierce creatures, it is all strangely believablestrangely. Rather it gets you thinking: "Would I do the same?" Sarah (Macdonald) and Juno (Mendoza) in particular emerge as forces to be reckoned with. Mendoza's Juno warrior spirit is consistent and engagingshe is the brash leader. MacDonald is powerful and believable in Sarah's emergence as a heroic presence. All the performances are strong throughout.
Marshall maintains a claustrophobic feel and keeps us on edge. The unveiled details involving the cave creatures regarding their possible evolution is a nice touch. "The Descent" has to be one of the most gory horror movies with realistic violenceand I am not a big horror fan. However, I am a big hero fan. "The Descent" has great women heroes. Shauna Macdonald and Natalie Mendoza are awesome. "The Descent" is a wild tension filled ride. At the very end one wonders, "What next?"
The trip starts out curious enough when Juno (Mendoza) discards her map of the caves. The women proceed, and are undeterred by the telltale signs of mysterious animal carcasses. Not surprisingly, the cave exploration goes horribly wrong. They are lost without a clue how to get out, and they are being hunted by terrifying fleshing eating creatures. So the women are literally in the fight for their lives. Marshall masterfully orchestrates the mood and tension. My bud Robert keenly pointed out that what really works in "The Descent" is that it never evolves into a trite action movie. No one screams, "Take that you, Mother F-----!" Granted Marshall may have intended his story as an empowerment allegory. The women are authentically terrified, and fight with all their courage and heart amidst their overwhelming fear. Somehow while they are thrashing and being thrashed by the fierce creatures, it is all strangely believablestrangely. Rather it gets you thinking: "Would I do the same?" Sarah (Macdonald) and Juno (Mendoza) in particular emerge as forces to be reckoned with. Mendoza's Juno warrior spirit is consistent and engagingshe is the brash leader. MacDonald is powerful and believable in Sarah's emergence as a heroic presence. All the performances are strong throughout.
Marshall maintains a claustrophobic feel and keeps us on edge. The unveiled details involving the cave creatures regarding their possible evolution is a nice touch. "The Descent" has to be one of the most gory horror movies with realistic violenceand I am not a big horror fan. However, I am a big hero fan. "The Descent" has great women heroes. Shauna Macdonald and Natalie Mendoza are awesome. "The Descent" is a wild tension filled ride. At the very end one wonders, "What next?"
helpful•15962
- jon.h.ochiai
- Aug 18, 2006
Details
Box office
- Budget
- £3,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $26,024,456
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $8,911,330
- Aug 6, 2006
- Gross worldwide
- $57,130,027
- Runtime1 hour 39 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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