Last year around Halloween the magazine Total Film released its list of the best horror films of all time. One on the list stuck out — THE DESCENT from 2005. I knew nothing about it, but being that it was new and made the list, I was totally intrigued.
I learned that I was a British film made by Neil Marshall, whose DOG SOLDIERS went direct to SCI FI Channel in the U.S. and was not very good. THE DESCENT is not only a huge improvement over Marshall’s first film, but stands as the best horror film released widely in U.S. theaters since SCREAM. This film knows what’s scary and why it’s scary.
Following a tragedy in her family, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald, TV’s MI-5) agrees to accompany her friends on a spelunking trip in the Appalachian mountains. Her friend Juno (Natalie Jackson Mendoza, THE GREAT RAID) wasn’t there for Sarah after the tragic event while Beth (Alex Reid, LAST ORDERS) was right by her side, knowing that Juno is holding a secret from Sarah. Accompanying the trio are motherly Rebecca (Saskia Mulder, THE BEACH), Rebecca’s med student sister Sam (MyAnna Buring, 2006’s THE OMEN) and the punked out Holly (Nora-Jane Noone, THE MAGDALINE SISTERS).
Sarah is adventurous, but is very dedicated to her family. The tragedy in her life continues to torment her. Beth is very supportive. However, Juno has duel motives for distancing herself from Sarah. She’s a risk taker and self-centered, but down deep wants to make things up to Sarah.
The film starts by establishing the characters and their interaction with each other without giving them arbitrary traits or ticks that are used to substitute as character development. This is crucial in setting up how the characters act toward each other when things go wrong. At first, the characters encounter the dangers that are inherent to cave exploring. But then Sarah sees something and the real horrors begin.
Marshall does an excellent job of taking the time to set up his story then deliver the scares and gruesomeness. The film is violent and gory, but not gratuitous. Like Tarantino, Marshall borrows a lot of imagery from other films, but does a good job of weaving those homages into the fabric of his original story. Because Marshall references more well known material, sometimes it’s less than effective, because it sucks some of the originality out. However, this really only happens early on, because once the story kicks into high gear, the visuals work together to create there own new world.
It is true that the original ending has been changed from the British version, but I wouldn’t complain. The conclusion felt right. Marshall allows his characters to act as people might act in horrifying situations. They make mistakes, but act with intelligence and cunning to try and survive. This is the best film I’ve seen all summer.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
