The Descent (UK)
| release date | August 4 2006 |
| studio | Lionsgate |
| director | Neil Marshall |
| writer | Neil Marshall |
| starring | Myanna Buring, Craig Conway, Natalie Jackson Mendoza, Shauna MacDonald, Oliver Milburn, Saskia Mulder, Nora-Jane Noone and Alex Reid |
| rating | R |
| site | thedescentfilm.com |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
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best horror film in years
I liked the alternative ending better but, the overall film was good.
I heard it was “the best thriller sense Aliens” from more than one person, and that gave me high hopes. What I got was a mix between something almost Saw-like, Alien-like, and something I have never seen before.
The best parts of the movie had nothing do with the creatures. The revenge killing, the literal pool of blood, the accidental killings, the claustrophobia–all that was done perfectly. I just thought the cave dwellers held it all back due to their cliché and predictable nature. How many movies have you seen with monsters that only live to kill? Hundreds. Monsters in a horror movie are as predictable as Big Bird in an episode of Sesame Street. Without the monsters, the movie would have been less predictable. Anyway, the cave dwellers were nothing more than a dumber version of Orcs mixed with your standard jump-out-generic-monster.
The cinematography was great, but it didn’t impress me. The plot-twist in the very end (of the Unrated Edition) is, sadly, just another cliché used in almost every movie anymore.
It was a fun movie. The upside-down killing is one of the coolest killings I have ever seen in a movie. I can’t deny that this movie had its moments. But a few less clichés would have made this so much more fulfilling.
Best Horror Movie of the decade.
I don’t agree with the cover mentioning ‘Hostel’ as I thought Hostel was a shite film. The Descent is a cracking film, It made me really tense and i found it really claustrophobic, which made me feel uneasy.
The directing is ace and visually stunning i thought. And the disintegration of the friendship between the girls is well done. I began to feel dredd as soon as they went into the cave. There’s a mystery towards the main character. And it’s about time an all female cast in a horror film was properly made!
Yes, at the end i was a bit disapointed….cliche and all. But I still liked the whole film.
Great movie…..
one of my favorite movies ever.
Best horror movie ever made.
Great movie.
One of my Favorite movies Best Horror Movie! Best Story! Scariest Creatures! Chicks with Picks RULE!
An absolutely terrifying movie. I went to see this the week before my birthday, back in 2006 when it came out in the US, with my mom. By the time the creatures strike, we were both sinking in our seats. I’m not claustrophobic, but the scenes in the cave were absolutely freaky. I felt like I was stuck down there with them.
The screenplay is very well-written — some of the characters are relatable, though I wish some of the more minor female characters could’ve been fleshed out more. I felt absolutely nothing for anyone but Juno, Sarah and Beth… but I think that was the intention as Sarah is obviously from the beginning the centerpiece of the film, and is played wonderfully by Shauna MacDonald.
The gore effects and the creatures all seem very real, and some of the scenes are genuinely scary, unlike recent films like Shutter, or One Missed Call. Please, keep the Asian Horror remakes away and bring more films like this into theaters. It’s what we really want to see.
i rate this a 9 because it was like….whoa
One of the best horror films
I thought this was a really good film however, I was confused by the ending. That whole seen with her daughter, I didn’t get it.
Anyway, different and I loved it.
best horror film
One of the best genre films created this century. I thought the creatures were well done, and the mole like fashion in which they have evolved and dwell added a nice touch. Very realistic gore effects were employed in this film, which I think makes every horror flick that much better. Very intense and claustrophobic. This is miles ahead of Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers, and Dog Soldiers was pretty good too. This gets me eager to see Doomsday. Overall the descent was fantastic, and I don’t have any complaints. Falling into a pit of flesh, bones, and blood with a female carnivorous mole woman… can’t think of much crazier stuff then that. Do yourself a favor and see this gem, you won’t be disappointed.
Easily the best and most purely horrifying film since ‘The Blair Witch Project’, and easily one of my favorite horror films of all time. Incredibly intense, disturbing, gory, well-made, emotional and most importantly, terrifying. A masterpiece.
my all-time favorite movie!
quite possibly one of the best horror/thrillers of all time, very interesting characters put in a horrible situation of survival aagainst creatures that look wonderfully hideous and intense. …dont ruin the sequel!
This movie is genuinely scary, creepy, twisted and definitely the most claustrophobic movie ever made.
After finishing the movie you will be gaping for breath.
awesomes
Blew me away! Awesomeeeeeee! Real darkness! No to sequel please.
One of the best times I have had watching a horror movie in the theater.Just blew me away.
This movie was pretty entertaining. I really like the premise – spelunkers go into the wrong cave system and get killed by a terrifying breed of humanoid cave-dwelling monsters – but the movie doesn’t quite live up to the awesome plotline.
The gore is pretty good, albeit you have to wait until halfway through the movie before you see anything bloody or disgusting (excepting the opening sequence).
It’s not on par with Dog Soldiers, but it’s worth a watch nonetheless. But it doesn’t deserve higher than a 4-star rating.
I thought that the descent was a great movie and a very nice thrill ride.
Storyline: A group of women go caving where no one has ever gone before. The cave is filled with humanoid cannibal creatures that are blind and hunt with sound. The creatures attack the group without mercy and the group is soon split up and running blind. 10/10
Acting: The acting was one of the best elements in the movie. I believed every reaction and emotion. 10/10
Special Effects: The effects in this movie were masterful. The creatures looked great, the gore looked real and the lighting was awesome. 10/10
Best Scene: The best scene was when sarah fell into the massive pool of blood and fought a few creatures in there. 10/10
Ending: The ending was sweet as hell and had a mad shock twist that left you wanting more. 10/10
The descent was an absolute gory, suspensful rollercoaster and if you like good scares and realistic gore then you can’t go wrong with the descent.
The descent is a highly entertaining edge of your seat horror thriller. The cave setting is claustrophobic and dark and the deeper our characters go their predicament becomes worse…..much worse. The cave dwellers would have to be one of the scariest bunch of vicious creatures to be seen on screen in a long time. Think Gollum crossed with the vamps from 30 Days Of Night. The dark lighting makes the blood and gore very realistic and when the film really starts to hit its stride the red stuff is flowing everywhere.The all female cast do a great job proving that you don’t need male leads to pull off superb action set pieces. And the proper ending is a knockout. A must see
Now this was a good movie, one to watch over and over… If you feel like you need to do that…
I don’t know how I’ve ended up seeing this so many times.. I don’t enjoy it.. I don’t think it’s that great, the blood and the backstabbing bitches in ONE part of the movie is pretty much all that satisfies me. The ending irritates me, the fact that it’s all about chicks makes me annoyed RIGHT there.. and those “Creatures” those LOTR gollum looking things.. yawn. Some of it didn’t even make sense.. they weren’t always responding in the way females normally do.
First two minutes are great. Next thirty minutes are a bit slow. After that point, it’s great! Good acting and good monsters!
I’m one of many who call The Descent my favourite film of all time. No other film has made me feel so sympathetic for the protagonist, or made me feel like I was experiencing it with them like this does.
Truly amazing.
I’m not even worried that the sequel will ruin it. The Descent will stand the test of time.
this movie was amazing and the picture where she is drenched in blood and is screaming just emphasizes the drama in the movie… i also love that no one survives even though we get so attached to the main girl right from the opening scene…
I expecting a lot from The descent and got everything I wanted and even more. The descent is creepy, scary, brutal, and never lets you take a break to breathe. The sets of the cave are nice and the whole tour was done nicely. The creatures were scary and every time they popped out, I would jump in my seat. This was a good film. The descent delivers everything the true horror fan wants.
I loved how this movie combined claustrophobia and bloodshed to create a truly intense, scary, and nerve wracking film. The characters are believable, the monsters are relentless, and the pacing is impeccable. This was one great flick.
I like this movie the story line was great and the plot was good….I heard they will make a sequal to this film I looking forward to it….I really like the cave seen it was really spooky and I wouldn;t like to go into caves at all so that is not a sport for me….but it was cool and the ending was not what I thought it was going to be.
I adored this movie. Great plot, great pace, great action, lots of blood
))))
Can someone please enlighten me on how the UK is so goddamn good at making horror films?! Now, I’m not assuming that every horror film from the UK is awesome, but after films like Shaun of the Dead, The Cottage, Eden Lake, and Wilderness, Britain has some talent that I have yet to see from some directors in the US. The Descent is just another completely awesome movie that blew me away. I must say, I don’t get scared by movies a lot, but the first time I watched this movie, it scared the hell out of me. The action is intense, the cave crawlers are ruthless, and the gore is fucking awesome! The way it scared me was through how thet paced the action. Everything goes by so fast that it shows how brutal the monsters are, and how the charcters of Sarah and Juno digress to primal human instincts. Another thing I liked about the movie is the ending. Now, most people who would watch this movie would probably be disappointed by the ending because most of the action that happened was all a part of Sarah’s dream, then awakening to see that her dead daughter is down in the cave next to her with a birthday cake. But, it turns out that she is not there and the cake is actually Sarah’s torch, then the camera zooms out with a one of monsters screaming, and then the movie is over. I liked the ending because it leaves questions for a sequel, and honestly, who doesn’t want to see a sequel to this movie, so we can see what will really happen to the remaining characters. Will they ever get out? That is the question I keep wondering. Anyway, this movie is one of the best horror films I have ever seen and is definitely worth a look for those who haven’t. Plus, compared to the other cave movie before it, The Cave, this movie is fucking Spartacus.
The Descent is a horror film that is worth the watch only a boring friday night. Its fair on blood and gore but there honestly wasnt much of it. It took a long time to get into the goods where the creatures come in. The creature FX could have been better but im not going to complain. As I said its worth the watch, Not the buy.
About abunch of stupid women who were all coplete bitches trying to get out of a cave full of bald nude cannables….who wouldn’t want to spend ones night watching this master peice of a horror film….the only good part was when the lady who lost her daughter goes fucken balistic and starts killing everything including that one annoying asian chick. This movie was almost as much of a joke as Cabin Fever….the difference…Cabin Fever at least made me laugh.
This is one of the scariest movies, when it comes to creatures of the unknow..or any movie scary movie sub-genre. It kept me on the edge of their desparation. I felt emensly claustrophobic while watching this, the cave and all, and the characters are the kind you’d root for, instead of waiting for their deaths. The ending is a trip, it dosen’t dissapoint, and there’s much blood..for those other blood lovers out there. Being hopeless in an unexplored cave has never been so much fun..at least, to the viewers.
The only movie I’d give a 10. It’s fast paced. Has just enough gore. And has characters you might actually care about. It deserves to be watched over and over again.
I dont really understand how anybody could give this movie a bad rating, IT WAS SICK!!!
straight up awesome. This movie rules my face off. can’t wait for the sequel!
The Descent is amazing! The plot was very good and I loved the pace of the movie. It was hard for me to watch because of the fact that all of these characters where isolated, scared and alone. Can’t wait for the sequal!
Quick review:
Simple Plot – Incredible atmosphere – Great monsters – High tension – Overwhelming sense of hopelessness
This film lands in my top 10. My hat’s off to Mr. Marshall
In one word: Awesome!!!
One of the best horror films in the past 10 years, hands-down. Good plot, Very tense atmosphere, commendable acting, great special fx, and it avoid conventional horror movie sterotypes. Make it a point to see this film, seriously. 10 / 10 from ZombieJasonVorhees
absolutely brilliant…the scariest movie I have ever seen! 10/10
I very much enjoyed this movie!
Great movie. Really scary, love the characters.
Ok, this is the first 10 I have rated a movie, but damn it is a 10!! Love the characters, love the story, love the creepy monsters, love the gore, love the stills, love it freakin’ all! AND the bloopers/outtakes are the funniest ever!! All horror movies should have bloopers/outtakes, it should be a rule. I can’t say enough, I would write this review in my own blood if I could, haha!
I saw absolutely no point in this movie. The plot was crap, the women were stereotyped bitches, and the monsters were little more than humanized naked mole rats. Thouroughly a waste of time.
Saw this for the first time tonight and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The claustrophobic setting played well with the creatures and the gore…and the sound! Two most important aspects of horror movies: Sound and music. The sounds were amplified at the right points and the music set the foreboding tone at the start…and then it just stopped. At the turning point of the movie, the cave-in, the music was gone and the atmosphere of the cave took over. Really well done!
I don’t know what some of the other Dbags are saying about this film…this is survival horror at its finest!
A terrific horror film, it truly is the best since alien the way it uses clasticphobia to scare you and create tension.
I have been waiting for a horror movie like this for ages. Being stuck in a dark cave with strange creatures with teeth. Great ending.
I thought the claustrophobia aspect was scarier than the creatures, but the female cast all did a good job and it was a primal gorefest survival/horror movie.
Great movie.
I’m really feeling this whole Uk movie thing…I enjoyed every min of it.
The claustrophobic environment creates a constant feeling of dread, you know things are just going to go from bad to worse. One of my top ten horrors of all time. Brilliantly directed and acted. You care for the characters from the start and will them on as they fight for their very survival. Neil Marshall has proved himself as a worthy British horror director after the success of Dog soldiers, you wont find the same kind of humour in the descent tho. It’s just Grim.
I was lucky enough to have caught this on it’s final week in the cinema, was alone in the screen and was an afternoon showing. Soo pleased as I screamed like a bitch at the dream sequence before they head into the caves, the tension never lets up from that moment on. Just excellent..
Not bad.
I admit I missed the first 20 minutes of the film, and this may put some off my review, however I digress. You really felt involved in ‘The Descent’. It had bucket-fuls of gore, a real sense of claustrophobia and the constant wonder of ‘Will anyone make it out alive?’
Gripping finale. ‘The Descent’ left an impression on me as I stumbled to bed, fearful of any spying creatures, haha.
9/10, if not 10/10.
amazing film
Kind of reminded me of wrong turn. i liked the creatures, the girls, and the rediculous amount of blood. Wicked scary and blood filled Niel Marshall shows his superiorority over most modern horror directors
I watched this movie on sci-fi, so I’m not sure if I got the full effect of it like I would have on DVD, but it was still amazing. Because I am a female myself, I like to see movies where a female is involved as the main character. I’ve never had any interest in going caving, or whatever they are doing it called, and after watching this I know for sure I NEVER will. Just watching the tight spots and the complications they endured just made me feel claustrophobic and uneasy. The creatures were so realistic and so fantasic I just couldn’t believe it was a movie, rather than a missing tape. Very convincing actresses, and amazing monsters. I loved this movie.
amazing film
best.best…………
Love this. Scary and creepy, amazing. Very dark too.
In an interview regarding Carlito’s Way, Brian De Palma claimed that he was able to fit so much story into the first half of the film because he had placed an excellent action sequence within the first 15 minutes. The idea is that if you give an audience a healthy dose of excitement early on, they’ll be far more willing to accept character development and long stretches of dialogue before it picks up on.
With the 2006 horror film THE DESCENT, Director Neil Marshall twists this idea by not only advancing our heart rates right after the opening credits, but establishing the core of our protagonist which casts a heavy shadow over the rest of the proceedings. This is the first of many clever structural maneuvers by the script.
The story revolves Sarah and her close-knit group of friends. All of whom share a taste for adventure, and on this particular voyage they’ve decided to go spelunking. What transpires during this trip is hinted at directedly by the characters as they head down the Appalachian mountains and set up for the plunge inside. The camera hangs over the cast as they look down into the abyss, into their own graves. And holy hell, does the movie live up to this premonition.
There are many who wouldn’t consider this a compliment but Marshall exhibits a diamond cutter’s eye for grisly images. Moments such as a character dangling from the ceiling of the cave with her throat-slashed, and the smoke spilling out of a monster’s skull after its been impaled by a lit torch exhibit an admirable level of macabre intent. Marshall’s talent isn’t limited to creatures encounters either, as the car-accident sequence and Holly’s bone protruding through her leg after falling into a hole show. Take away the monsters and the story boards would like like a film period piece on The Spanish Inquisition.
The key reason though for Neil Marshall’s success with this film is that is has more than enough story to sustain for a full feature long before the monsters become involved. With this much care put into what essentially becomes background, it becomes much more difficult to fail. The meticulously crafted details (I.E. shots of characters reactions during seemingly unimportant conversations, the horrible pajama outfit, the ever important “Love Each Day” pendent) enable us to be swept up into the thrill of the events without us even realizing how deep we are in the film’s world (your choice whether or not to take that last line as a pun).
An example of this would be Juno. Outside of THE DESCENT, she would still make a wonderful antagonist. A selfish home wrecker who can’t feel alive unless she’s puts herself directly in danger, she fits many of the attributes we associate with sociopaths. When we discover that Juno has lied to everyone, that no one knows where they are, and that they’re actually in an undiscovered cave, she can only react by proclaiming her love for adventure (“It hasn’t got a name. It’s a new system. I wanted us all to discover it! No one’s ever been down here before!”). This woman is clearly out of touch with emotions that don’t belong to her.
In a lesser film, Juno would be the most fascinating character. Having the antagonist grab the most attention from an audience is a dangerous characteristic for any story, it means we care less about the protagonist and thereby causing a level of indifference to the story. Thankfully, we have Sarah.
In the proglogue, we witness the loss of her daughter and her husband, the watershed incident in her life begins her internal struggle. The shots of her daughter approaching a birthday cake and the dream sequence where the same pipe that killed her husband impales her remind us of her plight. The more subtle conflict, one often overlooked upon first viewing, is the history Sarah’s husband had with Juno.
Sarah has a character arch that stretches about as far as a film can allow one to go. If it were a plane flight, it would be from Los Angeles to Bangkok. Since the accident, she has become timid, reserved. When the women are socializing over drinks, she appears very uncomfortable and shows vulnerability. This almost kills her as she becomes trapped in a tunnel and immediately allows herself to become helpless. This continues until she finds her friend Beth. Earlier in the film, Juno inadvertently lodged an ax into Beth’s neck. Juno in shock, pulls out the ax, and darts away. But not before Beth grabs Juno’s pendent from her neck, the one that says “Love Each Day”, a phrase that was a trademark of Sarah’s husband.
Sarah finds Beth there, buried under remnants of carnage, alive only at a level of pure suffering. Beth tells Sarah Juno did this and hands over the pendent as truth, simultaneously informing her of Juno’s affair in the process. Right before our eyes, as Sarah euthanizes Beth with a large stone, we watch her become an animal with rage pumping through her veins. After this, Sarah mercilessly slays three crawlers in succession.
There is a moment later on in the film where the two survivors, Sarah and Juno, meet up for the first time since the creatures made their presence known that upsets me every time. Sarah emerges covered in blood with a thousand yard stare as accompaniment. She doesn’t seem to be breathing or blinking. Juno can’t believe what she sees. Sarah’s evolved into something more harrowing than everything else that lives in that cave.
The climax of this film comes after Juno and Sarah kill off a handful of the creatures. This is where Juno witnesses what Sarah is capable of. This is also why she knows to be frightened when Sarah shows her the pendent. With this reveal, Sarah tells her:
You left Beth to die, you were sleeping with Husband, and you, not the carnivorous monsters that killed all our friends, turned me into this. Now, I’ll let you think this over after I plant a pickax in your leg and turn you into a fucking meal.
When this film was released in U.S. theaters, it ended with a haphazardly pieced together quick scare of Sarah escaping into her car and having Juno’s corpse waiting for her in the passenger seat. Credits roll. A quick scream, sure, but if you think about it for ten seconds you realize something went wrong here. Especially in a movie where so much care was evident every moment beforehand.
The original ending (As shown in its U.K. release and in the Unrated U.S. DVD) has Sarah escaping to her car, with a high level of euphoria in her eyes. She weeps uncontrollably, trying to gather herself after what she’s been through. Sarah is experiencing her catharsis. It appears she’s regained her humanity and can possibly live life again, as she did before the tragic car accident occurred. The Juno jump occurs in this version as well, but the film keeps going. We see a pair of eyes open. Sarah’s eyes. She’s still in the cave.
Inside her head, Sarah sees her daughter and reaches toward her. We then hear the crawlers scream one last time. There is no catharsis, no emotion, only madness.
This movie is simply amazing.
I have yet to see a more complete horror film than The Descent. Quickly becoming my favorite movie all-time, The Descent literally grabs you by the throat and takes you on one hell of a ride.
And for those of us that saw the REAL ending, that completed the movie. The perfect ending to a flawless film.
Umm this is mostly the best film in the hole world, awesome characters, i mostly like the hole story with Juno and Sarah. The Cave Crawlers are fucking scary also:). 10/10 all the way!
I watched this movie last night, in the dark and it is one of the best horror movies I’ve seen so far.
I think even without the creatures it would have still been an excellent film as you’d have had the fear and because of the tight spaces the girls would have started seeing things.
Originally I thought it was just some girls caving but when they did bring in the creatures I thought that it added to the effects. Overall an amazing movie :3.
Best horror film ever made.
I’m pretty picky when it comes to horror films, Like I hate nudity in some of them, or I hate when the characters are dumb enough to just run away or go to a public area instead of going outside to “Check the noise out” I Guess in my opinion, thats all fake because in reality people won’t do that. But this film is just…beyond words, So amazing, I felt like I was in my worst nightmare, but in a safe environment,I love the storyline. I Personally took it as a deeper message, were all stuck in caves sometimes, & sometimes you just gotta push forward to make it out, even if you gotta push your muscle, instincts & emotions to the limit.
Anyways,I Just Love everything about this film,I think this is what got me into horror in the first place, its sooo beautifully directed & the ending is soo…..Real!
One of the best horror films of the decade. Incredibly intense, well made and genuinely scary this one packs a wallop. Makes phenomenal use of its setting and the cast is stellar. A Claustrophobic nightmare captured on celluloid, The Descent is a must see.
Not only do I think this is one of the best horror films I’ve ever seen, I think it was one of the best films to come out in all of 2006. I can’t recall the last horror movie that came out since this that measured up in any way. It’s absolutely terrific.
Fantastic film! Lots have great things have been written here about it, so not much to say. So many great elements come together to create a truly horrifying experience.
I loved this movie the creepyness and strong female lead was a breath of fresh air. Amazing film.
Claustraphobic, creepy and intense as hell.
Nice gore and creature effects.
Good acting and great action.
Hobo Approved(TM)
This and High Tension, if I may add are my favorite foreign horror films. This is a fantastic and incredible horror/thriller.
This is simply a perfectly made film with it’s amazing cast and acting, the haunting and fantastic score, the scenery and the cinematography.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
The movie is very good and intense.
Be carefull Claustrophobic people, see your doctor before you see this xD
perfect blend of horror, character development, claustrophobia, and creative kills and gore.
One of my personal favorites. Definitely a must-see
Great movie, great characters, acting and directing!
Funny thing is, idea of being stuck 2 miles underground in a cave is so creepy, that it almost doesn’t need any monsters at all.
That being said, Descent 2 is a mistake.
The 1st half is a great taut film with exceptional acting, atmosphere, and writing…but by the 2nd half, you already know what’s going to happen. nobody’s getting out alive. It wasn’t intended to be a “survive-at-all-costs” like films such as the flawless Alien/Aliens series, even though it was perfectfly set up to be. As it turns out in the 2nd film, Shauna’s character somehow *does* make her way out…but returns only to sacrifice herself for another person…for notta. Not my kinda horror flick. Too hopeless.
Solid horror. Even without the creatures the atmosphere of dread is suffocating. Very well done in all aspects.
Gory as hell !
I love this movie, I especially liked the storyline.
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