Thanks to its skilful director, well-cast actors and talented technical team, this fiercely entertaining British horror movie has blood, guts and brains.
The Descent (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:159
Fresh:134
Rotten:25
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: Deft direction and strong performances from its all-female cast guide The Descent, a riveting, claustrophobic horror film. In this low-budget import from Scotland, director Neil Marshall has masterfully created a spelunking nightmare, which doubles as a compelling meditation on morality, vengeance, and the depths to which we might go for survival.
Rated: 18 [See Full Rating] for strong violence/gore and language.
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:08-07-2005
Synopsis: THE DESCENT is Neil Marshall’s hotly anticipated follow up to his 2002 hit DOG SOLDIERS. Directed by Marshall from his own script, it tells the story of an all-female caving expedition that goes... THE DESCENT is Neil Marshall’s hotly anticipated follow up to his 2002 hit DOG SOLDIERS. Directed by Marshall from his own script, it tells the story of an all-female caving expedition that goes horribly wrong, and stars Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, Nora-Jane Noone and Myanna Buring. Set in a cave system deep in the Appalachian Mountains, Marshall describes his film as ‘DELIVERANCE goes underground’. On a daredevil caving holiday, six women friends are unexpectedly trapped underground when a rock fall blocks their exit. Searching the maze of tunnels for a way out, they find themselves hunted by a race of fearless, hungry predators, once humanoid but now monstrously adapted to live in the dark… As the others battle for their lives, Sarah (Macdonald), still recovering from a mental collapse brought on by the recent deaths of her family, is fighting for her sanity. When old secrets are revealed, the friends turn on one another, causing the group to implode. Betrayed and desperate, Sarah realizes that to make it back to the surface, she must become as savage as the creatures themselves. THE DESCENT was filmed on location in Scotland and at Pinewood Studios from December 2004 to February 2005, and was fully financed and produced by Celador Films. Celador’s Paul Smith is executive producer and Christian Colson is producer. The film reunites Marshall with DOG SOLDIERS’ director of photography, Sam McCurdy, and production designer, Simon Bowles. Celador’s previous credits include the Oscar-nominated DIRTY PRETTY THINGS. THE DESCENT movie has already had a hugely successful release both critically and commercially in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. In September, 2005 the film took the top competition prize -- the Méliès d’Argent -- for Euro feature at Lund International Fantastic Film Festival in Sweden, and in November, Neil Marshall won Best Director and the film Best Technical Achievement (for the Editing) at the British Independent Films Awards (BIFA's) (THE DESCENT was nominated for Best Film). It has also been nominated for Best British Film, Best British Director and Best British Producer by the London Film Critics Circle (the winners are announced in February), an unheard of achievement for a genre piece. --© Lionsgate Films [More]
Starring: Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder
Starring: Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, Nora-Jane Noone, MyAnna Buring, Oliver Milburn, Molly Kayll
Director: Neil Marshall
Director: Neil Marshall
Producer: Christian Colson
Screenwriter: Neil Marshall
Composer: David Julyan
Studio: Lions Gate Films
Reviews for The Descent
Marshall has a definite eye for the memorably nasty image – several of the shots here are liable to stay with you long after you’ve forgotten the rest of the film.
Marshall is clearly having fun here, and he effectively assembles all of the elements to gross us out and scare us half to death.
Far too gory for any but the very strongest of stomachs, this is nonetheless intelligent and well constructed horror fare.
Incredibly, Marshall is now being talked of as the great white hope of British horror. Now that is scary.
There are inconsistencies and frustrating ambiguities, but this is another reliable, vigorous horror experience for genre fans.
One of the scariest horror movies of the past 20 years. Would do Wes Craven, George A. Romero and James Whale proud.
Hugely claustrophobic and skin-crawlingly intense ... and then the flesh-eating monsters come out. Hyperbole be danged: This is the best, purest horror film in years.
This dark labyrinth of trauma, treachery and troglodytes sets terrifying traps for the mind.
Let's just call it a chick flick for people who like a high body count.
Sorry, George Lucas, but CGI creatures usually look pretty fake; the crawlers, however, are quite realistic and creepy, especially as they skitter over the walls and roofs of the caves.
[W]ill inspire boys and girls who like the genre even though it could be read as a tale about the battle between the sexes.
A harrowing, brutal piece of work -- my hand was over my mouth for the last 30 minutes, lest I scream like a little girl on fire. Not to be missed.
Descent is everything The Cave wasn't: edge-of-your-seat terrifying, atmospheric, and frightfully inventive.
This is the kind of mindless comedy that works best in the summer, where you come in from the heat and just want to sit back and laugh.
Neil Marshall, who wrote and directed The Descent, is an expert at the slow build that gradually earns our trust and then rewards it by scaring the pants off us.
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