It may sound bizarre to say that a film about women under threat of vicious, violent death is a triumph of feminism, but there we are...
The Descent (2006)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
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
You genuinely care about the six women who enter a cave in the Appalachian mountains, only to discover it crawling with flesh-eating predators who have adapted to life in the dark.
An object lesson in making a tightly-budgeted, no-star horror pic work through razor-sharp technique and committed performances alone.
It's a film stripped to bloody basics, a ferocious and taut exercise in action horror that recalls early James Cameron, with more gore and less sentimentality.
The babes are buff and the scares bountiful in Neil Marshall's full-throttle horror freakout about six women on a caving expedition.
It plays every emotional key of fright and despair with the skill of a concertmaster at a cathedral organ.
[Marshall] expertly maps out those raw nerve endings while creating credible characters who speak and act like real people rather than the usual horror archetypes.
Taut direction and convincing performances impart a terrifying sense of claustrophobia and isolation.
[Marshall] does have a nice taste for horror imagery: The first glimpse of one of the creatures, as debased and revolting and craven as a living thing could be, will stay with you a long time.
One Aliens reference in this film had me welling up: A blood-soaked Sarah raises her torch, Sigourney Weaver-like, and lets out a banshee war cry.
The Descent is simply a shock-'em, shake-'em genre piece with scare scenes that, however effective, suggest cheap-shop versions of a lot we've seen before.
The movie's thrill-and-chill sequences are nasty and suspenseful, though once the creatures start to attack, the scenes get repetitive.
The Descent isn't perfect, or even entirely original…But it's a lot better, and fresher, than it would be if (or, gulp, when) Hollywood chews it up and spits it out again.
The Descent doesn't need to exist: a script that goes beyond outlandish. Actors who'd flunk out of Make Believe 101. Blind creatures that see things. Did we mention continuity?
Marshall understands that sometimes there's nothing quite as oddly exhilarating as the bleakest, no-way-out kind of horror.
A number of narrative twists keep you guessing and, while the pace stays strong and steady, building the gory mayhem to a bloody crescendo.
Aside from its high concept -- instead of Snakes on a Plane, it's Chicks in a Cave (with monsters!) -- place-setting is almost all Marshall does.
Made with a connoisseur's love of muck, blood, inky darkness, and equal parts elegance and ewwww, The Descent raises the level of the post-Blair Witch, post-Open Water horror game.
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.
Latest News for The Descent
June 12, 2009:
Neil Marshall in Talks for New Predator? ![]()
According to Bloody Disgusting, you'll never guess who's in talks to direct the new "Predator" movie...unless you guess Neil Marshall ("The Descent"). More...
August 22, 2008:
Further Reading: Hammer Horror's MySpace Revival Stumbles
Does a new collection of webisodes hosted on MySpace and featuring tabloid teen favourites Jamie Dornan and Lois Winstone constitute a revival of the Hammer Horror film? Not so,... More...
May 06, 2008:
Neil Marshall's 10 Post-Apocalyptic Picks
The Doomsday director runs RT through the movies that inspired his cyber-punk vision of a dodgy future. More...
April 03, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Clooney Suits Up For Football Fun
George Clooney, the Mayor McCheese of Hollywood, leaves behind Oscar season and returns to the big screen with lighter fare with the period sports comedy Leatherheads. More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
| 53% 53% | David & Layla |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- The Descent at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Descent at IGN
- The Descent at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

