Admittedly, I have technically seen this movie once before. However, it was the second movie of the night, and I had been drinking. So I barely remember it. I do remember not being too impressed by it, but that might’ve been because I was barely paying attention. Tonight, my friend, Julia, picked it for our weekly horror movie club. So it was the perfect opportunity to give it a second (and better) chance.
The Descent is a British horror movie about a group of women who take a spelunking trip together. We find out there are some underlying resentments and issues that probably should have been worked out beforehand. However, they all put on a happy face and go on with the adventure. Things start to go wrong when the group discovers they have been deceived by their risk-taking friends into traveling into an unexplored cave. Obviously traversing unexplored territory is usually a stupid idea anyway, and the tension created from the claustrophobia and dangerous heights is enough to fill one movie alone. But to make matters worse, there’s something more sinister lurking in the cave.
I’m surprised I didn’t see this movie when it was released in 2005. I think the premise of the movie never really appealed to me because I couldn’t relate to it. Duh, don’t go spelunking. End of story. When I watched it the first time, the thing I didn’t find impressive were the monsters themselves. Not scary enough, I thought. But we all know if any of us were stuck in this cave and we discovered these murderous creatures down there, we would be terrified.
Aside from the monsters and the spelunking, the movie is very good overall. It is jam-packed full of tension, blood and gore, interesting characters and backstory, and unique cinematography. Everyone’s favorite shot is the most iconic – the main character emerging from a pool of what seems to be blood and other bits covering her to make her look almost as inhuman as the creatures hunting her.
This movie is definitely worth watching. I don’t know if I will ever feel the need to watch it again, but I enjoyed seeing it at least once (technically twice).
Movie For One 