The Descent (2006)

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  TheMovieDiorama

  7 / 10

  The Descent is the very definition of claustrophobic horror. Trust me when I say this, it will make you think twice about setting foot into a cave. We follow a group of British women who decide to explore a famous cave system in America. Problem is, one "smart cookie" in the group decides to take it upon herself to guide the group into an unknown cave maze instead...where something else inhabits the darkness. That something being a large pack of blind cave dwellers that pretty much resemble the Falmer from Elder Scrolls (my best comparison). Oh, and they hunt and devour pretty much anything. This is a pretty decent gem from the horror genre. My main admiration has to go to director Neil Marshall who somehow took on the impossible challenge of filming in small narrow passages and dark caves. I'm sure dynamically recreated sets were utilised, but it felt authentic and a damn terrifying creepy environment. Embracing darkness is incredibly difficult, and consequently means the lighting has to be on point...fortunately it is. Flares, torches and fire all felt natural and added appropriate light so that we can visibly see our characters. Marshall's inventive direction and adventurous environment enhanced the claustrophobia needed to create the scares. There are some clever scenes, particularly when the Falmer (yup...I'm calling them that) are introduced. Night vision on a camcorder and quick movement of the head torches assist in some extremely effective techniques. The characters have glimpses of development and personality, especially Sarah, but probably not enough to actually care about them. Speaking of Sarah, can we just reflect on how she entered the cave as a scared fearful woman and yet somehow turns into Arnold Schwarzenegger of the cave world by the end. Even does the scream from Predator! The constant rapid cuts when the Falmer attack the humans made me slightly nauseous and made it difficult to differentiate what the heck was going on. However, this is a gory, claustrophobic, dark and often tense horror film that will appeal to genre enthusiasts.

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