The Descent
I went to see the Descent movie tonight (Wednesday night) with the guys. With an 18A rating, I knew it was going to pack a punch. The movie concerns an adventurous trio of ladies, who apparently get together on a regular basis to tackle an outdoor challenge, their motto, love each day. On their last outing however, tragedy strikes and one, Sarah, loses her daughter and husband in a fatal car accident. A year later, the ladies, with three younger additions to the group, head off on a spelunking trip deep in the Appalachians.
Sarah is trying to recover from her loss, and trip planner, Juno, is trying to bring the group back together and forget the past. Since this is a horror movie, you know something is going to be happening soon. The cinematography is superb, keeping you on the edge while holding off on the real terror for later. If you frequent the genre, you know to expect this. A good horror movie pumps up the tension early on, building you up and quickly revealing another false alarm. Everyone giggles a little bit and settles down a little less comfortably, waiting for the real scare to come. There are many false alarms. Just when you're expecting things will go bump -- they don't -- but you're getting ever so close.
When it comes, you're not prepared for it. The movie plays on the darkness and claustrophobia of the caves, tunnels and deep of the underground. Around the corner, on the ceiling -- that shadow -- anything can be the monsters. The six friends are deep underground when things start to go wrong with their little adventure. First, there is a cave-in that blocks their way out and takes some of their equipment. Then it's revealed that there is little chance of a rescue, as they are not at the cave where they were planning on exploring -- Juno has taken liberties of leading them to a cave never before explored. At this point the monsters are queued for their big debut. They're blind, but can hear extremely well. They're slimy, growl and drool a helluva lot. They look almost human. And they're hungry.
From that point forward, the movie turns up the pace and horror. Characters true self are revealed under the duress, as the ladies have to fight off the monsters, their own baggage and each other to get out alive. There is gore. There is violence. There is stress. This is an all female cast -- and they execute extremely well.
It's unusual for an all female cast to be carrying a horror movie -- but it works very well. You don't have to deal with the obligatory machismo and heroics if there was a male lead -- although Juno does fill that role somewhat. Without the distraction, the characters are richer. How they deal with the situation at hand turns out to be the real horror in the movie. You almost feel sorry for the monsters -- since you know they're just the extras that are not going to make it to the end.
This movie had a very low budget compared to the typical Hollywood fare. You won't notice that however, due to the spectacular execution of the film. If you're a horror fan, this might be a sleeper hit that will gain a larger following once it makes it to DVD.
Since I'm in Canada, I saw the movie with the North America ending -- which is cut short from the European ending. If you've seen the movie and wish to see the real ending of it, check it out here. You can also catch the movie trailer here if you haven't seen the movie as yet.
Sarah is trying to recover from her loss, and trip planner, Juno, is trying to bring the group back together and forget the past. Since this is a horror movie, you know something is going to be happening soon. The cinematography is superb, keeping you on the edge while holding off on the real terror for later. If you frequent the genre, you know to expect this. A good horror movie pumps up the tension early on, building you up and quickly revealing another false alarm. Everyone giggles a little bit and settles down a little less comfortably, waiting for the real scare to come. There are many false alarms. Just when you're expecting things will go bump -- they don't -- but you're getting ever so close.
When it comes, you're not prepared for it. The movie plays on the darkness and claustrophobia of the caves, tunnels and deep of the underground. Around the corner, on the ceiling -- that shadow -- anything can be the monsters. The six friends are deep underground when things start to go wrong with their little adventure. First, there is a cave-in that blocks their way out and takes some of their equipment. Then it's revealed that there is little chance of a rescue, as they are not at the cave where they were planning on exploring -- Juno has taken liberties of leading them to a cave never before explored. At this point the monsters are queued for their big debut. They're blind, but can hear extremely well. They're slimy, growl and drool a helluva lot. They look almost human. And they're hungry.
From that point forward, the movie turns up the pace and horror. Characters true self are revealed under the duress, as the ladies have to fight off the monsters, their own baggage and each other to get out alive. There is gore. There is violence. There is stress. This is an all female cast -- and they execute extremely well.
It's unusual for an all female cast to be carrying a horror movie -- but it works very well. You don't have to deal with the obligatory machismo and heroics if there was a male lead -- although Juno does fill that role somewhat. Without the distraction, the characters are richer. How they deal with the situation at hand turns out to be the real horror in the movie. You almost feel sorry for the monsters -- since you know they're just the extras that are not going to make it to the end.
This movie had a very low budget compared to the typical Hollywood fare. You won't notice that however, due to the spectacular execution of the film. If you're a horror fan, this might be a sleeper hit that will gain a larger following once it makes it to DVD.
Since I'm in Canada, I saw the movie with the North America ending -- which is cut short from the European ending. If you've seen the movie and wish to see the real ending of it, check it out here. You can also catch the movie trailer here if you haven't seen the movie as yet.
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