Descent, The (2005) - Original Unrated Cut

Movie

Rating: UR (strong violence/gore and language)
Length: 99 minutes

Video

Widescreen 2.35:1 Color (Anamorphic)

Audio

ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 2.0

Captions

English, Spanish

Purchase

Plot

Six women in the mid-twenties decide to go spelunking. This is a group of friends and thrill-seekers of many years. One of them, a year earlier, suffered a tremendous personal loss and this is her first time back out with the group. Certainly nothing bad could happen to them!

Pros

I picked up this film thinking that it would be the standard horror movie with six girls going in a cave, probably dressed in something skimpy, getting ravaged and killed one-by-one in some not-so-creative ways. I was wrong about everything but the creative killings. Neil Marshall took great care in all the things that make for a good movie; character development and an interesting and always evolving plot. The blood and gore was there but wasn't overdone and sorry guys, the ladies keep their clothes on.

Cons

Lot's of oversized Gollum's from "Lord of the Rings"; I just couldn't get that out of my mind during the action scenes. You'll also want to watch this movie at night; most of it is filmed in the dark and might make things even harder to see if you're watching it in a well-lit room.

Extras

Audio Commentary with Director Neil Marshall and Crew
Audio Commentary with Director Neil Marshall and Cast
"The Descent: Beneath the Scenes"
DesEnding - Interview with Director Neil Marshall
Outtakes
Deleted and Extended Scenes
Storyboard and Scene Comparisons
Cast and Crew Biographies
Still Gallery

Recommendation

I must admit, the only way you're getting me into a cave is if it's well lit, there is a tour guide and guard/hand rails. My sense of claustrophobia certainly added to the tension I felt in this film. I would highly recommend this to all horror fans! Do yourself a favor and watch the making-of featurette.