Skip to main content

The Descent Movie Review

“The noise she’s making, she’ll bring every one of those things down on her head.” - Rebecca Vernet
The Descent is a 2005 horror film directed by Neil Marshall and starring Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring, and Nora-Jane Noone.  The film is about a group of six friends who decide to go on a cave diving expedition. Things get difficult for them when a rockfall traps them inside the cave, and they discover hostile cave monsters that rely on echolocation to stalk their prey.  This leads to chaos, backstabbing and betrayal among the six women.
Almost the whole first half of the film is literally the six girls climbing around the cave and scaling walls.  Part of me really liked this aspect of the film, and while I don’t want to say that these scenes were boring per se, another part of me thought that those scenes could get a little bit monotonous after awhile.  Now don’t get me wrong, most of these scenes were really interesting, but after awhile, it seemed to drag on for just a tad too long. I suppose there’s not really much else to do when you’re that far down in a cave for hours on end, but some of it could’ve been cut down a small bit.
One of the major strengths of this film is the way it uses suspense to its advantage.  I want to make it clear that this movie had the potential to be horrible and cheesy. The end product is one of the scariest movies I’ve seen in a long time.  It’s not just because of the monsters either. The film plays off of other fears that are more psychological, and cerebral, such as fear of entrapment, tight spaces, darkness, and loss of loved ones.
The main problem I had with this film was something that I mentioned earlier: the spelunking scenes were a little bit monotonous at times.  But in the end, this movie scared the crap out of me, which is a very rare occasion for me. If you’re a horror fan, you have to check this movie out.  It’s a great old movie that will make you want to pull the blanket up to your face just to peek over the top. It’s freaky, and if you like being scared, you need to watch this film.
Rating: R
Grade: B

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Alita: Battle Angel Movie Review

“I do not stand by in the presence of evil.” - Alita Alita: Battle Angel is the new film by director Robert Rodriguez.  It is a cyberpunk sci-fi action movie starring Rosa Salazar as the title character.  Also starring are Christoph Waltz, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jennifer Connelly, and Jackie Earle Haley.   The film is about Alita, a young cyborg girl rebuilt by Dr. Dyson Ido (Waltz), who just wants to know more about her past, and where she came from.  Ido is very protective of her, as there is a lot of crime happening in the streets. Nonetheless, the curious Alita goes out exploring every day, and meets a boy named Hugo who she falls in love with.  Meanwhile, there is some villainous activity going on involving a man named Vector, and a mysterious figure called Nova who lives in Zalem, a giant floating city where all the upper-class people live that hovers above the city below that is home to all the lower-class citizens. Alita: Battle Angel is a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Carnivàle Series Review

“Pain is an unavoidable side effect.” - Brother Justin Crowe Carnivàle is an HBO original series that ran from 2003 to 2005.  The show was created by Daniel Knauf, and stars Nick Stahl, Clancy Brown, Clea DuVall, Michael J. Anderson, and Tim DeKay.  Set in 1934 during the Dust Bowl, the story follows Ben Hawkins, a young man gifted with extraordinary healing powers, but tortured by horrific visions and dreams.  After the death of his mother, he is picked up by a traveling carnival led by a little person named Samson.  Meanwhile, in a different part of the country, a pious minister named Brother Justin Crowe is building a vast following of churchgoers with the help of his sister Iris.  However, Brother Justin also suffers from terrible visions, and possesses mystical powers of his own.  Connected through their powers, Ben and Brother Justin realize that Armageddon is on the rise, and that everything is building up to one final battle between good and e...
Post a Comment
Read more

Da 5 Bloods Movie Review

“Why do you fight against us, so far away from where you are needed?” - Hanoi Hannah Da 5 Bloods is the newest film directed by Spike Lee, and it stars Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Chadwick Boseman, and Jonathan Majors.  The film tells the tale of four Black veterans who return to Vietnam in the present day to bring home the remains of a fallen soldier.  However, that isn’t their only mission.  They are also there to recover a cache of buried gold and split the money between the four of them.   Da 5 Bloods is an incredibly intense yet heartfelt film, and it’s also very important and relevant to what’s going on in the world today.  It’s an extremely politically charged movie, and while that could be a turn-off for some people, I think it’s the type of film that needs to be seen regardless of who you are.  It’s informative and educational, and it gives the viewer knowledge about our current political climate as well as t...
Post a Comment
Read more