SusannahThe Descent
March 18th 2007 02:32
THE DESCENT
Written and Directed by Neil Marshall.
Starring Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza.
In this, his follow-up to superlative British horror flick Dog Soldiers, Neil Marshall taps into our three deepest and most primal fears: the darkness, enclosed spaces and subterranean albino cannibals. After a horrific car accident claims the lives of her husband and young daughter Sarah is left emotionally shattered. Some time later she joins a group of her close female friends on an expedition to a vast cave system in an isolated expanse of wilderness. The cave opening turns out to be little more than a ragged mouth in the earth, leading into the kind of abyss that would make Nietzsche shudder. Our intrepid team of protagonists push on into the unknown even after it means splashing through a partially submerged area and crawling through a tunnel roughly the width of a birthing canal. Only once a portion of said tunnel has collapsed (making return via that route impossible) does the leader of the expedition, the brash Juno, confess that not only is this not the cave system they had previously discussed exploring but it is a cave system that has in fact never been explored and mapped. So with no other option they are forced to continue deeper and deeper into the labyrinth, not knowing if they’re ever going to see daylight again.
The deeper they go the more obvious it becomes that they are not the first to visit this warren – they stumble upon remnants of old caving equipment that appears to be about one hundred year’s old - and discover animal bones. There is that strange chattering, groaning sound that occasionally emanates from the darkness. Furthermore Sarah is obviously suffering echoes from the ghastly car accident and Juno seems altogether too impulsive and prone to risk-taking behaviour. The film strains at the nerve-endings long before blind, milk-skinned horrors finally loom out of the dark in a bone-crunching orgy of gore and violence.
Essentially the Descent is a sustained attack upon the senses: the opening car accident sets the unsettling tone of the film right from the outset (it’s sudden, bloody horrific and will have you reeling back in your chair) from there on its all flickering lights and crawling dread broken only by moments of visceral horror. Dog Soldiers featured a healthy serving of black comedy alongside its nastiness, The Descent instead goes for a grim, nihilistic tone similar to that of gorenography. However, it is not without a few moments that indicate Marshall might be having a bit of fun behind the camera. Most notably the odd cinematic reference: there’s a nice nod to Apocalypse Now, as well as what might be a reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey, and a flickering hallway that could have come straight from the Grudge (not to mention the awful rattling groaning the creatures use as sonar). Also, the soundtrack with its ominous pulsing bass is reminiscent of Ennio Morricone’s work for The Thing.
The cast (all female for the bulk of the film) give compelling and gritty performances with a script that doesn’t condescend to them with running/screaming roles. In fact, it is the women who fight back against their tormentors (with startling and very satisfying brutality, I might add) that stand the best chance of living to see the closing credits. The characters react realistically to their traumatic situation (heroics are kept to a minimum, self-preservation is the ultimate goal) and there is always the threat of betrayal. All of this lends the film a nightmarish realism.
I highly recommend The Descent if you want to see a grippingly tense and superbly-executed horror film with a tight script and a genius premise – it’s one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. Although maybe not so highly recommended if you have a problem with enclosed spaces.
Upon leaving the cinema we were informed that we had just witnessed the uncut version of the film and that American audiences would have seen a considerably more edited Descent. I just hope that the censorship board didn’t mess with the ending.
Written and Directed by Neil Marshall.
Starring Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza.
In this, his follow-up to superlative British horror flick Dog Soldiers, Neil Marshall taps into our three deepest and most primal fears: the darkness, enclosed spaces and subterranean albino cannibals. After a horrific car accident claims the lives of her husband and young daughter Sarah is left emotionally shattered. Some time later she joins a group of her close female friends on an expedition to a vast cave system in an isolated expanse of wilderness. The cave opening turns out to be little more than a ragged mouth in the earth, leading into the kind of abyss that would make Nietzsche shudder. Our intrepid team of protagonists push on into the unknown even after it means splashing through a partially submerged area and crawling through a tunnel roughly the width of a birthing canal. Only once a portion of said tunnel has collapsed (making return via that route impossible) does the leader of the expedition, the brash Juno, confess that not only is this not the cave system they had previously discussed exploring but it is a cave system that has in fact never been explored and mapped. So with no other option they are forced to continue deeper and deeper into the labyrinth, not knowing if they’re ever going to see daylight again.
The deeper they go the more obvious it becomes that they are not the first to visit this warren – they stumble upon remnants of old caving equipment that appears to be about one hundred year’s old - and discover animal bones. There is that strange chattering, groaning sound that occasionally emanates from the darkness. Furthermore Sarah is obviously suffering echoes from the ghastly car accident and Juno seems altogether too impulsive and prone to risk-taking behaviour. The film strains at the nerve-endings long before blind, milk-skinned horrors finally loom out of the dark in a bone-crunching orgy of gore and violence.
Essentially the Descent is a sustained attack upon the senses: the opening car accident sets the unsettling tone of the film right from the outset (it’s sudden, bloody horrific and will have you reeling back in your chair) from there on its all flickering lights and crawling dread broken only by moments of visceral horror. Dog Soldiers featured a healthy serving of black comedy alongside its nastiness, The Descent instead goes for a grim, nihilistic tone similar to that of gorenography. However, it is not without a few moments that indicate Marshall might be having a bit of fun behind the camera. Most notably the odd cinematic reference: there’s a nice nod to Apocalypse Now, as well as what might be a reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey, and a flickering hallway that could have come straight from the Grudge (not to mention the awful rattling groaning the creatures use as sonar). Also, the soundtrack with its ominous pulsing bass is reminiscent of Ennio Morricone’s work for The Thing.
The cast (all female for the bulk of the film) give compelling and gritty performances with a script that doesn’t condescend to them with running/screaming roles. In fact, it is the women who fight back against their tormentors (with startling and very satisfying brutality, I might add) that stand the best chance of living to see the closing credits. The characters react realistically to their traumatic situation (heroics are kept to a minimum, self-preservation is the ultimate goal) and there is always the threat of betrayal. All of this lends the film a nightmarish realism.
I highly recommend The Descent if you want to see a grippingly tense and superbly-executed horror film with a tight script and a genius premise – it’s one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. Although maybe not so highly recommended if you have a problem with enclosed spaces.
Upon leaving the cinema we were informed that we had just witnessed the uncut version of the film and that American audiences would have seen a considerably more edited Descent. I just hope that the censorship board didn’t mess with the ending.
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD