Hey everyone,
Last night I went to see this really creepy movie called The Descent (Neil Marshall, 2005). When it was released about a month ago, it looked like a cheap b-grade kind of horror movie. It’s also a British movie, and so I thought I would have to deal with the accent as well. However, it’s made by the same director who made Dog Soldiers (Neil Marshall), and that was an ace movie. Another British horror movie, 28 Days Later was also a great movie. So, I checked up on the reviews and they were astoundingly positive, and I decided to part with my dhs30.
In short: exhilarating, suspense, tension and a whole lot of screaming.
Last night was the first time where I actually heard general screaming across the theaters. My experience was made all the more wonderful with a really cute Saudi couple who were sitting next to me. They had arrived a bit late, and since the cinema was packed full, they found empty seats next to me. It was somewhat cool to see the couple, with the woman completely covered from head to toe, gloves and all, and the husband with a long beard. I rarely see such couples in movie theatres, let alone a scary one. It was also somewhat amusing to see the woman removed her glove, face covering and loosening her head scarf. I guess she was getting prepared for the eventual scary experience.
The movie is basically about 6 girl friends, who go on a mountain trip somewhere in the US. One of the girls is aware of the underground caves, and so they all decide to discover new unexplored areas. Once down there, they progress from chamber to chamber, through some of the tightest passageways. These moments were horrifically claustrophobic, and made extremely uncomfortable viewing, as I am a claustrophobic too. There was a lot of suspense and tension, and it was visible with people fidgeting in their seats. One of the girls thinks she sees something underground there, and it turns out that there are “crawlers” in there. Soon, they are faced with hidden, unknown “crawlers” in there, and the more they attempt to get out, the deeper they go into the caves. The “crawlers” are really creepy, and they are genuinely scary.
It’s a brilliantly made, very believable horror movie. No cheap gimmicks or thrills. No stupid nonsense scene. The director had done a marvelous job on playing with our fear of the darkness and the unknown. Confining the movie to an underground cave made it a very claustrophobic experience, which in turn made it scary. The scary scenes were truly terrifying, and the eventual gore and madness that ensued literally scared the wits out of the people. I felt so bad for the woman next to me, who constantly tugged at her husband’s arm, and screamed out probably more times than I jumped out of my seat. Some covered their faces, other’s completely turned away. Generally guys and girls were jumping out of their skins. I am a fan of horror movies, and usually I am not creeped out by them, but The Descent gave me the creeps. The oohs and aahs increased more and more as we neared towards the end, as if it were leading up to a crescendo.
I won’t tell you the ending, but this movie was one of the better horror movie I had seen in a while, and it should be seen in a totally dark theatre with surround sound. Bring on the DVD!
Mansur
*warning: if you don’t like gore, stay away.
5 comments:
There is another movie called The Cave, which is a far inferior version to The Descent. I loved The Descent, so much so, I plan on seeing it again....glad you enjoyed it.
people ! i cant believe you enjoyed the cave nor the descent. The descent grossed me out i couldnt finish my bag of M&M's :( that was dissapointing.
The cave bored the heck out of me, and mm the descent, got me sittin on the egde of my seat with the girl on girl action lol (though i am a girl, i felt empowered ;p).
I must agree with you on the other hand the ending wasen't cheesy, so thats why i'd say the movie was alright, but i still want explanations of the experience they all undergone together, any ideas?
Personally speaking I havent seen The Cave, because I havent heard good reviews about it. I knew Neil Marshall's work, hence I gave The Descent a chance.
I must say too that since the cast was entirely women, they were not portrayed as helpless, screaming women running away. Couple were, but others were shown as brave, physically strong and determined women who could hold their own.
I don't know the explanation of who the "crawlers" were, but this is a horror movie...do we really need an explanation for every little thing. This movie was creepy enough to not question the origins of the crawlers. Maybe they were stuck down there, and in-bred themselves? You do see the mother and a kid at one point.
Also, what's a horror movie without any gross? lol. Some of the best horror movies have gross scenes in them as well.
I think the best bet would be to read the reviews on www.imdb.com and see what other reviewers came up with the explanation for the "crawlers."
If you find any thing, let us know...oh, also, I could have imagined all the guys deriving pleasure from the girl-on-girl action, but there was nothing sexual about it, and given the horrible situation they were in, one would probably be thinking: when are they going to get out of there??
I think the ending was great too, and leaves it open? Will the girl become one of them too? Will she ever get out? Maybe there is a part two in the works? lol.
Mansur
Thanx for the reply, i think you misunderstood by question about the explanation. I was wondering what you understood of the experience they all went through before deciding to go on the cave journey that in some way been in relation to the shit they went through in the cave.
Oh and about the crawlers, i heard that it apparently was all over the news that a similar cave existed in Oman! apparently a group of Omani guys explored it and only two survived having captured images of creatures that resembled the predators in the movie !
Ok, I am confused now. What experience are you referring to? The white water rafting? The car accident? Or did something happen in the cabin that that was censored here in the theatres? lol.
I am curious to know more about this Omani cave you mention. I did not hear anything about it.....when did it happen? Were the pictures released worldwide? Where are the survivors now?
Mansur
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