The Descent - good or bad? (1 Viewer)

[Neil Joseph]

Well, now that the dvd is about to arrive, I am unsure of whether to pick this up. I liked The Relic (film and especially the book) but I hate most horror films with their dumb scares. I do like a good horror film though which seem to be hard to find these days.

Is this one a keeper?

 

[Brian.L]

I'm sure I'll be in the minority here, but it didn't do a lot for me. I would have preferred more set-up before the ladies go into the cave, as I was having a hard time telling them apart and then they spend most of the movie in varying degrees of darkness. The actresses are only serviceable, the dialogue is just so-so and the um...antagonists (I'm trying not to spoil anything) didn't really work for me. Some good "claustrophobia"-based scares, though, and (very minor spoiler ahead) even though I thought it was somewhat unsatisfying, I appreciate the balls required to do a somewhat ambiguous ending.

Certainly a hell of a lot better than "The Cave", though. And fairly well shot. In fact, glancing back at my ratings for the year, it's actually my third favorite "horror" film I've seen this year (behind "Hostel" and "Slither", and not counting "Hard Candy"), and I'm not a huge horror fan to begin with, and it sounds like you might be. So, actually, I'm recommending it after all...go figure.

 

[Radioman970]

I'm right with you here. I'm thinking of blind buying it myself at least by Halloween 07. I've heard almost nothing but good wom about it. It seems to be an almost sure thing. But you never know. I've avoided all professional reviews sicne I didn't want it spoiled.

 

[Jason Seaver]

It's damn good, one of the best horror/suspense movies I've seen in years. The caves actually feel like real caves, rather than 60s-TV-show chambers with level floors, and the relationships between the characters add to the tension without ever making the audience cringe because there's matters of life and death going on here so talk about your personal issues later. I think having a (nearly) all-female cast helps that; it nicely takes sexual tension out of the equation.

 

[Quentin]

This and Hostel are my favorite horror flicks of the year. I've got it on disc already (R3 I think)!

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Good. Very good. It is great to see a horror movie populated with adults for a change.

 

[JonBoriss]

I am not the biggest horror fan myself but The Decsent is excellent and well worth checking out.

 

[RickER]

I will blind buy. Loved Dog Soldiers. Same Director for both.

 

[Terry St]

The R1 cut that was in theaters was a tad lacking in character development. The majority of the cast was only there to pump up the body count. Maybe the R2 cut is better? Most of the characters are very broadly drawn stereotypes as well and what happens to them is rather predictable as a result.

e.g. There's the annoyingly macho girl who, the moment she steps on screen, you know will die first. There is one character and one only who is well fleshed out, so she obviously is the one who is going to live. Second place isn't hard to spot either.

The "antagonists" are a tad hard to swallow and blatantly copied, but the movie avoids explaining their existence, which is probably a good thing because any explanation would be pretty weak.

They should have named this flick "ATTACK OF THE GOLLUM CLONES"

The scenes in the cave themselves are well shot. The feeling of dark, damp claustrophobia is very well conveyed. Although the beginning of the ending is easily predictable within the first five minutes of the movie, they tacked on a cheap shock that doesn't fit with the rest of the film.

In summary, rent it first. It's worth seeing once, but I don't think it would hold up that well to repeated viewings.

 

[Jason Seaver]

From what I gather, the UK cut is the same as the US cut, except for about thirty seconds added at the end.

 

[RickER]

If you buy the unrated version thats the same as the UK.

 

[Tim Glover]

This has my interest some too.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Thanks to all. I will probably pick this up on blu-ray. As I mentioned, one of the things I liked in The relic was that the torch illuminated certain areas and all else was pitch black so you could not see if something was beside/near you which added to the tension.

 

[Nailla]

I really enjoyed this movie.

And from what understand in the US version, Sarah, the last survivor managed to escape and finds the car, where as in the UK version she is actually dreaming having escaped and finds she wakes up back in the cave

 

[Nailla]

I really enjoyed this movie. It was probably one of the best horrors I saw that year.

As for the dispute over the different versions, from what I understand: SPOILER


In the US version, Sarah, the last survivor, managed to escape, find the car and return to safety, whereas in the UK version she wakes up to find herself back in the cave knowing her escape was an illusion or dream if you will, where the final scene is of her, alone, in the middle of the cave with a flickering torch light

 

[Radioman970]

Originally Posted by Radioman970

I'm right with you here. I'm thinking of blind buying it myself at least by Halloween 07. I've heard almost nothing but good wom about it. It seems to be an almost sure thing. But you never know. I've avoided all professional reviews sicne I didn't want it spoiled.

Me liked! I have the unrated version. Several moments had me nearly touching the ceiling when I jumped up. Recommend installing a seatbelt on your recliner.

 

Its a sure thing. I saw it on low def fox, liked it so much I went out and got the dvd. Will be buying it again on blu. Watch it in the dark. With a friend.

 

[Paul D G]

Descent 2 is coming soon...
http://www.movie-list.com/trailers.php?id=descent2

 

[Radioman970]

I don't see how a sequel will be worth bothering with. Sure, there's a chance, maybe some suspense here and there...but after the first one we already know what the deal is. Certainly, the reveal in the original was freaky as hell. But the shock value is over.

Descent 2=Should be direct to video.

 

We'll see. Even though I hate the whole idea of sequels, and agree with Radioman's comment that the shock value of the first one won't be there; the sequel just needs to have different priorities. A good example of thinking outside the box might be the Evil Dead series; with the straight horror thing already done, they changed tack for the sequels and just pursued wackiness.

Obviously this is just an analogy and I'm not suggesting they change genre or anything insane like that; but my point is just that the priorities of the film should change when the audience basically knows their M.O.