MPAA Rating: R/ Genre: Horror/ Stars: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, MyAnna Buring, Saskia Mulder, Nora-Jane Noone, Oliver Milburn, Molly Kayll/ Runtime: 100 minutes

I feel I must say that I had, much to my surprise, decent expectations for this film before delving right into it. Indeed this is because, if for no other reason, I felt that director Neil Marshall had earned the benefit of the doubt from me. A feat he managed to pull off by showcasing a brilliant comprehension of the horror genre with his debut film Dog Soldiers. A film that I should mention is one which I happen to treasure and which I can say, with absolutely no hesitation is one of the best horror films I have seen this year. Indeed suffice it to say then that Marshall’s follow up to that movie manages to work with the same parameters. By that I mean not only is there a hearty amount of gore, but suspense and atmosphere always come before the cast of characters as well as other items of substance. Yet even with that in place, I am glad to be able to tell you that Marshall has managed to conjure up yet another wonderful monster film. Even better than that is the fact that it is more of an original idea this time on the movie merry-go-round. A fact best made evident by how the monster in this one seems to be one of his own unique design as opposed to a classic movie monster a’la the werewolves that were found in Dog Soldiers. Suffice it to say then that, through a gritty and realistic plot, a terrific sense of pacing, a claustrophobic atmosphere unlike the vast majority of horror films like it, and a terrific all-female cast that is capable of kicking some serious monster butt, Marshall has managed to take a simple plot idea and transformed it into a smooth and extremely thrilling ride through a horrific nightmare that you won’t soon forget…

The plot is as follows: So when The Descent first begins, we find ourselves following a group of female friends while they are engaged in the extreme adventure activity known as white water rafting. Amongst the group is our main character, a woman by the name of Sarah. A woman who, if she had social media, would most likely best describe herself as a loving wife, an adoring mother, and a lover of adventure….and coincidentally whose husband and daughter are waiting for her when the trip is concluded. However whilst headed for home, Sarah and her family find themselves in a terrifying car accident which tragically results in the deaths of Sarah’s husband and daughter. The movie then jumps ahead in time by one year as we see that once again Sarah is preparing to go on an adventure with her friends, albeit with a touch more reservation than before. For this particular outing though, Sarah and her friends will be spelunking through a cave with the organizer of the trip being a young woman, and friend to several in the group including Sarah, by the name of Juno. A woman who it is worth noting is the kind of person who is a seemingly natural when it comes to the art of leadership, is in the peak of physical health, and who has spent her life embracing the concepts of challenge and excitement with 2 widespread and very open arms. Unfortunately, though it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise seeing as this is a horror film, things start going amiss rather quickly as this trip designed to be both relaxing a bonding experience begins to unwind into a set of issues. A set that culminates when Juno reluctantly finds herself having to tell the group that she has taken them into a cave which is. It the one they thought they were exploring, but rather a brand-new cave altogether. However, despite Juno’s claims to the contrary, the group soon uncovers equipment from approximately a century ago, and with it they soon uncover a pair of grim facts. Not only are they not the first group to find and go through this cave, but the first group also most likely did not make it out alive since they would have, in all logic, named the cave after themselves. Plus it isn’t long before, to make this nightmare even more horrifying, our intrepid group of explorers soon finds out they are being stalked by a group of subterranean yet also humanoid critters looking for a nice meal. Thus with the key ingredients now in play, a struggle to survive gets underway as each member of the group finds themselves not only fending off a pack of creatures wanting to make them a long overdue lunch and/or dinner, but also desperately trying to retain as much sanity as possible so they can find their way out of the cave….

Now this film it is worth noting is a classic example of the slow starting film in action. Indeed the suspense and unease may be palpable from the word go, but things don’t necessarily go amok for nearly an hour of the 94 minute film. Now that is to say this film is dull because that is far from the truth. Rather I would say that the movie’s pace has more in common with a roller coaster than anything else. By that I mean there is a uphill that is meant to build as much suspense as possible, but the moment it starts going downhill the thrills and chills are absolutely relentless until you come to a screeching stop. Suffice it to say as well that all the techniques that audiences know and love from the horror genre are all wonderfully utilized herein. Indeed there are a decent number of both kinds of jump scares to ensure that every moment you will be ready to jump out of your seat, but there is also a terrific utilization of suspense and just every single aspect of the movie drips ominous foreboding and threatening peril in equal measure. I feel however that special praise must be given to the music in this film. I say that because even it goes mostly under-the-radar, it is also mixed wonderfully with the movie itself to the point that it is the perfect tool to both move and misdirect the audience for the film that it is an integral part of. Also worth of special regard is the expert utilization of this film’s lighting. Indeed when our heroines all find themselves split up, the director brilliantly comes up with distinct methods of lighting to showcase just who it is we are following at any given moment in the film be it through the infra-red of a video camera, or the fiery glow of a torch. Indeed this is a true masterstroke because it really does help decrease the level of confusion an audience member might have otherwise quite potently.

Yet perhaps the singular thing that is so astonishing about this low-budget chiller is just how much suspense and, if we’re being blunt, Grade-A terror this film is able to milk from its main scenario before we get even a glance of the predators that are hunting our heroines from the dark. Indeed there is a high degree of claustrophobic and almost anxiety-causing degree of both isolation and entrapment that manages to brilliantly and masterfully increase from the catalyst of the initial cave-in near the beginning of the film. It also can be attributed to the under-the-radar yet also even amount of character development that we as audience members find ourselves caring for each of our intrepid heroines and are absolutely riveted as we watch their lives constantly in peril. Yet what is also quite unique and also a wee bit exciting is that a lot of the barbaric activity in this doesn’t come from the monsters, but instead from our group of heroines due to their conflict for survival through the caves and against the monsters quickly begins draining them both of their innocence and their sanity in frighteningly equal measure. In addition, it is this barbarian activity that also ensures each distinct encounter not only is delightfully unpredictable, but that the violence that ensues always possesses quite realistic outcomes. Thus as a result, the entire movie manages to blend together to form a perfectly gelled and quite riveting chiller that cherishes what makes it frighteningly unique and never ever lets up.

Now a significant amount of credit for the ensuring that this film is the wonderful thrill ride that it is should honestly go towards this film’s incredibly talented ensemble cast. I say this because even though the film’s arguable duo of leaders in Mendoza and McDonald manage to give absolutely phenomenal performances in this, the truth of the matter is that the entire cast honestly deserves recognition for managing to ensure on their end of things that this film distinguishes itself from the rest of the group. Yet a lot of this can also be attributed to the fact that supposedly the director also managed to give each of the actresses’ considerable room to grow and develop their characters on their own. Indeed if this is the case then it should be noted that the creativeness, talents, and brilliance of this group of wonderful performers should not be pushed aside. Indeed every single character in this is truly wonderfully developed and played as their person by the actress playing her. Not only that, but they manage to do a wonderful job in their scenes together and as a result we really see the camaraderie that this group has with each other.

All in all The Descent is an actually pretty darn good film and a terrific film for the horror genre period. Indeed this is the kind of horror film which will appeal to 2 distinct horror audiences. The first being the kind who is fairly pleased when their horror films offer up to them a terrific sense of style, absolutely fantastic visual effects and a decent amount of both blood and gore in equal measure. Yet if that isn’t your bill of fare, then I can assure you that the significant amount of suspense and unnerving atmosphere that this film possess significant amounts of most certainly should do the trick. Regardless of which group you are a part of, there is no use denying that it is a wonderful thing to see a modern film that isn’t afraid to show blood and gore functioning beautifully alongside a dash of suspense and a lovely bit of creativity. A fact that becomes even sweeter when you learn that, It’s even better to see, despite the massive wave of Japanese and American horror films usually hogging all the spotlight that this film actually managed to sneak in from the UK right under our very noses! Overall The Descent may not be an excellent film, but it still most assuredly is worth watching and I recommend it quite heartily…..unless you either just got back from caving or are about to go caving….just saying: it might not be the best idea. On a scale of 1-5 I give The Descent a solid 3.5 out of 5.