The Descent review

Sam: Where are we? 
Juno: It hasn't got a name. It's a new system. I wanted us all to discover it! No one's ever been down here before. 

Director: Neil Marshall
(2005)

Neil Marshall’s 2005 horror The Descent possesses such a basic story, yet its simplicity doesn’t detract from the fear that it can produce. After witnessing the horrific past of protagonist Sarah (Shauna Macdonald), the film resumes with the arrival at a cabin in the Appalachian Mountains with an aerial helicopter shot that isn’t dissimilar to Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Sarah meets with fellow friends (Juno, Beth, Rebecca, Sam and Holly) as they plan to go cave exploring to rebuild the bonds of the group after Sarah’s tragedy. Disaster strikes while inside the cave system, an event made considerably worse when Juno informs the girls that they're actually exploring an unmarked cave. Their venture into the unknown is amplified considerably when they discover that they are trapped 2 miles underground, and that they aren’t alone...

In its simplest form, The Descent closely follows a basic 3 act structure for most of its duration. The uneasy set up to the expedition is in place, a log cabin in the woods; complete with sheep’s skulls and the eerie nothingness that surrounds them. While this can be accurately labelled as the most mundane part of the film, the small details that crop up do an excellent job of building tension. A dead deer, a cave that's situated in the middle of nowhere and what appear to be claw marks hint at the women’s impending doom. It’s a shame that this slow build up of dread is offset by some gimmicky jump scares lazily crammed in seemingly only to fulfil the films cliché quota. Bad dreams, false scares and a flock of bats are the primary offenders here, simply director Neil Marshall trying to cater the modern horror audience.

Soon the real horror rears its head however, and The Descent becomes an uncomfortable and uneasy film, slowly twisting the screws as the metal whines and builds towards a breaking point. Our group force themselves through tiny tunnels, a claustrophobia made worse by the tight and imposing camerawork. Coupled with the caves extreme darkness, it’s enough to make anyone uneasy. What’s most striking about this third of the film is the surprisingly strong lighting work that's on display. The searching torches and cavern illuminating flares exude just the correct amount of brightness, enough for the image to be clear, but still allows this alien location to keep its secrets well hidden.

Cranking up the tension once more, Marshall throws a series of obstacles at his leads each of which becomes more and more stifling the longer the films runs. Chasms to navigate, exits to find and cave ins to avoid are the name of the game, making the environment itself a downright scary antagonist. And then comes the payoff as Sarah’s torch locates someone (or something) standing at the end of tunnel, furthering the predicament they find themselves stuck in. It’s unfortunately a small reveal, Marshall's choice to show us the silhouette of a creature drooling just minutes earlier strips our first true sighting of its menace. Soon the onslaught begins as the group is outnumbered against the attacks of these viscous cave dwelling monsters, known only as Crawlers.

Marshall instantly shifts the film up a notch, killing characters and breaking the group into 2. As much as this change of pace raises pulses, events begin to become mundane. The creatures are initially an enigma, attacking quickly from the shadows as Marshall grapples with keeping their as appearance ambiguous as possible. But soon they get more screentime that some of the human cast and the terror of their appearance is sternly diminished. What makes matters worse is how feeble these new antagonists are, easily dispatched with a swing from a pickaxe. Their malevolence is soon lost as the film draws to its audience dividing conclusion.

There's no mistake that the descent is a good horror film, capably blending tension with rewarding scares. But it feels like a film made in 2 distinct parts that causing the film to feel juxtaposed. It’s great to see an almost all female cast, many of whom are strong, if simplistic characters, but they bring the films latter stages down to that of a gory action film. Marshall's attempt to appeal to a broad spectrum of horror lovers is a choice that is unfortunately a detrimental one.

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