The Descent Review Thread

[matthall]

The Descent-Review Thread

Starring: Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, Nora-Jane Noone

Directed by Neil Marshall


I am a horror film fanatic. I have seen most main-stream and some straight-to-video horror, just to give you an idea of where I am coming from.

When reading the reviews for this film (which I have had my eye on for quite a long time now, as it already out on dvd in the UK) it started to dawn on me that this film might just be a worthy entry to this severly lagging genre. At first the film looked like a "let's get a bunch of hot chicks together and have them do hot things like base-jump and then add bad horror to it." I am happy to say that is not the case here.

These women are all very close, mostly tied together by there love for taking big risks such as white water rafting, mountain climbing, and of course spelunking. When tragedy strikes one, they all decide to get together and do something exciting like traversing tunnels in a nearbye cave. It might sound a bit odd, but in the context of the film it seems completely natural.

The first half of the film is setting up the characters and taking them through the many dangers of the tunnels in the cave. I assure you, the first half is not boring at all, it is tense and very emotional. The women are already at there wits end when the creatures show up, and from this point on it is an intense, scare filled, highly emotional blood bath that culminates in some amazingly shocking scenes.

The performances are all spot on, especially Shauna MacDonald and Natalie Mendoza as polar opposites of eachother, and being that the actresses are all pretty unknown (at least in the states) it really makes it easy to believe that they are all good friends doing the things that has alway brought them together.

The gore is definatley in abundance in this film. It is not blatantly in your face as most of the crap they call horror these days, but there is quite a bit, and done the right way.

And the creatures are excellent. The creature design is simple and creepy. This was one of my favorite things about the film.

The cast was all female which worried me, my fears quickly subsided and some of these women are so bad ass you will probably cheer.

Every 3-4 years a great horror film comes along, thankfully it is year number 4 and thankfully that film is The Descent.

Marshall proves what to do right and what not to do with his amazing sophmore outing. The characters are all female, yet are incredibly real, the acting is great, the gore is just right, the creatures are nightmare inducing, the drama never goes too far and goes just far enough. And what I enjoyed most was how much was left open to interpretation; the leave what the creatures are open to interpretation, they let you decide why the characters do some of the things they do. And it is one intense and scary film. I couldn't recommend it more highly.

10/10

[Ewok Droppings]

damn I want to see this - I'll have to wait until monday though when I have some free time

[Chuck Steak]

This movie was INSANE! The entire time I felt tense...not many movies do that to me. The creatures were pretty sick and the relationships amongst the girls were definitely believable. Great horror flick! Oh yeah...they also showed the Saw 3 trailer and I must say it looked amazing!

Did Sarah leave June there because she had an affair with Sarah's husband? Or because she accidently killed that other girl? I didn't quite get that part. And why was there a ghost at the very end? dreamish kinda thing?

[fantasticfour40]

I give it a 10/10. Biggest surprise hit I've seen all year.

[Diddimus]

Definitely one of the better horror movies to be released that was able to take itself and its characters in a serious manner.

[matthall]

This movie was INSANE! The entire time I felt tense...not many movies do that to me. The creatures were pretty sick and the relationships amongst the girls were definitely believable. Great horror flick! Oh yeah...they also showed the Saw 3 trailer and I must say it looked amazing!

Did Sarah leave June there because she had an affair with Sarah's husband? Or because she accidently killed that other girl? I didn't quite get that part. And why was there a ghost at the very end? dreamish kinda thing?

I think the reason Sarah left JUNO there was open to interpretation, but I don't think Sarah ever found out about Juno and her husband, in fact they never actually say there was an affair, though I certainly got the impression there was. I think part of the reason she left her, as you pointed out was because she accidently killed the other friend, but the way I liked to interpret it was that by disabling Juno she would be easy prey to the creatures and would thus throw them off of her trail.

[matthall]

Sorry for the double post here, but just wanted to point out that this opened in 8th place in the BO which is pretty good and shows that a good small film can still find an audience. Obviously judging by the small amount of replies to this thread not enough people have seen this amazing film still though.

[Tenafly Viper]

I think the reason Sarah left JUNO there was open to interpretation, but I don't think Sarah ever found out about Juno and her husband, in fact they never actually say there was an affair, though I certainly got the impression there was. I think part of the reason she left her, as you pointed out was because she accidently killed the other friend, but the way I liked to interpret it was that by disabling Juno she would be easy prey to the creatures and would thus throw them off of her trail.

I thought she killed her for both those reasons... and lets be honest she didn't just leave her she killed her. Beth told Sarah when she found her that Juno did that too her, and told her to not trust Juno. When Sarah then found Juno's necklace in Beth's hand, the necklace Beth pulled off Juno when she hit her it had "Love each Day" engraved on it, something Paul, Sarah's dead husband used to say (as told by Sarah to the other girls in the cabin). Beth confirmed the affair by offering an "I'm sorry" when the realization registered in Sarah's eyes. There were a bunch of other visual confirmations through out the film... Juno not staying long after the accident in Scotland, her kissing the necklace after the initial descent, her awkwardness around Sarah and tension with Beth, even her facial expressions after Paul pulls her from the river in the opening sequence, a fine bit of acting I might add by Natalie Mendoza (Juno)... and all in that scene including Alex Reid' (Beth) acknowledgement of the underlining intimacy of Paul and Juno' exchange. Anyway... imho the affair was a definite and important part of the story...

And why was there a ghost at the very end? dreamish kinda thing?

The US ending is different from the original UK film... to say it's missing a small sequence that follows that.

[droidguy1119]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/droidguy1119c/Review%20Threads/descent_ver2.jpg

I Feel So Broke Up, I Wanna Go Home
The Descent has the elements for deeply scary horror, but it just ain't a trip worth taking
A Review by Tyler Foster
for The Following Preview (http://www.followingpreview.com)

The Descent arrives in the US a year after the fact, brandishing reviews that tout it as one of the scariest movies of all time. Claustrophobic caves, creepy creatures and a bunch of sexy adventurers? Sounds like a good time. Too bad the movie collapses faster than some of the cave roofs once the monsters appear, degenerating into the latest in a line of uninspired, uninteresting "gritty" horror films that simply splatter a lot of truly graphic gore on the walls using nice cinematography while, in truth, relying on the same lame jump scares that permeate everything from Scream to Friday the 13th.

A year after a personal tragedy, Sarah (Shauna MacDonald) heads out to the caves with a bunch of girlfriends for a relaxing, back-to-normal kind of weekend spelunking in a cave picked out by the headstrong Juno (Natalie Mendoza). Unfortunately, when they get inside, they get more than they bargained for, stalked by mildly creepy cave dwellers who look...well, kind of like the creepy creatures from this year's Silent Hill (much worse) and Jacob's Ladder (much better). Soon the girls are fighting for their lives, and their relationships, be they friendly or unfriendly, are predictably strained.

There are some creepy, effectively closed-in moments in The Descent, and while I may joke about the cinematography, for a film shot on a low budget, it does look good. The performances by the cast are also generally nice, although Marshall's script works in a whole bunch of melodrama I really could have done without. However, I just can't forgive the loud screeches on the soundtrack and the tired "boo!" nature of the film -- can't directors these days just resist the urge to crank up the volume whenever something emerges from the shadows? You'd think reading so many reviews that criticize this very thing would teach them otherwise, and I'd like to stop defusing horror movies just by plugging my ears.

I wanted to like The Descent. I wanted it to be one of the scariest movies of all time. It isn't, however, and I continue to wait. Where's that movie that just starts quietly and begins to get under your skin, worrying you, leaving you gripping the chair and squirming in your seat? I want to walk out of the theater and look behind me the rest of the day, wondering if something horrible is going to grab me when I'm not expecting it. The Descent is not awful or annoying, but it isn't a good sign when your nervousness subsides because you no longer have to worry you're about to get deafened, and it's gone, like a ghost, only five minutes later.

Stars (out of four): **

Starring Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder and Nora-Jane Noone
Written and Directed by Neil Marshall
Lions Gate Films (2005) | 99 Minutes
Rated R for strong violence/gore and language

[AnthonyPearson]

Sorry for the double post here, but just wanted to point out that this opened in 8th place in the BO which is pretty good and shows that a good small film can still find an audience. Obviously judging by the small amount of replies to this thread not enough people have seen this amazing film still though.

It actually opened 5th and off just 2000 screens which is even better :) .

Anthony

[Browntown Johnn]

The Descent
http://www.browntownjohnny.com/index.php



"The Descent" is an indie horror movie, and it's also avery good one. Not at all original in it's story (see last years God Awful movie "The Cave) but the execution is killer stuff. Call it "Extreme Babes Vrs The Bat People". A "Predator" type knock-off with a high gore level and surely frightening.

A gang of sporty chicks who dig fast rafting and going down uncharted caves go to North Carolina to explore a 2 mile deep cavern. The women are the usual 'smart'-'troubled'-'newbie'-'danger lover'-'dyke' type characters. After about a halfway mark of the movie.......comes the blind naked bat people, who eat flesh and crawl like spiders on the walls of the dark bloody cave. The are fast and always hungry.

Neil Marshall ("Dog Soldiers" was a cool werewolf sendup) directs this fast and creepy flick with a fever. The problem is that it's all too dark and jumpy (a problem with a lot of these type of modern takes) to grasp, but it's still the best entry in the monster movie field in years! The BatPeeps are very cool and no naked chicks..sorry. Some genuine jolts are supplied in good measure. BTJ says.....EAT EM UP!

[matthall]

I thought she killed her for both those reasons... and lets be honest she didn't just leave her she killed her. Beth told Sarah when she found her that Juno did that too her, and told her to not trust Juno. When Sarah then found Juno's necklace in Beth's hand, the necklace Beth pulled off Juno when she hit her it had "Love each Day" engraved on it, something Paul, Sarah's dead husband used to say (as told by Sarah to the other girls in the cabin). Beth confirmed the affair by offering an "I'm sorry" when the realization registered in Sarah's eyes. There were a bunch of other visual confirmations through out the film... Juno not staying long after the accident in Scotland, her kissing the necklace after the initial descent, her awkwardness around Sarah and tension with Beth, even her facial expressions after Paul pulls her from the river in the opening sequence, a fine bit of acting I might add by Natalie Mendoza (Juno)... and all in that scene including Alex Reid' (Beth) acknowledgement of the underlining intimacy of Paul and Juno' exchange. Anyway... imho the affair was a definite and important part of the story...



The US ending is different from the original UK film... to say it's missing a small sequence that follows that.

I was not saying the affair didn't happen, I am just saying it wasn't completley confirmed and I like that a lot, but I didn't catch the bit about the necklace being Sarah's husbands gift which does of course change things. Also Sarah DID just leave her there, of course there is very little chance Juno would survive so it was murder. I just wanted to clarify that I am aware of what she did but I didn't miss-speak.

[Ewok Droppings]

I was going to see this last night but ended up spending time with some girl instead. I didn't guess she really wanted to see it. Maybe I can sneak it in tonight.

[phantomstranger]

Violent,gory, and the best damn horror movie I have seen in a looooog time.
A film that truly builds up the tension and suspense. Great performances and some cool looking monsters. No stupid jokes, no sterotype bimbos, just good solid acting combined with simple but effective FX. This one will be a classic some day.

[Ewok Droppings]

Saw it tonight and thought it was decent, but definitely not worth the 10/10 rating. After awhile I found myself saying "get to the point" in the first half. It was decent, but not really scary per se, more startling at some points. It just seemed to be the same scare however over and over again with the monsters popping up and trying to scare the people. The first few times it worked, but by the end of the movie, it was getting a little tiresome. I liked the movie overall, but was not blown away by it. If I saw it on DVD, I would end up skipping to about the middle of the movie. Still though, considering what's out there, this was pretty good.

8/10

[Ewok Droppings]

The US ending is different from the original UK film... to say it's missing a small sequence that follows that.
What is the U.K. ending?

[FunnyBone]

I never really get interested in horror movies, but this has my attention.

[matthall]

Saw it tonight and thought it was decent, but definitely not worth the 10/10 rating.

Yes it most certainly was, in my oppinion, so get off it. Damn that gets old.

[droidguy1119]

Yes it most certainly was, in my oppinion, so get off it. Damn that gets old.What, people disagreeing with you and talking back, kind of like what you just did to him? Sure does.

[Andrey83]

edit

[the elmo zombie]

What is the U.K. ending?

her escape was a dream/nightmare and shes still in the cave. i liked the uk ending better.

[droidguy1119]

I too prefer the sound of the UK ending. Might have raised my grade to **1/2.

[Ewok Droppings]

Yes it most certainly was, in my oppinion, so get off it. Damn that gets old.
Why get your panties in a bunch because I disagree with a perfect score? I wasn't pointing you out in particular, but it's kinda funny that you took it personal. :)

[matthall]

What, people disagreeing with you and talking back, kind of like what you just did to him? Sure does.

No, I was referring to the constant attacking of people's scores. I couldn't care less if someone disagrees with me, you disagreed and I said nothing to you. The point is it seems to me more and more people are attacking peoples score on a movie, which gets really old, disagreeing is just fine. But I gave it a 10/10 in the context of what the film was. It certainly does not mean it's as good as The Godfather, but they both got 10's from me. As a horror film and as the film it set out to be IMO it was flawless, it's fine if someone disagrees in fact I enjoy the debating, but it just gets on my nerves when someone goes, "9/10 you have to be kidding! 7/10 at best!" I guess I just find it the same as someone attacking your oppinion, saying that your oppinion is wrong. Maybe I was being pissy when I wrote my response, but it is only because I see it more and more on here and it bugs me.

[Ewok Droppings]

No, I was referring to the constant attacking of people's scores. I couldn't care less if someone disagrees with me, you disagreed and I said nothing to you. The point is it seems to me more and more people are attacking peoples score on a movie, which gets really old, disagreeing is just fine. But I gave it a 10/10 in the context of what the film was. It certainly does not mean it's as good as The Godfather, but they both got 10's from me. As a horror film and as the film it set out to be IMO it was flawless, it's fine if someone disagrees in fact I enjoy the debating, but it just gets on my nerves when someone goes, "9/10 you have to be kidding! 7/10 at best!" I guess I just find it the same as someone attacking your oppinion, saying that your oppinion is wrong. Maybe I was being pissy when I wrote my response, but it is only because I see it more and more on here and it bugs me.
Just a suggestion - you will see lots of things on here that bug you. Just ignore it.

[matthall]

Just a suggestion - you will see lots of things on here that bug you. Just ignore it.

Ha, yeah I think I would be better off.

[Rptyle]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/droidguy1119c/Review%20Threads/descent_ver2.jpg

I Feel So Broke Up, I Wanna Go Home
The Descent has the elements for deeply scary horror, but it just ain't a trip worth taking
A Review by Tyler Foster
for The Following Preview (http://www.followingpreview.com)

The Descent arrives in the US a year after the fact, brandishing reviews that tout it as one of the scariest movies of all time. Claustrophobic caves, creepy creatures and a bunch of sexy adventurers? Sounds like a good time. Too bad the movie collapses faster than some of the cave roofs once the monsters appear, degenerating into the latest in a line of uninspired, uninteresting "gritty" horror films that simply splatter a lot of truly graphic gore on the walls using nice cinematography while, in truth, relying on the same lame jump scares that permeate everything from Scream to Friday the 13th.

A year after a personal tragedy, Sarah (Shauna MacDonald) heads out to the caves with a bunch of girlfriends for a relaxing, back-to-normal kind of weekend spelunking in a cave picked out by the headstrong Juno (Natalie Mendoza). Unfortunately, when they get inside, they get more than they bargained for, stalked by mildly creepy cave dwellers who look...well, kind of like the creepy creatures from this year's Silent Hill (much worse) and Jacob's Ladder (much better). Soon the girls are fighting for their lives, and their relationships, be they friendly or unfriendly, are predictably strained.

There are some creepy, effectively closed-in moments in The Descent, and while I may joke about the cinematography, for a film shot on a low budget, it does look good. The performances by the cast are also generally nice, although Marshall's script works in a whole bunch of melodrama I really could have done without. However, I just can't forgive the loud screeches on the soundtrack and the tired "boo!" nature of the film -- can't directors these days just resist the urge to crank up the volume whenever something emerges from the shadows? You'd think reading so many reviews that criticize this very thing would teach them otherwise, and I'd like to stop defusing horror movies just by plugging my ears.

I wanted to like The Descent. I wanted it to be one of the scariest movies of all time. It isn't, however, and I continue to wait. Where's that movie that just starts quietly and begins to get under your skin, worrying you, leaving you gripping the chair and squirming in your seat? I want to walk out of the theater and look behind me the rest of the day, wondering if something horrible is going to grab me when I'm not expecting it. The Descent is not awful or annoying, but it isn't a good sign when your nervousness subsides because you no longer have to worry you're about to get deafened, and it's gone, like a ghost, only five minutes later.

Stars (out of four): **

Starring Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder and Nora-Jane Noone
Written and Directed by Neil Marshall
Lions Gate Films (2005) | 99 Minutes
Rated R for strong violence/gore and language
Your lame dude.

[droidguy1119]

Your lame dude.Was it really neccesary to quote my entire post for that? And by the way, people are entitled to their own opinion. I suppose that means I should accept that your opinion is that I'm lame, but whatever.

[Ewok Droppings]

Your lame dude.
That was completely stupid. Don't act like an ass if you don't like someone's review.

[HOLLYWOOD]

im going to see it tonight and i herd it has saw 3 preview. Well it opened last week but will is still have saw 3 preview this weekend too? I herd that this movie is good from some people and some people said it was bad. I hope its good cause i made a group of people to come see the movie with me.

[ruban]

I liked it. To me, there are two types of horror films; you have the one that instills dread, and the other that shocks. The Descent had both (lots of shocks and a little dread) and thought it was fun. I liked the 'shock' scares in that it was actually done in a manner that was pretty effective; interesting concept using isolation, female-only cast, and 'real' lighting (as in we don't have every area well-lit with pod lamps). I never really picked up on the Juno/Paul thing because I didn't catch the part when he said "Love Each Day" (though I know he said something I just couldn't understand). Even still, what's the big deal if she liked that saying too? I just don't think they effectively made the connection. I didn't pick up on it, neither did my g/f, and neither did the many people we chatted with on the way out. The affair makes sense when Sarah kills Juno, after all, Beths' murder was accidental. I just felt it was too subtle, which made for an awkward reaction to Juno being left behind. Still, good, fun, and creepy. I also like the sound of this U.K. ending, and hopefully will get a chance to watch it on the DVD.
8.5/10

[Ewok Droppings]

Someone said it's out now on DVD already in the U.K.. I wonder if I can get a copy somehow.

[Sculder]

Saw it a year ago and really liked it. I`m surprised that I haven`t bought the DVD yet.

Someone said it's out now on DVD already in the U.K.. I wonder if I can get a copy somehow.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000A8NZ0O/026-1813784-0850039?v=glance&n=283926

[Ewok Droppings]

cool. :)

I keep seeing something about Dog Soldiers. Was that any good?

[Daniel]

cool. :)

I keep seeing something about Dog Soldiers. Was that any good?

Yeah, my favorite werewolf movie of all time. A very smart/well-done indie werewolf movie. I saw it after many people on these boards recommended it and I wasn't let down.

[Daniel]

I personally have to say that The Descent has been my favorite movie of 2006 thusfar. My stomach was still in knots at dinner afterwards.

The pace of the movie is genius. I guarantee you that you will get so involved with the underlying story of tragedy and the relationships of 6 adventurers and their mis-adventures in a cave that you might even [like me] forget that this is supposed to be a monster/horror movie at some point. I was in such awe of the caves that I really want to see a "making of" special on this film.

I didn't pick up on the affair thing either so I thought it a tad bit ridiculous that Sarah left Juno to die. However, both my much-smarter-than-me friends presented me with all the pieces [facial expressions at the river in the beginning, the husband being "distant" (which caused the accident), the necklace, Beth's silent acknowledgment, etc.] and then it made sense and I was happy with the ending..

I am claustrophobic and felt very uncomfortable during some scenes of the film, it was unsettling, but I liked that the movie didn't just come at me from the "BOO"-cheap-scares angle [which it did, but I personally enjoy that]. I thought the acting was very good and the whole movie was completely devoid of campiness. I can't think of a single thing to make the film better, even the UK ending since I am a fan of happy endings, well, somewhat happy in The Descent's case.

so ... 9.5/10. I'm scared to give anything a 10. "The Descent" was amazing, though, and definitely the best film out there right now by far.

[matthall]

cool. :)

I keep seeing something about Dog Soldiers. Was that any good?

The werewolf effect were pretty terrible, but with the budget they had and everything else being so good if cheesy effects don't ruin amovie that has everything else right for you, then yeah you'll like it.

P.S. Spoon's character in it is on eo fthe most bad ass characters I have ever seen in film.

[Ewok Droppings]

Sweet - I'll have to check this out. I wonder if they have it on netflix...

[Evilution]

I prefer the US version...I could do without the UK ending--there's only so much despair one can take.

That said, this movie's a mix bag. I was really looking forward to Neil Marshal's next film because Dog Soldiers was a fresh return to live action horror; and that, there was actual camaraderie between the characters (them being soldiers and all) that propelled one to empathize with their overwhelming ordeal. Can't say that about Descent.

I couldn't wait for these bickering broads to die fast enough. I really wanted to like them, to care for them, to hope for them, but in the end...you just wanted it to...end. There were no camaraderie between any of them; instead of collectively figuring out a solution to their problems, their irrationality and panic turn some of then against each other! Who are we suppose to fear here? A woman scorn or a pack of hungry Gollumites?

Now the Gollumites...they are visually striking. Props to creature design; they are truly frightening. My problem is with their navigation. With a film such as this, I want to believe--please make me believe in the creatures; in this case, I could not. How do they detect prey around their enviroment? Through radar? Sonar? Smelldar? Give me something! Their needs to be some establishing rules on the logic of these cave dwelling creatures to give the audience a sense of relative impact (Predator anyone?). They certainly had some great shots with the creatures getting close to the characters (to the point of drooling over them) but it just made no logical sense.

Although I felt it had serious character problems and technical (maybe too technical?) issues, I thought they made a decent movie with the budget they had. The claustrophobia scenes were convincing and the actresses do a good job of pissing us off.

7/10

[matthall]

I prefer the US version...I could do without the UK ending--there's only so much despair one can take.

That said, this movie's a mix bag. I was really looking forward to Neil Marshal's next film because Dog Soldiers was a fresh return to live action horror; and that, there was actual camaraderie between the characters (them being soldiers and all) that propelled one to empathize with their overwhelming ordeal. Can't say that about Descent.

I couldn't wait for these bickering broads to die fast enough. I really wanted to like them, to care for them, to hope for them, but in the end...you just wanted it to...end. There were no camaraderie between any of them; instead of collectively figuring out a solution to their problems, their irrationality and panic turn some of then against each other! Who are we suppose to fear here? A woman scorn or a pack of hungry Gollumites?

Now the Gollumites...they are visually striking. Props to creature design; they are truly frightening. My problem is with their navigation. With a film such as this, I want to believe--please make me believe in the creatures; in this case, I could not. How do they detect prey around their enviroment? Through radar? Sonar? Smelldar? Give me something! Their needs to be some establishing rules on the logic of these cave dwelling creatures to give the audience a sense of relative impact (Predator anyone?). They certainly had some great shots with the creatures getting close to the characters (to the point of drooling over them) but it just made no logical sense.

Although I felt it had serious character problems and technical (maybe too technical?) issues, I thought they made a decent movie with the budget they had. The claustrophobia scenes were convincing and the actresses do a good job of pissing us off.

7/10


I couldn't disagree more. First of all the comaraderie was what myself and many others enjoyed, or maybe more accuratley, they were looking to help eachother and all. That is a big part of the reason I liked and I thin kyou are way off base on that. Second they almost never just sat there and bickered, in fact I cannot think of any time except when they found out where they were and why, and that is as good of reason as any to be pissed.

Also the term "Gollumites" is seriously annoying, the constant need to always go back to LotR bugs me. I am not saying you were doing that, but I've heard others do it and it is annoying. They explained exactley how the creatures hunted. They were doing it by sonar more or less, that is why they made the sounds they did. This was mentioned several times, characters likened them to a bat. It was perfectley logical.

I am not bashing you by any means, but it just seems like you saw a different movie than I did or you didn't see some big parts.

[Ewok Droppings]

I really wanted to like them, to care for them, to hope for them, but in the end...you just wanted it to...end.
I agree in the sense that after awhile I found myself saying "get to the point already". I don't think that I didn't care for them, per se, I just wanted to skip some of the scenes which were unnecessarily drawn out I felt.


Smelldar? LOL - nice word

[Jack]

It's an effective, smart, played-straight horror film, and it worked on me. This thing operated on more sheer terror than "boo" factor for me. You wanna talk about tired boo factor, go back to ****ty texas chainsaw and amityville horror remakes. Yeah these guys popped out, but there are slower scares, the opening is extremely effective, especially the hospital scene. The build-up, the mounting dread, the suspence were all fantastic. Even without the monsters the claustrophobia really sank into me, and was scary as hell by itself. The fact that these monsters operate on a fast and furious level connects with how quick they appear and come out of nowhere. I find it far more annoying when lumbering chainsaw maniacs or ghosts suddenly appear with spikes in the soundtrack I think the first 10 minute stretch when the monsters attack was one of the most shocking and terrifying things I've seen on screen in a long time, especially the come down. One of the best of the year.

A

[droidguy1119]

The presence of a spike on the soundtrack at all bugs me, and I can almost guarantee you that every single creature scare within the cave is punctuated with one of those loud blasts of music.

[matthall]

The presence of a spike on the soundtrack at all bugs me, and I can almost guarantee you that every single creature scare within the cave is punctuated with one of those loud blasts of music.

Nope, you are wrong. I cannot remember enough to say for sure but I know there are at least a few instances where that didn't happen.

[Evilution]

It's an effective, smart, played-straight horror film, and it worked on me. This thing operated on more sheer terror than "boo" factor for me. You wanna talk about tired boo factor, go back to ****ty texas chainsaw and amityville horror remakes.


I hope you don't assume that just because some of us didn't enjoy Descent as much as you did that we prefer movies that operate on the "boo factor" such as "...****ty texas chainsaw and amityville horror remakes".

I couldn't disagree more. First of all the comaraderie was what myself and many others enjoyed, or maybe more accuratley, they were looking to help eachother and all. That is a big part of the reason I liked and I thin kyou are way off base on that. Second they almost never just sat there and bickered, in fact I cannot think of any time except when they found out where they were and why, and that is as good of reason as any to be pissed.

Also the term "Gollumites" is seriously annoying, the constant need to always go back to LotR bugs me. I am not saying you were doing that, but I've heard others do it and it is annoying. They explained exactley how the creatures hunted. They were doing it by sonar more or less, that is why they made the sounds they did. This was mentioned several times, characters likened them to a bat. It was perfectley logical.

I am not bashing you by any means, but it just seems like you saw a different movie than I did or you didn't see some big parts.

You're correct...they did mention something about sonar and the creatures did emit certain sounds to navigate--I concede on that fact.

However, I still had problems with other things. Most notably, the camaraderie. Sure, they started out with a collective train of thought to help each other out (most obvious is the claustrophia scene), but as the situation became more dire, this camaraderie broked down real fast. Also, the conflict between Sarah and Juno (about Juno's affair with Sarah's fiance (boyfriend?)) was at best vague. Did Sarah know? Was the cave expedition Juno's excuse to try and reconciliate with Sarah? Resolution? --I'm lost.

My biggest gripe has got to be when one of the creatures literally laid his hand on Sarah's (?) face and couldn't tell whether it was prey or a concrete slab--hmmm, warm throbbing flesh or...rock? I won't beat a dead horse.

Overall, it wasn't a bad movie--it was a decent horror flick with some...faults. It had some great moments: I like Sarah's war cry and the raising of the torch...yes, very much like major Dutch in Predator.

[the elmo zombie]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6wP7zx8ecqY

heres the better ending

[Superchunk]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6wP7zx8ecqY

heres the better ending

Awesome thanks for the link.

I just saw it tonight. When they showed the girls crawling in the tunnels definitely felt the claustraphobia effect.

I made the connection of the affair and about Sarah leaving Juno to die because Juno left Beth behind to die. Sarah asks Juno when they first met up if Beth was dead when she found her and Juno said "yes". So that affirms what Beth said.

8/10

[XtRaVa]

I'm surprised this took so long to come out in the US even though it is from Britain. I saw it in the cinema in 2005, and its now being shown on TV over here.

It's not that great IMO, 6/10. Now Shaun of the Dead, thats a good Brit comedy/horror movie :D

[jav1856]

I think one of the reasons its US release was delayed so long was because David Goyer owns the rights to an American book with the same title, by Jeff Long, which has a storyline that is not very similar but similar enough to cause problems. Goyer was developing a film based on the novel with DreamWorks a few years ago but that fizzled out. The rumor is that the makers of this film had to pay Goyer and Long a few bucks in order to release it in the US without a court battle.

[theend84]

1/10.
Downloaded it and with pain watched it. There is no story, there is bad acting, there are animated fake monsters which suck, there are women that are just boring, bad and their characters are flat. One of many of the worst movies to hit this year.

[Ewok Droppings]

1/10.
Downloaded it and with pain watched it. There is no story, there is bad acting, there are animated fake monsters which suck, there are women that are just boring, bad and their characters are flat. One of many of the worst movies to hit this year.
Considering you have posted spam on just about every category on this board, I think your review is total BS. Prepare to get banned. :)

Is it possible to block the IP address AND the Mac address?