Plot: In a remote mountain range, six girlfriends meet for their yearly adventure, a caving trip into the arteries of the earth. The group makes their way through the remote cave system, enjoying the hazardous but beautiful surroundings. Then, deep inside the cave, disaster strikes when their route back to the surface is blocked by a rockfall. Left with no other option, they push on through the cave, praying for another exit.
The women battle through this harsh underground world, pitting their strength and determination against each new challenge. Unbeknownst to them, there is something else lurking under the earth; as the friends realize they have become prey, they are forced to unleash their most primal instincts to face the creatures. As old wounds break open and loyalties disintegrate, the women realize the horrible truth-they have most to fear from one another.
Review: Neil Marshall is now without doubt one of the best directors we have working in Britain today. Dog Soldiers was a great calling card, a clear demonstration that the many cinematic influences he has absorbed could inspire original creations rather than slavish copycat material. Nothing in Soldiers prepares you for the sheer talent on display in his new feature, however. This is a lean, mean ride through darkness, a horror movie that is nasty and horrible rather than simply a comedy with blood or the suspense equivalent of musical chairs; instead of trying to make you jump, Descent actually makes you squirm, makes you burrow back into your mind seeking comfort from what your eyes are taking in on the screen.
Marshall makes the ballsy move to fill large portions of his widescreen frame with absolute blackness, and then proceeds to scare you with the possibility of what lurks in that inky blackness. His expert handling of tension works to the rhythm he dictates, not a simple binary of scare/laugh/scare/laugh etc. This is how films were made in the 70s, before 80s comedy and 90s postmodern takes on the genre sapped the fear out of horror films.
Not a cosy piece full of WB totty, but not a b-movie full of ambition hampered by budget either, this is polished, professional, talented film-making, untouched so far this year by any other production. If you want subtexts in your horror films, you can argue there’s one there about current Anglo-US relations, but first and foremost this is proper grown-up horror movie-making, and everyone involved deserves the highest honours and the greatest rewards this year.
The only other movie I’ve enjoyed this much this summer season is Steven Chow’s awesome Kung Fu Hustle, which is a similarly cine-literate piece of genre perfection; The Descent is everything I love about the horror genre wrapped up in one tight bloody package,and should be savoured by all true believers in the power of cinema to throw shadows on the walls of the cave.