Rent The Descent (2005)

Ohhhh boy! - The Descent review by CP Customer

Okay if you thought Creep was genuine fright fest then you ain't seen nothing yet! This is the first horror film I have seen for years that made me jump more than once.

Atmospheric, mody and spattered with visceral shocks this one will keep you on the edge of your seats throughout.

And what's more this is a BRITISH movie! Good on ya UK! A strong cast, a great hand at the directors helm that keeps the suspense and the shocks coming with equal measure and you've got yourself a modern day spatter fest to have you crawling behind the sofa. Definitely NOT a film for weak hearts or your gran!

Excellent!

Great Horror Film - The Descent review by GI

Exciting, tense and full of suspense this horror film has the air of originality although influences and homages abound. Film fans will spot the obvious one such as Nosferatu (1922), Carrie (1976) and Deliverance (1972) and a few others but overall the film is a superb addition to the horror genre. The story is a simple one, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald), a year after a massive tragedy for which she is still grieving, joins five friends in the Appalachian mountains of the USA for a caving trip. They're all thrill seekers especially Juno (Natalie Mendoza), who leads them down a previously unexplored cave taking unnecessary risks such as not telling the others they're heading into the unknown. When a tunnel collapses they find themselves trapped and have to look for a way out and they haven't banked on the terrors the lurk deep underground. The film's title is clever in that it suggests the obvious descent into the cave but alludes also to a journey into hell and arguably Sarah's descent into madness. Whichever reading you give the film it remains an' edge of your seat', 'hide behind the cushion' viewing experience' and remains pretty scary stuff even when you've seen it before. It's neatly gory with plenty of things to spot for the careful viewer. There are two released endings, the American 'happy' ending and the UK's more in keeping with the sense of despair one, the latter is by far the right one although the 2009 sequel proceeded from the American ending. It matters not as the sequel loses all the originality and can be forgotten. The Descent though is a remarkably entertaining horror film and definitely one to check out if you've never seen it.

Claustrophobic and scary - The Descent review by NJ

This is genuinely scary unlike most of this genre. You feel the walls, damp and fear. If you want to be terrified, this is it.