After a bit of a hiatus (which involved picking up and moving 1000 miles, plus some family emergency stuff), I have returned! On the agenda for today is The Descent, which was reviewed here a few days ago. I don’t need to go into the details of the movie (Gooch’s review does a great job with that), so this is more of a follow-up opinion.

Since I’m not claustrophobic (unlike some people here at CF) I didn’t have to leave the room for any parts, but the movie does a great job in making you feel the weight of every foot of dirt and rock over the characters’ heads as they descend into the Stygian abyss of the cave. The look and feel of the movie can only be described as dark, dirty, gritty and eventually bloody as all hell. The lighting is creative (as it has to be), with helmet lamps, Zippos, flares, Cyalume tubes and infared all taking over the chore of showing what it looks like when you are two miles underground. The creature design is good, if somewhat derivative (one specific name will pop into your head as soon as you see the first beastie.), but they are spooky and well done.

The few issues I had with the film are minor, but annoying nevertheless. I agree with the difficulty in telling the characters apart, as in one part I thought that something had happened to one of the characters when in fact it had happened to another (I had to rewind to make sure). Another thing that bugged me a bit was that there were a few very obviously telegraphed “jump” moments. You know, the music shifts, a character looks one way, the camera pans with her, and when she turns back… Boo! The Descent generally does a good job in staying away from the typical horror movie cliches, but some of the jump moments you can see coming from a mile away.

One thing I wasn’t aware of until I started writing this review is that there are two endings to the film, a British and an American version. The version I (and Gooch) watched was the British version, which is considered the “original” ending, although in interviews director Neil Marshall has stated that when the movie was released in the UK, he had both endings in mind. He decided on one, but when it came time for the US release, he had changed his mind to the other. If you see the US version, make sure to catch the UK ending (you can find it on youtube, just search for “descent ending”) just to get both interpretations. I personally like the British version better, as it leaves less open to speculation but is much darker.

All in all, The Descent packed a helluva punch both visually and emotionally, and I consider it one of the best horror movies of 2006. I give it an enthusiastic 4.5 Children’s Birthday Cakes out of 5.