1. Purpose
The reasonthe Descentwasmade to make a huge profitbysellingtoa wide range of audience. The
waytheymake a profitisbymakingthe filmentertainingandbygivingthe audience ahorrortwistin
the filmbymakingthemfeel thatthe people are stuckina cave. The filmissoldthroughthe genres
of the filmalsousingthree ormore genresinone filmhelpstoattract a biggeraudience the use of
horror showsthatit will be scare and that theirwill probablybe ause of gore the ideaof adventure
and thrillershowingitcouldbe heartrushingshowingthatthe filmcouldalsolinktothe audience
throughadventure. The purpose of the filmwasalsotoentertainbyusinga horroraspect the filmis
entertainingbecause itsplitof intotwothingssuch as a crawlingthroughmountainstofightof
hordesof creepymonstersthisisveryentertainingas the audience don'texpectittohappen.other
props/itemsusedthroughoutthe filmasthispromotesthe itemssuchbrandsthatwere usedsuch
as Coors the beerbrandusedinthe cabinscene thishelpingpromotethatbrandof beerto the
viewers.The lights usedtolightupthe cave andthe gearusedby the actor for example the jackets
usedand the helmetsthatare usedthe gearalso promotessafetytoviewerswhoalsowantto try
caving.The cars usedinthe filmone beingaLand Roverand the otherbeing a BMW thisnot only
promotesthe car/brandbut alsoshowsthat theyare a goodbrand of car and thattheycan be used
to carry loadsof gearas theyhave loadsof room andalsoshowsthat theyare goodfor off-roading
as inthe filmtheygoontoa dirtpath inthem.Anotherexampleof purpose isreleasingthe Descent
on DVDthe reasonforthisbeingthat itwas a bighit inthe cinemaand due to that itwill have great
reviewsandloadsof people will wanttobuyitbuildingaprofit. Anotherpurpose of the film
Genre
The Docent’smaingenre isto be an all-roundheartracinghorrorpackedwithjumpscaresand much
more. It has loadsof dark creepycavesandevolvedoldlostExplorersthathave evolvedtosurvive in
the cave andtheirbodieschangedtoadapt to the darknesssuchas theireye sighthasgone but
there sense of hearinghasincreaseddramatically. There isarange of drama shownthroughoutthe
start of the filmbefore the carcrash and actionas it has the feelingof will anyonesurviveandthe
actionis shownwhenthe fightsbetweenthe girlsandthe monstersstartalsothe sense of
adventure.One of the thingsthathelpstomake thisfilma horrorknowsthat there isonlyone way
to escape andknowingthatthe chances of survival are veryslim.The filmthe Descentalso
introducesthe aspectsof thrillerthisisshownwhentheircave journeybeginsandastheytry to
survive.
Form
The Descentisstructuredin a linearnarrative andis a beginningtomiddle toend filmfollowingthe
theoryof TzetanTodorov withnotime cuts butone at the start that skipsa yearafterthe crash and
the deathof Sarah's partnerand daughter.The filmfollowsfivefundamental stagesthisis
equilibriummeaningeverythingisdone the same andthenarange of disruptionshappeninthis
case itwas the car crash at the start thisthenallowsthe movie toslitoff intorecurringthingscaused
by that dayallowingthe audiencetorecognise the damage causedthisshowingthatthe onlywayto
2. restore everythingandstopthe horror isto die to the monsteras thisisclassedas the final stage
thisbeingthe newequilibriumplacingeverythingbackontrack. The Descentisan all-female group
of actors andtheyare representedasbeingstrongandindependent.The filmat the start is
representedasmore of a drama thana Horror/Thriller.The filmalsousesasense of adventure for
example the factthattheyare exploringcaves.Asthe filmgoesonwe see thatthe characters playas
strongwomanshowingthattheydon’tneed a man to alwaysbe there butas theyfilmgoesonit
showsthe actors slowlybecomingwhattheyhave beenkillingthisisshownthroughthe waythat
theykill the monstersandhoweasyto finditto kill the monstersasif theyhave nofeelingforwhat
theyare doing. The Ideaof friendshipandbetrayal isusedthroughthe filmforexampleJunohaving
an affairwiththe maincharacters husbandwhichshe keptasa secretfromthe mainactor where
thisalsoeffectedfriendshipasthe filmgoesonforexample JunostabsBethandleaveshertodie
thiscouldbe to Juno knowingthatBethknowsaboutthe affairandJuno thenleavingBethasshe
didn’twantthe mainactor to findoutthisshowingthatfromone secretit ruinedtheirfriendship
and resultedinpeople gettinghurtandkilled.
Style
As mentionedbeforeThe Descentistoldina linearnarrative whichmakesthe storylinealoteasier
to follow,anditalsomakesthe three differentgenreseasytounderstand.The three genresare a
drama, survival-horrorandthrillerwhichmeantheyare showninstages.The beginningof the movie
seemsquite drama-like because of JunoandPaul,butthenitimmediatelyswitchestoadrama-
horror once the car crashes,and Paul andJessicaare bothkilledandSarahwakesupinthe hospital
and is“chased”by the darknesswhichinhermindis tryingto consume her.Once the girlsmake
theirwayintothe cave, nothingseemstohappen,butassoonas the Crawlersattackand they
realise thattheydon’tactuallyknowthe cave thattheyare in,the movie jumpstobeinga drama-
horror-thrillerall inone.Andthiscontinuesprettymuchtothe endingof the film.Alongside this,the
lack of musicmakesthe differentgenresstandout,suchas whenthere isa true elementof horror
suspense,there isbarelyanymusicandonlyvague environmental soundswhichleave uscluelessas
to whatwill happennext.
Content
The Descenthas beensetpartlyinScotlandandEnglandthere has beenause of equipmentsuchas
cave structuresand body structuressuch as bodydummies,bonesandbodymodifications.Thereis
alsoa use of greenscreensusedthroughoutthe filmtocreate certaineffects.Thereisalsoarange
of lightingusedtolightupareassuchas some of the cave scenes.There are many differentcamera
shotsusedthroughoutthisfilmsuchaswide shotsand movingcamerasthatcranes have beenused
whenrecordingscenes. Throughoutthe descentthe contentof differentcinematictechniquesare
usedto allowthe audience toexperience the fearandalsoallowsthe audience tobe placedinthe
film.Anotheruse of contenttomake the audience fellliketheyarthere isPOV havingthe audience
feel like theyare one of the charactersgivingthemmixedemotionsandevenmakingthemfeel
more scared.
3. Meaning
The meaningmade forthe audience isthroughthe differentrange of techniquesused.The movie
usesthese differenttechniquesforexample elementsof soundtoimmerse the audience andallow
themto feel the feararoundthemthiscouldconsistof differentthingsone of the mainonesbeinga
build-upof acrawlerattack. To make thismore effectivetheyuse aslow buildupthose transfersto
a fast buildupthisreallycreatingthatjumpscare kindof feel andisusedtoreallygetyourheart
beatingthe ideaof knowingsomethingisgoingtohappenkindof scaresyoumore.The use of this
alsogivespeople the ideathatsomethingisabouttohappenandthismusicmakingthem
concentrate at that specifictime.The use of colourisalsousedthroughoutthe Descenttocapture
that horror feel andisalsousedto showpeople thatitissetin a differentlocationthe colourusedin
the Descentbeinggreenthisisusedinthe hospital scene afterthe carcrash thisis importantasit is
usedto setapart the differentscenes.The use of pace as the pace changesthroughoutthe filmthis
isusedto showwhenthere issomethingabouttohappeninthe filmorwhena specificconversation
isgoingon.
Production process
Whencreatinga film,there are 3 productionphasesPre-Production,Production,andPost-
Production.Duringthe makingof The Descent,Neil Marshall wouldhave tostartwithhisPre-
Productionprocesswhichinvolvesthe vitalingredientsthatare needfora filmtoactuallytake
place.These ingredientsincludethe writingof the scriptandthe creationof the characters; How
many?Who isthe protagonist/antagonistif there isone?Andhow iseachof the characters unique
intheirownway?.It alsoincludesthe creationof storyboardsthisisusedasan example toshow the
use of camerashotsthat will take place andwhat will happeninthe specificscenes.Thiswill also
include alistof equipmentneededforfilminge.g.camera,tri pod,microphone andlightingitwill
alsoinclude arange of propsduringthistime the producerwill be contactingpropcompaniesfor
permissiontouse theirproduct.
Pre-Productionalsoincludesreconnaissanceof forthe differentlocationsthatwillneedtobe used
for outdoorscenes,suchasthe beginning of the feature whenthe castare supposedlysetin
ChattoogaNational Park,butthe scene wasactuallyfilmedinScotlanddue tobudgetreasons,asit
wouldcostmore to travel overto Americato shootsuch a small scene andthencome back to the
UK. One of the reasonsbehindwhyChattoogawaschosenspecificallyisthe reference tothe movie
Deliverance,andthe hiddenmessagesof white-waterraftingdownthe river,andthe ideaof going
somewhere they’re notsupposedtobe.Also,the preparationssuchas creatingthe setsfor the
inside of the cave,whichonlyconsistedof 6differentsetsbutwere movedaroundin-between
scenestocreate the complexityandlargenessof the cave usingthe same scenesoverandoverjust
4. rearrangingthemalsosavedsome of the budgetas itsave havingto make more scenesalsomaking
the sceneryverydarkwas reallyeasyasit wasmostlysetup ina bigemptywhere house.Also,
crash-testdummieswere made forthe scene whenHollyfallsdownahole andbreaksherleg
because if Nora-Jane Noone (Holly’sactress) wasthrowndownthe hole she wouldhave been
injured.Alongside this,fake blood,ripped-outthroats,organsandboneswere createdin
preparationforthe injury/deathscenesthattake place withinthe filmthiswasall done tomake the
gore lookas real and scary as possible,alongsidethe selectionof music,the amountof
light/darknessused,etc.
Duringthe Productionphase of the film,the castand crew wouldbegintostartfilmingthe scenesof
the movie.Thismeansthatthe story wouldstartto be acted out,and the preparationsthatwere
made inthe Pre-Productionprocesswouldbe puttouse suchas the differentcave scenesandfake
gore.Duringthe filmingof The Descent,itwasshot inchronological orderwhichisquite rare inmost
filmproductionsandthe because only6differentcave areasbeingcreated,theywere moved
aroundconstantlyindifferentpositionsinordertocreate the massive cave complex thatisshown
withinthe film.Duringthisthere werealsoarange of greenscreensusedthroughoutthe filmsuch
as the entrance to the cave andthe waterdrippingintothe cave andso on.
The Post-Productionprocessinvolvesthe editingandoverall,fittingeverythingtogether.Thingsthat
are usedinthe Productionprocess,suchas greenscreensare all editedtocreate the backgrounds
and realisticsettingssuchasthe giant hole thatthe girlsall stare downintobefore descending.
Duringthe scene whentheyactuallydorappel downintothe beginningof the cave,the entire area
aroundthemis justa greenscreenas well,butdue toediting,the girlsare surroundedbystone
wallsanda large waterfall whichisall CGI.Duringthishe cavesare all editedtothe rightstructure
and locationsreadytobe filmed.
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[slideshare id=58927178&doc=editing-thedecentcrashscene-160301190757]
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Didthe descentarchive itspurpose andintentions?
5. The descentwasa start to the change of how female actorsare representedastheyare shownas
strongfearlesswomenastheydon’tneedthe helpof men.The descenthaschangedthe waythat
horror filmsare made as the descentisone of the firstfilmswitha full femalecastthishasnot been
carriedoverto otherfilmsasthe descentisone of the onlyfilmsusingthistechnique asmostfemale
actors infilmsare shownto be veryweak,alsoinmost filmswhenafemale survives,itisoftenthe
"virgin"orthe "bestfriend"butnone of these stereotypesare usedthroughoutthe filmasnone of
themare virginandnone of themsurvive astheyare all leftinthe cave to die some of the characters
are stereotypessuchasHollyfollowedthe "stupid"femalehorroractorsas she is actuallymore of an
adrenaline junkie. Anotherhorror/thrillerfilmwhere femalesare shownasbeingempowered
rather thanbeingthe stereotype thatyousee inmostof these horrorfilms.The descentwas alsoa
popularfilmwhichhada profitof £3.5millionandmade a huge profitof over£57million.
The DescentReview
The Descentworkedoverall asa reallygoodhorrorfilm.Italsousesa good rang of differentfemale
actors helpingbringarange of audience anddue tothe actors all have theirgood pacificrolesinand
out of the cave. For the reviewof hundredsof people overall state thatthe Descentisareallygood
horror filmitalsomentionsthe use of CGIwhichwas extremelywell puttogethertocreate the
realisticeffectsuchasthe axe throughthe neckand the prose tics done forexample the brokenleg
withbloodspurtingoutandis all veryrealisticlooking.
Did the filmhave a success in changing the representationofwomen inhorror film?
Yes overall ithada slightimpactonfemale actorsinhorror filmsasit changedthe whole stereotype
that people use tothingforexample thatwomanneedtohave a bigstrongman to kill the monster
whereasthe descenthascompletelychangedthatideashowingthatwomancanbe justas
independentandjustasstrongshownthroughthe way that theyhelpeachotheroutin the Descent
and the waythat theyfightof and kill the monstersinthe filmcompletelychangingthe whole
stereotype of female actors.But ina lot of filmswomanare still portrayedasbeingweakfor
example the ideaof the weakVirgingirl whosurvivesatthe endof the film.The ideathatthe girlsin
the descentare basicallybecomingwhattheykillthisisshownthroughthembecomingmore violent
fromthe slowlyincreasinggruesome deaths.Inmostreasonfilmsthe innocentgirlsalways seemto
killedthe monsterandsurvive evenafterbeingclumsyandbasicallyputtingthemselvesindanger.
Considerthe purpose of the film:did the filmarchive itsintendedpurpose?
In thiscase the filmdidachieve itsintendedpurpose asitwasable tomake overall more profitthan
was actuallyspentcreatingthe filmastocreate filmitcost around £3.5 millionandmanagedto
gross an overall amountof £35 millionworldwide.Itwasalsomade to entertainaspecifictarget
audience whichitdidthiscanbe seenfromthe positive reviewonthe internetandalsoseenfrom
the overall income made.
Did the filmchange the horror genre?
The filmdidnot manage to change the horror genre thiscan be seenfromrecentfilmcreate that
there are no predominantfemale castshowingthatitisstill onlymixedgenderswhere specificdie
6. and act. Eventhoughthe descentwasextremelysuccessful itwasstill unableto starta trendinthe
horror filmcommunityforfull female casts andtherefore wasunsuccessful inchangingthe future of
the horror genre.
How successful at keepingthe audience'sinterestwasthe contentand the narrative form of the
film?
It worked verywell as horrorfilmsare not consideredstraightall through horrorfilms. Itisargued
that theyuse sub-genrestobuildtensiontothe horror a perfectexample tothisisthe descentas
the use of drama at the start withthe affairand the whole deathandthe adventure genre.Italso
allowsyoutounderstandthe cast and people inthe filmmore. Mosthorrorfilms startoff witha
sense of drama thisisusedas itcompletelytakesawaythe whole ideaof itbeingahorror. The
drama that goeson inthe filmisthe main character Sarah losingherdaughterandhusbanddue the
car crash and alsofinding outthatone of her bestfriendswashavinganaffairwithherhusband.
Thisadds to realisminthe film andmakesitmore realisticratherthanhavingstraightupdeathand
horror and gore throughoutthe whole filmandhavingnostorylinetothe filmthishelpstomake you
feel like youactuallyknow the characteritallowsyoutocreate feelingsforthe characterand
therefore whensomethinghappenstothatcharacter you feel more emotions.
