Review of the Descent.

1. The Descent
Incorporating claustrophobia, nyctophobia and a variety of other fears into one entire film, Neil Marshall’s
‘The Descent’ portrays six girls’ descent into the bowels of a cave system, and into madness both literally
and metaphorically. A story which follows one characters misfortune and her attempts to return to
humanity and her old life, drags us as viewers through an emotional rollercoaster filled with disgust and
thrills along with cheap scares. As is the way of one of the best examples of great British horror flicks.
Marshall’s story shows the journey of Sarah (played
by Shauna McDonald), a mother and wife turned
widow after a car accident now fighting with her
depression to return to the life she once had. She is not
alone, however, as close friend Beth (played byAlex
Reid) and cheating friend Juno (played by Natalie
Mendoza) assist her throughout the journey, From a
lineup such as this, it prepares the viewer for a story
which can only have a shocking ending, as two
clashing characters are trapped in the same cave as
each other. Although these characters serve as great
plot advancements especially with the interactions
between the three, the other three characters serve
only as cannon fodder, as they are slowly devoured by
the humanoids only to serve as guinea pigs for what
they can actually do. Yet, these extra characters allow
for the identification of what the relationships between
the six girls are like.
Being another addition to the horror genre, this
gruesome movie uses a variation of cinematography
allowing for perfect creep shots, along with
terrifyingly good atmospheric music increasing the
heart rate of fellow movie goers. Similarly, the editing
and prosthetics incorporated go hand in hand with the
style of movie the Descent is, making it a work of art i
the eyes of movie critiques.
The movie shares a balanced screen time between the gloomy and dark outside world, with
beautiful shots of the forests surrounding the cave and the cabins, and the cave itself, with
accurately created cave walls systems constructed by Simon Bowle, allowing the slow slide to a
darker place in Marshall’s wonderfully written story. What made the movie successful however, is
the matter that it is a horror movie based inside a cave, one of the darkest places on this planet
and many people’s fears, making it the last place that a person would ever go inside and the
ideal place for horror movie setting, which makes Marshall one of the more creative horror movie
directors.
In the end, Neil Marshall’s masterpiece that is The Descent successfully portrays horror in a very
unique manner, adding blood, gore and some very gruesome imagery (especially during the
scene with Holly’s broken leg). Not only was the imagery perfect for the style of movie, the use of
all the props and the brilliant acting from all the actresses allowed for the creation of one really
atmospheric movie. Overall, I personally think that ‘The Descent’ mixes many phobias into one
hell of a movie.