A must for horror fans, this minimalist British
chiller brilliantly meshes the elements of a harsh natural environment (an
underground cave), the interactions of a group of friends, and a small bit of
sci-fi.
This
creepy little film was a popular highlight of the 2006 Philadelphia Film
Festival. Without being particularly gory, it delivers genuine scares. The
setting for most of the movie is an underground cavern where a group of women
friends have gone exploring. I won’t say what they find there, except that it’s
not a crazy lunatic with a chainsaw, and the peril is compounded by the natural
difficulty and unfamiliarity of the surroundings. It’s a naturally spooky
environment. There’s a short introduction to the film in which one of the women
suffers a tragic loss; this indirectly affects the outcome of the story. At
several points, the audience watching the film with me audibly gasped in
surprise, then laughed at themselves for having been successfully been
manipulated. Making the most of its simple, yet original, concept, The
Descent is chilling fun rather than gruesome excess.
viewed April 2006 at Philadelphia Film Festival
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