Let's just call it a chick flick for people who like a high body count.
The Descent (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:159
Fresh:134
Rotten:25
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: Deft direction and strong performances from its all-female cast guide The Descent, a riveting, claustrophobic horror film. In this low-budget import from Scotland, director Neil Marshall has masterfully created a spelunking nightmare, which doubles as a compelling meditation on morality, vengeance, and the depths to which we might go for survival.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong violence/gore and language.
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:Aug 4, 2006 Wide
Box Office: $26,005,908
Synopsis: THE DESCENT is Neil Marshall’s hotly anticipated follow up to his 2002 hit DOG SOLDIERS. Directed by Marshall from his own script, it tells the story of an all-female caving expedition that goes... THE DESCENT is Neil Marshall’s hotly anticipated follow up to his 2002 hit DOG SOLDIERS. Directed by Marshall from his own script, it tells the story of an all-female caving expedition that goes horribly wrong, and stars Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, Nora-Jane Noone and Myanna Buring. Set in a cave system deep in the Appalachian Mountains, Marshall describes his film as ‘DELIVERANCE goes underground’. On a daredevil caving holiday, six women friends are unexpectedly trapped underground when a rock fall blocks their exit. Searching the maze of tunnels for a way out, they find themselves hunted by a race of fearless, hungry predators, once humanoid but now monstrously adapted to live in the dark… As the others battle for their lives, Sarah (Macdonald), still recovering from a mental collapse brought on by the recent deaths of her family, is fighting for her sanity. When old secrets are revealed, the friends turn on one another, causing the group to implode. Betrayed and desperate, Sarah realizes that to make it back to the surface, she must become as savage as the creatures themselves. THE DESCENT was filmed on location in Scotland and at Pinewood Studios from December 2004 to February 2005, and was fully financed and produced by Celador Films. Celador’s Paul Smith is executive producer and Christian Colson is producer. The film reunites Marshall with DOG SOLDIERS’ director of photography, Sam McCurdy, and production designer, Simon Bowles. Celador’s previous credits include the Oscar-nominated DIRTY PRETTY THINGS. THE DESCENT movie has already had a hugely successful release both critically and commercially in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. In September, 2005 the film took the top competition prize -- the Méliès d’Argent -- for Euro feature at Lund International Fantastic Film Festival in Sweden, and in November, Neil Marshall won Best Director and the film Best Technical Achievement (for the Editing) at the British Independent Films Awards (BIFA's) (THE DESCENT was nominated for Best Film). It has also been nominated for Best British Film, Best British Director and Best British Producer by the London Film Critics Circle (the winners are announced in February), an unheard of achievement for a genre piece. --© Lionsgate Films [More]
Starring: Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder
Starring: Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, Nora-Jane Noone, MyAnna Buring, Oliver Milburn, Molly Kayll
Director: Neil Marshall
Director: Neil Marshall
Producer: Christian Colson
Screenwriter: Neil Marshall
Composer: David Julyan
Studio: Lions Gate Films
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Reviews for The Descent
See this movie, it’s terrific with high tension all the way through. Just don’t go spelunking.
Far too gory for any but the very strongest of stomachs, this is nonetheless intelligent and well constructed horror fare.
It's a film stripped to bloody basics, a ferocious and taut exercise in action horror that recalls early James Cameron, with more gore and less sentimentality.
Unsettling and claustrophobic, as the lost women squirm through the damp tunnels of the virgin cave in re-enacted birth traumas punctuated by Sarah's visions of her dead daughter.
For horror fans and those who love things that go bump in the night, this is one not to miss.
[Writer-director Neil] Marshall makes real movies, not just schlockfests designed to sate the lusts of gore-lovers (although there is plenty of gore, too).
This dark labyrinth of trauma, treachery and troglodytes sets terrifying traps for the mind.
A clever blend of psychological thrills and stalked-by-monster terror is what makes writer-director Neil Marshall's sophomore effort a cut above most horror films.
One of the most physically demanding and dramatically rewarding examples of the genre since Saw.
The Descent is so expertly made that it more than holds its own as a full-throttle horror flick, yet it's Marshall's decision to provide it with a psychological bent that puts it firmly over the top.
An exercise in pure craftsmanship, this is one lean, mean, blood-curdling thriller -- maybe the best of its scrappy breed since The Blair Witch Project.
Six sexy spelunkers in an underground fright fest make for keen and claustrophobic cinema.
A lean, mean genre exercise for those who prefer their horror full-blooded.
On the surface, the film is competent ... but where The Descent triumphs are in the little details.
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