Video Librarian Reviews
A claustrophobic subterranean chase movie that's essentially a smaller-scale version of The Cave (VL-1/06), but with an all-female cast and creatures that simply scurry about on all fours rather than fly, writer-director Neil Marshall's The Descent follows six intrepid women into a cavern, where they quickly become trapped by a cave-in and are attacked by strange critters that feast on human flesh. The script follows the usual formula—suspenseful tight spots, hairbreadth escapes, gruesome demises, acts of courage and cowardice, all leading up to the escape of one tormented survivor. The strength of the film lies in its mastery of the conventional cinematic horror devices—the oppressive setting, the quick cut, the sudden sound effect, and the skilled use of light and shadow. Unfortunately, The Descent is still nothing more than a genre exercise, hobbled by acting that could charitably be described as naturalistic and more accurately as amateurish, coupled with beasties that look like guys dressed in tight white-latex suits with faces decked out in war-paint, scampering about like refugees from a really bad modern dance company. Not recommended. (F. Swietek) Copyright Video Librarian Reviews 2006.