The Descent

Marking a logical step up from the highly enjoyable squadies vs. wolf hijacks of Dog Soldiers, The Descent sees Neil Marshall venturing into a more physiological horror arena. The simple set up is thus: an all female group of extreme sport friends head on a caving expedition, things go wrong, blood and death ensue. As with his previous effort, Marshall works the basic premise above and beyond its B-movie roots and into an effective shocker that lingers long after the credits roll…

And make no mistake, this is a simple premise: once we’re in the caves, we stay there. As the walls get closer, the tunnels tighter, the claustrophobia is wound up and the location is mined for all it’s worth, the overriding sense of tension becomes a palpable force. Which is why it’s almost a shame when the sci-fi element kicks in, as Marshall is clearly ready to evolve to worthier ground. However, he still demonstrates a masterful use of the traditional, down and dirty aspects of horror and it is too his credit as writer/director that the shift seems natural when it leads us to the monster show.

The collected corpses-to-be are elevated from simple ciphers to true characters that we care about through the script, which maximises choose snippets of back story to create a superb dynamic. Filtered through a well chosen cast of newcomers, this back story produces performances filled with jealousy, malice and unspoken desire, all serving to keep the narrative constantly nail-biting before the main threat is even unveiled. Then the scares come thick and fast, as the usual tricks are given an underground reworking. Combined with an enhancive soundtrack, the crossing of a chasm is drawn out to nerve shredding proportions, each swing of an arm becoming an individual cliffhanger. As the light bounces from the wall edges to the blood covered terrified faces, the unrelenting harshness proves as menacing as anything the seemingly doomed cave dwellers encounter.

Yet despite Empire magazine recently retracting it’s 4 star review and replacing it with a perfect 5, this isn’t quite a landmark. The low budget is handled well, with genre pleasing nods to Carrie and Predator present and correct, and frankly powerhouse cinematography from Sam McCurdy, given that his few previous credits include an episode of Teachers. But even he cannot disguise the closed off nature of the cave sets, occasionally bewildering the audience. Couple this with the supernatural element, which despite the wise minimalist approach is none-the-less undoubtedly cut price and will draw unintended comparisons to the kind of thing you’d see on Buffy. But these are quibbles only, and Neil Marshall deserves high praise for pulling off such a success with the same money as an episode of The X Files. On this evidence, it’s time for his Hollywood payday. Plus, this is surely the finest PMT allegory film for some time.