The Descent (2005)

I love to be scared. At the primal part of me it is something that I demand that makes me escape and tap into my core fears.

The Descent gives into so many of my primal fears. The movies starts off with a family tragedy that brings with it your first jump scare of the film. The wreckage of that tragedy leaves our protagonist, Sarah, (played skillfully by Shauna Macdonald) almost shell shocked.

We fast forward to a year later and the Sarah and her BFF (or so we think) Juno have decided to go spelunking in the Appalachian Mountains as a bonding experience. This leads to a series of events that include tight quarters, tensions, secrets among the women, and unexpected surprises.

This movies is enjoyed best with the lights off and you can easily get sucked into the action. Each close call, fall, intense moment draws you further into this slow burn that changes in the third act which goes from 0-10 in no time at all.

By the end of the film you are not sure whether to move to turn on the lights or just sit alone in the dark.

Director Neil Marshal wanted an all female cast, citing that horror movies never have an all female cast. I think that choice is what makes this horror flick stand out. Each character is strong and balanced and you enjoy getting to know each person. The interesting part of this is that we do not learn a lot of in depth details about most of the characters but we learn enough to know what makes them tick. He also took the chance to make all the scares as authentic as possible.

I am a fan of closed quarter horror movies. The concept that you are stuck without any way out is one of the most terrifying things I could imagine.

I have watched this several times and would recommend to any fan of horror or thrillers. I would also suggest watching with the lights off. Watching with the lights on is not horrible but I did not feel the same amount of intensity. The Unrated DVD does have an alternative ending that was played originally in other country but I whirl recommend skipping it. The original ending does tie into the sequel.

Currently "The Descent" is streaming on Showtime. You can also rent it on amazon for 2.99. Though this is one if you are able to buy at good price I would buy.

My Rating: I would give this one 5 skulls out of a possible 5.

Here is the trailer

Hope you enjoy this see ya next week and we will see how this goes, Thank you for adding me to your journey.