The Descent movie review

ratbag's review

I have a love-hate relationship with horror movies. I hate being scared, but at the same time, I can't help but watch ... especially when I'd scored a free pass to see it ...

In short, "The Descent" is about six female friend's spelunking expedition gone wrong. Very wrong. Not only did one of them (Juno) bring them to a cave that was not in their guidebooks, one of them (Sarah) has still not recovered from a traumatic accident, another (Holly) has a tendency to leap before looking, and THEN they find that they're not exactly the only ones trapped below the surface.

Paranoia, female schemingness, unresolved grudges, untold secrets, claustrophobia, nightmarish hallucinations, gory scenes and cannibalistic gollum-like creatures proved a little too much -- I watched quite a bit of the movie through the slits of my fingers.

Although not entirely satisfying (not many horror movies are) "The Descent" is still better than quite a lot of films in that genre, as it uncharacteristically features character development, and the characters felt real so we can sympathise with them, instead of waiting expectantly for them to be killed. Some scenes have been imprinted into my mind, so I'll be staying away from dark places for a while ...