Review:
The Descent
Country: United Kingdom
Year: 2006
Genres: Survival, Suspense, Horror
Suspense [5*****]
Easily the best suspense in modern-day film, among those which I have seen. By that I mean films made since the 1990's. Though the old masters like Hitchcock and Kubrik have given great built-up suspense in Vertigo and The Shining, the modern-day film varies much from their techniques. Anyways, this category is the most important point of the film. And it was done so right. I was so surprised, especially having very little background knowledge of the film, and after seeing its mediocre start, that it was this good. It is almost non-stop once it starts, and every little detail adds to it.
Situation [4****]
It kind of reminds me of Battle Royale, the way the characters are put in a situation that they can't help anymore, and then start to argue a bit about things. I suppose this is a natural circumstance, but I reminded further of it when the women are separated and have to survive with different skills and resources. All-in-all, I thought it was a pretty interesting setting for the movie and it's very originally portrayed.
That Was Nasty [4****]
There is some really nice action in this movie, and it puts the icing on top of the suspense-cake. Good death-blows and a surprisingly easy to follow running/dark areas. Horror movies can easily go into too many cuts and lack of vision to try to scare us, but none of that is seen here.
Overall [4****]
I loved this film. It is a must-see for anyone who likes suspense. I think it may be kind of hard to find though, until the DVD comes out. Unfortunately I have to leave out some details and other things I would like to talk about. But that would spoil the movie a little. The first time you see it, it should be a great experience to go in without too much knowledge. I will keep my promise of being 'important spoiler free,' and end my review here.
Copyright ©2006-2008 Joseph Stierman. All Rights Reserved.