The Descent Movie Review
Better Than It Looks
So, the other night one of my friends came over and we watched the 2005 horror flick, The Descent and the film surpassed my expectations.
The Descent follows a group of women as they go off exploring a cave as a bonding experience. They soon get trapped in the cave and have to find their way out, but what they don't expect is the creatures which lurk down below.
When the movie started, it came off as your run of the mill style B film, or so I thought. Yes, the movie does go through the tropes of the genre, but the actors know what they're doing and aren't completely helpless.
What I really love about this film is that even though our band of characters are terrified by what they encounter, they learn to adapt. The Descent does an excellent job of show, don't tell. I was very surprised by how they keep it consistent throughout the entire flick.
What's even more impressive is the fact that the cave scenes which is the majority of the film was all done in a studio. For an approximate 3.5 million dollar budget, it looks like they really are in a cave. The set designers really outdid themselves.
Also, the custom and makeup departments did a fantastic job with the creatures. They look like they could have been something real, in an alternate timeline and they just did such a fantastic job.
Another thing I loved about the creatures was the amount of screen time they get. Usually in horror flicks, once the creature is shown, they over do it and we constantly get berated by the image of the creature and it looses it's staying power. They did something different in, The Descent. They should the creatures just enough, not to little, not to much, the hit the goldilocks zone.
This is by no means a perfect film. I think they could have done a little better with their sound design in the film. And It was a little hard to remember who was who, because a few of the characters were a bit bland even though the actors did a fine job. I think it was more of a problem of how they were written and not how they were portrayed.
What I was surprised to find out was that The Descent was directed by Neil Marshall, who also directed my most hated film of the year so far, Hellboy. After seeing The Descent, I'm willing to give him another chance. I was also surprised to find out he directed Dog Soldiers, which is considered to be one of the better werewolf films, and it's on my watch list.
This film does do a good job of slow build horror. It drives up the tension one step at a time without missing a beat. I think more horror flicks could take a page out of The Descent and incorporate this style into their own films.
The lighting was also pretty good in the film. They do a couple cool tricks throughout The Descent with their use of lighting and it's effective.
If you're looking for a decent horror flick to kick off October, I'd recommend checking out The Descent. It's way better than it looks, and I found myself being pleasantly surprised by this flick. Give, The Descent, a shot.
final score: 3.7/5
When the movie started, it came off as your run of the mill style B film, or so I thought. Yes, the movie does go through the tropes of the genre, but the actors know what they're doing and aren't completely helpless.
What I really love about this film is that even though our band of characters are terrified by what they encounter, they learn to adapt. The Descent does an excellent job of show, don't tell. I was very surprised by how they keep it consistent throughout the entire flick.
What's even more impressive is the fact that the cave scenes which is the majority of the film was all done in a studio. For an approximate 3.5 million dollar budget, it looks like they really are in a cave. The set designers really outdid themselves.
Also, the custom and makeup departments did a fantastic job with the creatures. They look like they could have been something real, in an alternate timeline and they just did such a fantastic job.
Another thing I loved about the creatures was the amount of screen time they get. Usually in horror flicks, once the creature is shown, they over do it and we constantly get berated by the image of the creature and it looses it's staying power. They did something different in, The Descent. They should the creatures just enough, not to little, not to much, the hit the goldilocks zone.
This is by no means a perfect film. I think they could have done a little better with their sound design in the film. And It was a little hard to remember who was who, because a few of the characters were a bit bland even though the actors did a fine job. I think it was more of a problem of how they were written and not how they were portrayed.
What I was surprised to find out was that The Descent was directed by Neil Marshall, who also directed my most hated film of the year so far, Hellboy. After seeing The Descent, I'm willing to give him another chance. I was also surprised to find out he directed Dog Soldiers, which is considered to be one of the better werewolf films, and it's on my watch list.
This film does do a good job of slow build horror. It drives up the tension one step at a time without missing a beat. I think more horror flicks could take a page out of The Descent and incorporate this style into their own films.
The lighting was also pretty good in the film. They do a couple cool tricks throughout The Descent with their use of lighting and it's effective.
If you're looking for a decent horror flick to kick off October, I'd recommend checking out The Descent. It's way better than it looks, and I found myself being pleasantly surprised by this flick. Give, The Descent, a shot.
final score: 3.7/5
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