We continue with our 31 Days of Frights with The Descent from 2005. A year after a severe emotional trauma, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) goes to North Carolina to spend some time exploring caves with her friends; after descending underground, the women find strange cave paintings and evidence of an earlier expedition, then learn they are not alone: Underground predators inhabit the crevasses, and they have a taste for human flesh.
The Story
The Descent is one of the scariest movies of the 2000s because it does just about everything right. There is already a whole lot of tension from the get-go. The movie starts with tragedy as Sarah loses her entire family in a car accident. She is dealing with so much guilt but decides to travel with her friends. She has suspicions, though, that her late husband might have been having an affair with one of the friends who is on the trip with her. There is drama and uncomfortable situations before the main threat even arrives.
This movie does an excellent job of putting different fears into your mind. It also surprises the audience when the main threat is revealed. The girls go into the cave and have to deal with darkness and plenty of scenes of claustrophobia while crawling between tight rocks.
When the cave-dwelling creatures arrive, things get worse. The action and horror are at top speed. These girls have to try to survive from being eaten. Sarah and the woman who may have slept with her husband have to work together to find a way out. It is so engaging and thrilling and blood-soaked.
The Characters
Sarah is a great lead, and she has many layers to her. When we first see Sarah, she is a meek, empty shell, haunted by the death of her family and the betrayal of her friend. When all the creatures are attacking, something unlocks inside her. It is fun to see her facing off against these monsters and acting like a madwoman.
Juno is the name of the character who allegedly slept with Sarah’s husband. This is a character we should hate. She’s two-faced and conniving. But… she is so fun to watch. We don’t want to like her, but she proves she can kick ass, as she honestly is the toughest woman in this movie.
The creatures are blind, pale, and hairless. They hunt using smell and hearing, and they rip people apart with their teeth and sharp claws. They are designed well and are really creepy. Not only do they make you feel afraid of the dark, but also what is in the dark.
Overall
The Descent is insanely scary and does a good job of introducing different fears throughout. The director decided to have all of our leads be women to switch things up in the genre and to avoid clichés. This one definitely deserves to be checked out. Make sure not to watch the American release, though, because the ending honestly ruins the film. Seek out the unrated release instead. It contains a much better ending that packs a punch.
The Descent is available now to watch on Amazon Prime and Tubi.
Join us tomorrow for more spooky reviews.
