The Descent [2005]

Despite well-deserved thumbs-up reviews and eye-catching ads, Neil Marshall's Dog Soldiers follow-up didn't do the business it deserved in theatres. Unfortunately, it opened on July the 8th, when British audiences [especially in London] weren't inclined to go to a claustrophibic, ferocious horror picture about six women trapped in a cave. Now The Descent is out on DVD, this ought to get the audience recognition it deserves as the best British horror picture in ages.

It has a strong, unfamiliar cast and takes an unusual, risky approach which pays off. The monsters [cannibal cavemen] don't show up until halfway through, but the character set-up [more complex than it at first seems] and natural spelunking perils have revved up the tension to such a pitch that the ultra-grue of the last act does not obliterate the other things going on in the dark. It was a great big screen terror, but in a darkened front room with a superior sound system it'll still put you through the wringer.
KIM NEWMAN

First Published In: Empire

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