Writer: Neil Marshall
Director: Neil Marshall
Afraid of the dark? You will be
I really expected to like this film: a British horror movie from Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers (2002))
that has been described as “Deliverance underground”. Unfortunately, despite some superb moments, The Descent failed on too many counts.
The plot is pretty simple. A group of six women, one still recovering from the loss of her child, get together for an adventure holiday. As part of this they go caving. Things go wrong and they find themselves lost in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike. Not only must they try to escape but they must try to avoid becoming dinner for the inhabitants of the caves.
So we have a group of friends lost and trying to stay alive in the claustrophobic setting of an Infernoesque descent through the caves. It got great potential but doesn’t quite work. Yes, there are shocks and I found myself jumping on more than one occasion. But somehow the thing doesn’t quite come together. We’ve got a survival movie, a supernatural/psychological horror and an old-fashioned creature feature. The Descent does them all reasonably well but none of them superbly.
One problem is that the characters – like those in the Blair Witch Project – are the architects of their own downfall. OK, it’s mainly the fault of one character, but even so there must be better ways of setting up the premise. No experienced spelunker would act like that. And if I was going on such an expedition I’d make damn sure I had my own map no matter what anyone else said!
There’s not a lot of room for character building during the intense action. The only ones who really get a look in are Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) and Juno (played superbly by Natalie Mendoza). Even between those two there are hints that a lot more is going on behind the scenes – a few throw away lines suggest far greater depth of characterisation than we are actually allowed to see.
Part of the problem is having six main characters. This is necessary to keep the body count up but having so many characters and hence relationships makes it more difficult for most of them to get much screen time.
As an exercise in claustrophobia the film has a technical problem: it needs to balance atmosphere building with remaining watchable. The most effective shots are those seen through the black and white of an infra-red camera – but an entire film of this would be unbearable.
Hints of the supernatural – or a possible descent into madness – are laid during the first half. Sarah is still in mourning for her child about whom she still has flashbacks, and the camera lingers on her leaving behind her pills before the expedition starts. Thoughts of Orpheus are unavoidable. Yet – unless I’ve missed something – none of this ends up being used.
I’m not sure whether this film is too long or too short. Either it needs a lot of the first act pruned or it needs more character building and interaction in the second half. I suspect the latter – this feels like a film where dialogue-heavy scenes have been cut to keep the action flowing. Which is a shame; the constant action actually detracts from the suspense and fear.
This could have been a genuinely scary horror movie with the characters and their relationships unfolding as they face the monsters. Unfortunately it abandons subtlety and suspense for action. Despite its shock moments, The Descent doesn’t really Deliver.