The Descent (2006)

Note: This review was originally posted on Myspace. I am reposting it here for archival purposes. It has been backdated to the date of its original posting.

The Descent into Terror,
The Descent into Madness,
The Descent into Hell...

I just got back from seeing the movie that's calling itself the best thriller since Alien. Now, I still think Alien is better (it does have more of a fantasy aspect, and the creature is way cooler), but I would have no problem sitting this movie up on the same shelf as Alien.

It was a really exhilarating movie to watch. I loved it. I'm not gonna say too much, but here goes. It's a short movie, and it was a little long getting to the cave, but once they got in, man, it was a joy ride straight to the end. It starts out alright, just a little spelunking adventure, then the claustrophobia sets in, there's a little accident, and then things rapidly go from bad to much much worse.

I dunno that I'm a huge fan of the way you see fight scenes filmed in horror movies these days, with the quick, frantic shots, where you're struggling just to figure out what's going on in front of you. It definitely has a specific effect on the viewer, and it may have been right for this movie, but I just have to say, I prefer the slow scenes in Alien where the creature moves in silently, the person turns around and sees it there, he freezes, and there's a short moment of terrifying calm, then in a split second the creature takes its prey. But that's just me.

Excellent movie. It was a thrill ride, for sure. It was a pretty disturbing realization that the humans were just as, if not more, brutal and violent than the cave creatures. Also, some of the scenes had a definite Doom-y feel for me - dark caves, pools of blood, imp-like creatures stalking you. I would have loved if the movie had more of a fantasy aspect, and the cave became hell itself, but I guess that would have been a different movie, and the one I saw was good, too.

The Descent - Gollum's raised a family, and he's tired of answering riddles...