Hidden Gem – The Descent

Hidden Gem – A film from the recent past you might have overlooked or didn’t know about, but you should check it out.

The Descent from 2005, is one of my favourite horror films from the past decade. A group of friends have gone on a weekend caving trip in the Appalachian Mountains. They are trying to rebuild friendships after a tragic accident that happened a year ago. But wouldn’t you know it, there are worse things to happen to you than the cave collapsing orfalling off a rope when you’re spelunking. Well there is worse, when you have a cave full of Gollums angry, blind cousins.

Directed by Neil Marshall, whose previous film was Dog Soldiers, which was more of a horror comedy. The Descent is straight up horror. Marshall has gone on to directing the ‘epic’ episodes of Game Of Thrones. Similar to how I could happily watch a movie about the Gecko brothers without vampires ever turning up in From Dusk Till Dawn, The Descent is a terrific movie without the monsters. It is so full of tension, claustrophobia and imminent danger that its almost a relief when the monsters turn up (nearly an hour in) and there is someone to take it out on other than each other.

The Descent features one of the best uses of video camera/night vision there has been in a horror film, I jumped straight out of my seat. But I’m not going to ruin it for you. Also it’s very unusual for a horror film to have an all female cast. The characters feel like they make the real decisions about what they are doing in the circumstances. Even if those decisions don’t always work out for the best.

The Descent is not only the downward journey into caves, but descent in becoming a savage and primal  creature, everything needed in order to survive. It is also the descent into lunacy and madness, all of these things at once.

It is a first rate horror film that will stay with you for a good while and you will be pleased you can turn the lights on and walk off.

 

PS don’t bother with the sequel, its rubbish.