2006, Lionsgate/Pathe, Dir. Neil Marshall - Starring Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring, Nora-Jane Noone, Oliver Milburn, Molly Kayll, Craig Conway, Leslie Simpson, Mark Cronfeld, Stephen Lamb, Catherine Dyson, Julie Ellis, Sophie Trott

Every now and then, studios pick up a few foreign horror flicks from the past year and re-market them for American audiences. The majority of these are either accepted with open arms or rejected bitterly by critics and confused viewers alike. Recent examples have not impressed me, ranging from the brainless ‘Wolf Creek’ to the jarringly unexplainable ‘High Tension’. But reviewers (not counting the horror fanatic quote-whores) have set their sights on director Neil Marshall’s ‘Descent’ for some reason. Descriptions comparing it to ‘Alien’ and describing it as ‘pure terror’ don’t really match up to the film itself, but that isn’t to say ‘Descent’ doesn’t have its moments. At times the scenarios can petrify - but more importantly, Marshall infuses deeper themes into ‘Descent’ that make it all the more striking. Friendships, betrayal, and raw human nature draw paths through the movie, contributing to the claustrophobic premises. I could argue that the film could’ve been a little longer, but there’s not much to do when you’re already trapped miles under ground…right?

Three friends - Sarah (MacDonald), Juno (Mendoza), and Beth (Reid) go rafting together one day before Sarah’s daughter’s birthday. That day proves to be fateful, when a freak car accident leaves her daughter and husband dead, and herself paralyzed. Fast-forward one year, as Sarah and Beth travel to the Appalachian Mountains to visit Juno. Juno - a fast-moving, athletic figure who takes the lead with everything - has planned a large cave-exploring trip to an unmapped cavern nearby. Along with Juno’s feisty friend Holly (Noone) and their sister-pals Becca and Sam (Mulder/Buring), the group of six take off with no idea of what they’re about to encounter. Juno picked the caves in particular, as they were uncharted and apparently undiscovered. Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, she wanted to map out the caves and discover them. But in nature’s regularly cruel way, Sarah gets stuck in a dirt tunnel, and eventually causes a downpour of rocks to block their exit. Little do they know they have company - an evolved human lifeform whose predominant sense is sound. They must stay silent, move quickly, and find a way out.

There’s little to say about this cast - no actress truly stands out. It’s the same old song, anyway: act like ordinary folk for the first half, then turn into competitive lunatics suffering from cabin fever in the last act. Shauna MacDonald, who plays Sarah, is our protagonist with an accent - who has opinions (and/or feelings, you could say) of other characters. She channels Cecile de France from ‘High Tension’, with that same ominous stare that pervades throughout the last fifteen minutes as the audience waits in bizarre anticipation. MacDonald is believable, and probably the most complex character of ‘Descent’. Having gone through tragedy earlier in her life, she can’t bear to see her best friends picked off one by one. Sarah begins to face off with Juno towards the finale; the yin to her yang, a good friend but also a good enemy as well. Natalie Mendoza, who plays Juno, is not only gorgeous but releases the spunky attitude that the character deserves. Her voice and character tends to bounce off the other characters, which could be considered unfair. Beth is played by Alex Reid, who appears as nothing more than an obstacle between Sarah and Juno. She is a buffer zone to MacDonald’s acting, and a downplayed character. Nora-Jane Noone gets a few decent laughs as Holly, the smart-ass friend of Juno, but gets limited screentime.

Is ‘Descent’ scary, you may ask? I did find myself jumping back from time to time, and I began to question its method of frightening the audience. Much of the scares are elementary jolts - half-second frames of gore or a screeching ghoul. It’s when the characters themselves start to conflict with one another that the real creepiness comes out to play. Marshall likes the theme of betrayal, one that will eventually flood the story, and one that I will refrain from describing as to not spoil anything. Sarah and Juno will eventually face off, and the monsters surround them like crazed spectators. Marshall’s slimy and prehistoric caves become an arena, and the ending may leave a few audience members puzzled. But it’s not too hard to figure out, really, that humans are monsters sometimes. In the heat of the moment, the human mind can concoct some terrifying conclusions - even if it means destroying what’s most important to you. ‘Saw’ is a movie that feeds off this spontaneity, until Dr. Gordon couldn’t see anything except himself, the hacksaw, and the safety of his family. Also, beyond the already obvious claustrophobia of the caves, Marshall’s choice of a one-hued film - a blend of reds and greys - is a thrilling move itself.

No, ‘The Descent’ is not a classic, but it is a generally positive experience. It has its share of scares from time to time, but the acting leaves something to be desired. I could appreciate the director’s use of darker subjects to create tension, rather than the expected gore and violence that seem to swallow every horror whole these days.