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By
WAYNE KLEIN
"The Descent" proves that
the road to redemption and the road to recovery
are often paved with the bones of distant
memories, ghosts and friends. Neil Marshall's
first film "Dog Soldiers" inverted the paradigm
for horror films featuring werewolves and cleverly
used the template of "Aliens" creating a memorable
beast all its own. Marshall now does the same
thing for spelunking. One year after a tragedy
that affects Sarah (Shauna MacDonald) she and her
buddies Juno (Natalie Jackson Mendoza) and Beth
(Alex Reid) meet up with three other women on
their annual outdoor pilgrimage. In the past
they've done climbing, white water rafting and
other extreme sports. This year Juno has chosen
the Appalachian Mountains and a series of
underground caverns for them to explore. They get
lost. Their friendships sour as they find they are
being hunted by vicious creatures that have no
fear.
A tense thriller with a decidedly unusual spin due
to Marshall's decision to cast all women in the
primary roles "The Descent" may not break new
ground but Marshall's film does once again play
with the conventions of the genre in a number of
striking ways. Like "Dog Soldiers" Marshall is
able to create these characters with an almost
minimalist brush stroke and yet make them distinct
and memorable. Working with greater resources for
his second theatrical film as a director Marshall
takes a step up creating a film that at once works
on a personal level by creating a believable bond
between these women and hinting at much greater
depth than is portrayed in the film. Likewise
Marshall also carefully crafts a film that
withholds the "crawlers" (as they are referred in
the credits) until the last possible moment making
them quite menacing and unpredictable. Unlike a
lot of horror films released within the past year
"The Descent" actually takes the pains to develop
a story with a metaphorical twist to the title
making it more than just "another horror film."
I would suggest the "Unrated Director's Cut"
because it improves on an already very good movie;
Marshall adds in a critical subplot that gives
added depth to the characters and their
relationships. The unrated edition unlike many
unrated editions has more blood spraying through
the air. This edition is significantly more
explicit in the level of violence and gore when
compared to the rated edition that appeared in
theaters. Surprisingly it doesn't hamper the film
but actually improves it adding to the level of
tension. That's rare for a horror film—usually
showing less is the road best traveled for these
types of films but the added gore doesn't numb the
viewer as much as it points out how vicious the
crawlers that are stalking the women are—they
become even more of a genuine threat and menace. I
should warn you, however, that this edition IS NOT
for the faint of heart. We also get the film's
original ending. Fans should be aware of this
because the ending shown in the theatrical version
trimmed a critical scene near the end that changes
the entire tone of the film.
"The Descent" receives a gorgeous transfer to DVD.
If you have a widescreen TV go for the widescreen
edition of the film as the carefully composed
images look truly beautiful particularly during
the white water rafting sequence that opens the
film and the foreboding drive through the
Appalachian Mountains. The level of detail is
remarkably sharp with surprising depth given how
dark much of the film is. The use of light,
darkness and shadows is expertly portrayed in this
edition. Colors are right on target with nice warm
skin tones where appropriate. Director Marshall
also makes effective use of color, texture, light
and darkness to drive home the dramatic effects of
the film and they are rendered extremely well in
this edition.
We're given two audio commentaries with both
effective and intelligent. The first one features
director Marshall, producer Christian Colson,
Editors Jon Harris & Tina Richardsen and the
production designer Simon Bowles focusing on the
technical elements of the film, how various
effects were achieved, shooting on a soundstage
vs. actual location shooting (the entire sequence
set in the caves was shot on soundstages) and the
effort that went into creating the careful
mounting element of fear that dominates the film.
The second audio commentary features Marshall
again with his female cast. While they do discuss
the various technical elements that made the film
so effective, they also focus on the physical
challenges of shooting the film and the
development of their characters.
The short documentary "The Descent: Behind the
Scenes" allows us to be the proverbial flies on
the wall; we see the construction of the elaborate
cave sets, the design for the creatures and
production issues that arose during the shot.
Director Marshall discusses the change to the
ending in a short interview and how the film
tested with American audiences, his feelings about
the changes and how it impacted the drama. A
blooper reel is included as well as deleted scenes
that elaborate on their characters relationships.
A stills gallery and series of biographies round
out the goodies in this set.
In a year of dreary remakes, sequels and bad
horror films "The Descent" doesn't pretend to be
the most original horror/thriller of the year but,
instead, takes a conventional situation and twists
it inside out with clever plotting and
characterizations. This improved version features
the unrated cut of the film, the original, darker
ending of the film and enough extras to allow you
to do your own cave exploring with the cast and
crew. This truly powerful horror film is improved
in this DVD edition. |
