The Descent

This movie is awesome. It reminded me of a Stephen King kind of story. Probably because the movie doesn't waste time explaining why there is a tribe of blind, humanoid creatures living in an unexplored cave. The women who go off spelunking don't know, and never really find out, so neither do we.

This movie is scary. Jumps o' plenty, and lots of gore. I was surprised that the six women were so independently identifiable. Often, especially in horror movies, the characters all kind of bleed together (no pun intended), making one virtually indistinguishable from the next. Either that, or each woman has her own "trademark" - the tough one, the smart one, the bitch, etc. The Descent does that to an extent, but each character is more than her own one-trick-pony.

Plus, the women have their secrets they keep from each other. And these secrets affect the way they react to what's happening around them. There are even moments of genuine surprise. When one woman does something completely unexpected, the audience gasped audibly. A nice change of pace for a horror movie.

If you like horror movies, this one is NOT TO BE MISSED!! An excellent, fun movie. But don't believe me - Here's what "real" critics are saying about The Descent:

"This is one of the scariest movies featuring female heroines since the Alien series."
-- Jack Mathews, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"The Descent is a sharp hammer to the head and a claw to the gut, a blood-drenched creep show that wants to eat you alive. Beware, and bon appetit."
-- Tom Long, DETROIT NEWS

Four Stars. "This British horror-thriller recalls grueling, adrenaline-pumping classics like Deliverance, Jaws, Alien and Dead Calm. It's that good."
-- Jim Emerson, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

"An object lesson in making a tightly-budgeted, no-star horror pic work through razor-sharp technique and committed performances alone."
-- Derek Elley, VARIETY

"The babes are buff and the scares bountiful in Neil Marshall's full-throttle horror freakout about six women on a caving expedition."
-- Manohla Dargis, NEW YORK TIMES

This is a good horror movie.