THE DESCENT
Firstly, before I waffle on, I am discussing the UK cut of the film, not the American, for obvious reasons. After seeing, and loving, Neil Marshall's first film Dog Soldiers on release I am slightly surprised and annoyed that I didn't catch this during its cinema run. Sadly, it went under my radar. Instead I bought a new release DVD from Woolworths (Never forget), curled up in bed to deal with the cold I had picked up, curtains drawn, and pressed play. I watched it once, I watched it again, then both the commentary tracks, back to back. My head cleared and feeling almost my normal self, I went over to my friends and made them watch it too. This fond memory said, I am glad to say I did manage to catch it in all its big screen glory on a special marathon a few years later. Dog Soldiers, The Descent, and Doomsday.
As horror films go this, in my mind, is very close to being pretty damn perfect in a genre theme. A strong female cast, grounded and serious, scary and touching even before it goes bat shit crazy. It plays with a number of horror film tropes and various scares without being too cliched. We have claustrophobia, jump scares, an excellent use of found footage, dream sequences, high tension, gore, visceral violence, broken bones, and monsters. We are ticking a lot of boxes! It's not just a very prime example of how to make a film in essence of structure but also in the production itself. Simple sets were cleverly reused to great effect and Marshall purposefully kept the cast groups separated until they met within the narrative to get the best reaction from the cast.
Then there's David Julyan's score. It completely manages to capture the film's themes of terror, foreboding, triumph, and sadness. It has that special quality of making the hairs stand on the back of my neck.
Despite being essentially a film about mutant cavemen murdering a group of spelunkers it raises the bar cinematically for its type. Using the setting of the film to its advantage in various light sources and colours. I can think of three pieces of imagery instantly that have a classic, ethereal, timeless quality to them. The grain and colour combinations of the cinematography are haunting, yet iconic, as well as offering a tip of the hat to past films made before it without overstepping. A loving embrace of its roots. Subtle and sublime.
The Descent is a very intelligent UK horror film on a number of levels from its creation in production, to its ideas and themes, to the imagery and editing given to us on screen. It has a beautiful narrative with the lead protagonists' character arc... It's not just a descent into caves, it's a descent into madness.
James Taylor