Damn. I just saw this movie today. Holy shit. That was the first movie I've seen in a theater that made me scream. I knew good and well when Something Bad was going to happen, but the knowing did nothing to dampen the shock each and every time Something Bad did happen.
I had seen a couple commercials for it recently, and thought "Oh, another crappy horror movie, but at least this one is R-rated." The commercials really don't do it justice at all, and are in fact kind of misleading in ways. It's not just your average monster movie at all. Besides being more complex and multi-layered, it's also got an all-female cast.
Brief synopsis: Six friends go caving in the Appalachians. All are experienced cavers. The way they came in is destroyed by a cave-in and they set about to find another exit. They venture further into the cave, and it becomes clear that they are not down there alone.
I really like horror movies and I appreciate ones that are tense and suspenseful, as opposed to just being brutal and gross. The Descent is both of those things. The tension is almost unbearable in some places, and there is a low-grade sense of suspense throughout. There are also some scenes that are an absolute bloodbath of violence.
However, there were also a couple of scenes that brought tears to my eyes. There is some really touching, heartbreaking stuff in here.
It's one of the best horror movies I think I've ever seen. (Thanks to the Brits for making intelligent horror movies and sending them our way.) From poking around on the internet and reading some reviews, I think it's the sort of movie you either love a lot or hate a lot. And one factor in determining your love or hate may be which version you've seen. We're only just now getting this movie here in the States and our ending is different. I won't spoil it for anyone who's yet to see the movie, but US folks may want to check out YouTube for the original UK ending once you've seen our version. It changes quite a lot.
Anyway, I recommend this movie to people who enjoy well-executed, well-written, well-acted intelligent scary movies. I'm thinking 28 Days Later and probably also movies like Saw, which I thought was surprisingly good.
