The Descent (2005)
Strong horror violence, blood and gore
On an annual extreme outdoor adventure, six women meet in a remote part of the Appalachians to explore a cave hidden deep in the woods. Far below the surface of the earth, disaster strikes when a rock fall blocks their exit and there's no way out. The women push on, praying for another exit, but there is something else lurking under the earth. The friends are now prey, forced to unleash their most primal instincts in an all-out war against an unspeakable horror - one that attacks without warning, again and again and again. If you think director, Neil Marshall put his guys through hell three years ago in the werewolf flick, Dog Soldiers, wait till you see the nightmare he’s dreamed up for the girls in his latest movie, The Descent!
| Status: | Normal |
|---|---|
| Run time: | 95mins |
| Origin: | UNITED KINGDOM |
| Aspect Ratio: | 16:9 Enhanced |
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Member Reviews (74)
74 Member
Reviews
Pete
says
Lots of Gollums. Couldn't finish it.
rosepossum
says
Real edge of-your-seat stuff. Ending unsatisfying. Quite dark.
lee
says
One to buy for the collection, love this movie!!
ka-tet
says
This is one of those gems that make you wonder what took so long to find it. Just needed the characters to be slightly more likeable and it would have been perfect. The tension between the cast is one of the driving forces of the film.
Lauz
says
Really enjoyed this!! Worth a watch.... :)
Liz C
says
Loved it and loved the non American ending. BTW the creatures here aren't CGI as some people are saying. Not even close to being CGI. The Descent is actually better on second viewing however. To start with you hate the bickering of the girls. Second viewing and you realise why! The main reason I love this film is not for the Crawlers but for the sheer horror of watching people voluntarily crawl into a dark tunnel....for fun. The claustrophobia is intense, the feeling of being trapped - very real. The scene where Sarah thinks she is stuck is one of the best scenes ever. Plus I love how Neil Marshall slows everything down as they abseil across the cavern. That scene alone tells you all you need to know about character and motivation.
nitrojen
says
Bizarre ending, and thin subplot. Decent special effects but only worth watching once.
Steve
says
If you could give a negative star (or stars) then this would be the movie to do so. Started off okay - but then disintegrated into utter rubbish once the group came across the underground "dwellers". Only watched it to the end as I had had a couple of beers and couldn't be bothered watching repeats of repeats on TV. One to avoid - especially if you a "one a month" subscriber.
Judy
says
Not what I thought it was going to be.......worse than Aliens.
DeborahS
says
quite a good movie, characters could've been improved but good storyline and jumpy in parts:S
Rebecca
says
Good movie - believable storyline, strong characters, and enough action and gore to satisfy horror fans.
Rachel
says
Genuinely scary and a bit different to other horror flicks. At first I found some of the characters a bit annoying but once the action got going it improved. Overall not bad, you'll probably enjoy it if you like a good scary movie!
Megs
says
I enjoyed this movie as a bit of mindless entertainment.
Easy to follow, not too gory or in your face but still packs a punch.
A nice easy way to lose an hour and a half.
Miss V
says
Not scary at all, pretty predicatable and not a great story line
Lloyd
says
This is one seriusly scary film that is both entertaining and full of suprises. The idea is taken from Secrets of the Phantom caverns made long ago but it updates that very nicely. 6 ladies go into a cave system after one loses her family and they are trapped and picked off one by one in gory fashion by the cave dwellers there called Crawlers. Brilliant acting by all and the direction sets up nicely done horror scenes as well as drama scenes and the movie never seems to drag. Awesome speical effects and gory kills but my only gripe is the disc has the UK ending which makes little sense at the end and earns this 4 stars. The Original USA ending earns an extra star as it links to part 2 seemlessly. Def worth a rental for horror fans.
Daniel M.
says
Not scary. But a pretty suspensful and cool movie i only have one complaint. the trailer on quickflix shows the WRONG MOVIE TRAILER it shows a completely different movie called "Descent" not THE descent
Lee B.
says
I'm sorry was I meant to be scared? I was to busy trying to actually see something on screen to be scared. Was lucky if I could even see the characters, I still don't fully understand the plot and I'm sorry but those demons didn't scare me at all.
Paul S.
says
There was a plot happening between the characters but not being able to tell who was who I found it very hard to follow. It was very dark and they all were soaked in blood and sweat for the most part. I looked the plot up later on the net and it all made sense then. As for suspense and horror, it was fairly standard stuff. The ending was lame though.
Carolyn
says
I was more scared at the prospect of being stuck inside a cave and no-one ever finding the body rather than by the creatures (they're so obviously CGI generated). Yes, agree with other reviewers that the ending is somewhat lacking. Some nice frights/jumps along the way.
Sara
says
This was a fairly average attempt at a horror film. The start of the film suggested that it could have been a good story using the tension between the characters. It started as a story of six women on an underground adventure, where things begin to go wrong, and the characters fight among themselves, blaming each other. But then some monsters were added to the mix, and the story just devolved into bloody gore, and the character plot just died.
Okay to pass the time, but certainly not much more.
Jeremy P.
says
A very good movie. Picked it up without knowing anything and I was very impressed with the pacing. This tension builds throughout the film and reaches a fantastic climax. This is a great movie for the weekend which shouldn't be missed!
Scott P.
says
Good movie, some good twists and turns. Scary in parts.
Luc B.
says
Nothing brilliant, but if you dont expect too much you will enjoy it.
Letitia
says
Made me jump a few times - it was okay
Andy O.
says
Slow start, rowdy finish after plenty of action. Very claustrophobic atmosphere, well brought out. Interesting to see the group disintegrate under pressure with resultant bitchiness and infighting. Arresting camera work and detailed sound track for home theatre (water dripping, monsters grunting from the sides etc) all add to the atmosphere. Owes a bit to the 'Alien' approach where the less you actually see of the monsters, the scarier it gets.
Rick S.
says
Really liked this movie, it has some edge-of-your-seat moments and definitely a few jumpy bits. Good creature feature with some nice gory bits, and an ending you won't expect. Certainly worth watching.
Nigel W.
says
A horror movie that actually delivers spine chilling moments. The sense of claustrophobia is increasingly palpable as we go deeper into the caves. The story of betrayal which bookends the movie is less successful and appears to be added to provided psychological 'depth'.
Matthew J.
says
I don't believe so many people loved this movie, it is pretty boring the ending is rubbish and it is a blatant rip off of 'the Cave'
Nicholas W.
says
A very solid, claustrophobic piece of action/horror. Only issue was that the cast were all just far too screechy and annoying. I didn't care much for them, so their demise wasn't particularly devastating. It was also refreshing to see scary zombie crawlers that looked real in prosthetics and makeup, rather than pathetic CGI rodents.
Peter D.
says
After the glowing review by David & Margaret on ABC, I was disappointed. But if you really like formula horror movies I suppose this will appeal, and the underground setting is realistically portrayed for the most part. My gold standard is the first Alien movie though.
Beware of the AUDIO settings - the 5.1 track is music ONLY!! I found my player defaulted to that, and for 5 minutes I thought I was watching an Art Movie... Only the Dolby stereo has the full soundtrack: dialogue, effects, etc...
There are no subtitles or special features.
Cynthia K.
says
I fell asleep, need i say more.
Alfred S.
says
A great film totally spoiled by the ending.
Jennifer B.
says
awsome!!!!great movie were u are always sitting on the side of the chair..good scare movie don't miss if like horror
Okto F.
says
Worth Watching - Too me it's not scary, more like watching Rambo.
Robin F.
says
I think this is so much better than The Cave. It was well acted and directed with scenes that made me jump a mile. good plot and a different sort of ending. Not a big fan of the scary flicks, but wouldnt miss this one.
Lauren L.
says
This was the first horror that actually made me want to scream. I love horror and was starting to get a little immune to that thrill... The darkenss, suspense and inability to see what is coming is terrible, which made this a great movie. I am unable to make any similar recommendations, a lot of horrors try to scare with gore and blood, this had blood and lots of it but included the fear!
Leah C.
says
A great film for it's genre. I loved the ending, it was a refreshing change to a happy Hollywood ending and gave the film an extra point for creepiness.
Christia P.
says
Really good horror...compared to other horror cave movies this one rates highly...
Michele K.
says
loved it..scared the shit out of me and that is hard to do...shame about the dumb ending
Colin Y.
says
Just OK for me. You get a good sense of claustrophobia, but there's nothing new here. Don't know why the creatures didn't have a highened sense of smell. They couldn't detect the cavers if they didn't move.
Michael O.
says
Sean D.
says
Not bad and a more suspense than I thought I would get. A pleasant surprise
Ian G.
says
Very strange movie still good but is missing the happy ending :)
Cliiford G.
says
A good movie for adults only.
Fulcrum
says
Thrill seekers, trapped in a deep cave, get hunted by monsters. Actually, it was scary even before the monsters - people squeezing through dark tunnels creeps me out totally. It does get confusing whose who, and the monsters are shown too suddenly. I really liked the ending which was realistic and unexpected. One drawback - no subtitle feature for those of us who don't hear too well with lots of characters speaking at once.
Anne T.
says
No discernable plot. Characters are simply cannon fodder and are so one dimensional that I didn't care what happened to any of them. If you like blood, gratuitous violence and fighting females this is definitely the one for you.
says
Georgina F.
says
Best horror film I have seen in a while. A totally different story line from the usual creature/slasher films and creepy as hell. A must see!
Julie H.
says
This is the best ever thriller movie that I have ever watched. But be warned, not for the faint hearted. It is quite full-on and it starts not long into the movie and just keeps going right to the end. If you like thrillers, don't miss this.
Colin H.
says
Brilliant. Best hard-core horror film since HAUTE TENSION.
Lesley L.
says
Maureen S.
says
Nail biting suspense. Best I've seen for a long time.
Michele G.
says
Didn't like the ending but worth watching
Brian M.
says
I agree with Troy C. It WAS hard to see what was going on. I jumped a few times, but the good scares were spoiled by the director's "made up" jump moments which dimished the real ones. Would have been better on the big cinema screen.OK,
Matthew B.
says
A good thriller with lots of frights that will make you jump out of your skin. The ending ruined it though, for me.
Cheryl J.
says
very scary and exciting - caving definitely not on my list of things to do after watching this movie!
Michael K.
says
Paul G.
says
I really enjoyed this movie til the very end, I just didn't get the ending and it left me feeling cheated.
Ronnie S.
says
Christine L.
says
I haven't seen a good horror like this for a long time, good acting and location. The suspense was excellent too (glad I didn't watch it at night by myself)
Good story line too.
Ruth C.
says
Claire R.
says
We waited, and we waited, thinking IT would happen soon. The potential was there, but in the end all we thought was "What The?", why did we bother sitting through it? Wasn't scary enough to override the stupid story line.
Jason F.
says
A big disappointment.
Kathy S.
says
Scary!
Lynette T.
says
Mavis M.
says
Bertram T.
says
An Excellent Movie. Kept you spellbound right through the entire movie.
Troy C.
says
It could of been a little lighter - hard to see what was going on. Ok movie if theres nothing else to watch.
Maria Z.
says
Was a little boring, and a take off of 'The Cave'.
David B.
says
Trent S.
says
Cool chicks kicking ass against an army of Gollum lookalikes...what's not to like? The first hour is as fine a build up as you'll find in modern horror, until it descends into the inevitable bloodbath. Refreshingly old fashioned and devoid of music video style edits or techno beats, this is a must for fans of the genre.
Shane C.
says
Enjoyed this movie. Along similar lines to the Cave. Good story line and acting. Good Scares.
jenny
says
Was quite surprised by this one. Better than average horror flick with suspense and its fair share of blood and gore that kept me riveted till the end. Cast features little known English actors who give better than average performances.But be wary if you have a predisposition to feelings of claustrophobia!!!
essendon
says
liked the movie but one I couldnot watch twice for the acting was reasonable. Plenty of blood and guts which I like to watch on a movie.
There where some boring parts but other parts were great only half a thumb up. must say the girls had more guts than I have for I would have checked if they had maps or not.