The Descent (2005)
directed by Neil Marshall
Rated R (violence/gore/cussin)
For fans of small spaces, jump scares, and what the fuck is that?! Did ya like As Above, So Below? If so, you’ll like this one.
My rating: Better Be Brave, this one spikes your anxiety in multiple ways. There is a jarring scene of trauma, tons of cave claustrophobia, and a perfect amount of jump scares. There is also some very visceral violence. This one also gets a rating of Don’t Go Down There, which is one of my favorite types of scary movie.
Some thoughts: Not only is this film scary, it’s beautifully made with a clear story and full characters. It gives the audience the right amount of exposition to establish the six women and their relationships to one another and then gets them in the cave.
This is another one where I intentionally don’t want to provide any plot details because it is very rewarding to experience them fresh, but I will say that film builds tension very effectively by not only relying on “something scary in the cave”. Apparently they gave the United States a different ending because they thought the European one was too dark for our audiences. I think the US version’s ending is good, but I’m always going to go for the dark, so I do suggest seeking out the alternate ending if you’re curious. Is that enough to make you watch this one? I hope so…Guess I’ll try to make the next one longer.