THE DESCENT

Celador MS Production
Directed by : Neil Marshall
Starring by : Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, Myonna Buring, Nora Jane Noune


Begun with bunch of ladies that crossing the wild river that built some impression of a batch sporty woman, I could guess most of the case would happen on wilderness. After the wild, Sarah back home with her families by car. Her husbands undergo a day-dream and made a car accident that killed him-self and their daughter. Something that impossible to happened, I think, because I also had a day-dream every time driving my car and nothing damage occurred, only not listening to my honey, sorry dear.

The scene of turn-black alley on hospital also disturbed me, please don’t say that horror genre enforce this act to exist, because the scene didn’t correlated with the next when Sarah cries on her best friend shoulder after found out that all her families died.
A year later, Sarah join her five best friends (Juno (Natalie Mendoza), Rebbecca (Saskia Mulder), Beth (Alex Reid), Sam (Myonna Buring), and Holly (Nora Jane Noune), a brawny powerful lady, to reunite on a cave expedition. 

This reunion was set-up by Sarah’s friends to help her forget the tragedy but their recklessness by leaving the map on the car made the expedition goes horrible. These six tuff lady lost their way on a journey and while they’re trapped on the cave some danger heading their ways.

This movie runs very slow on the first 20 - 25 minutes. The caving expedition almost made me bored, perhaps because I’m not a typical of an adventurer guy’s, so I don’t understand why people like to crawled inside a dark-narrow tunnel only to find some amusement, but astonishing picture from underground that had been taken on this movie would amused you a little bit. 

Some point I’ve learn that you have to climb the stalactite if you want to cross the gulch and pulled the rope for your friend, wow…it’s hurt man… I’m sure I couldn’t do that…think about pulling my bodies above dark hole that couldn’t be measured it depth kills my nerves.

The terrors start when the earthquake collapsed the tunnel. To find another way out they have to seek other side which lead them to bone-yard where a queer creatures circling them there. Devoting their attention to attack the six women who dare’s to enter their sanctuary. 

The creature profile’s just like a bat-monster on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, only without wing, and turn to be a blind blood-hunter. Those ladies split up and run forward to save themselves. On that purpose, Sarah found the weakness of the creatures and finally her courage to rid them off.

Pity, there’s only few information to explain these creature, whether they are a lost soldier from the expedition many years ago that become a cannibal underground troops because they couldn’t found the escapade or just a real monster that hunted down the living things for food.

Separation among them runs funny. While the other run to self their life, disunion between Sarah and Juno happened from Beth’s tragedy. I don’t understand why Beth accused Juno killed on a purpose when she pulled and throw an axe through Beth’s neck. 

Juno has been fought the creature and killed them, her attention totally focus on fighting, alarmed by anyone…or anything…that came near could harm her, I think you’ll do the same as her, when Beth draw near and on that moment stabbed by an axe. It increased when Beth grab Juno’s necklace and give it to Sarah. The necklace that apparently giving by Paul, Sarah’s husband, and made Sarah knows that her best friend has been cheating her all this time. 

Perhaps Paul’s day-dream, that causing him death, come from Juno.
Maybe Neil Marshall, as a writer, try to slide a love story to keep up the monotone plot from boredom but I think the trick doesn’t work. This triangle of love thing doesn’t have strong shape, for consequences it’s only become an itchy spice.

I think The Descent can be more attractive if Paul still lived and Juno took Sarah on that expedition in order to kill the wife by ‘cave’ accident so she could get Paul on marriage. To do that she have to take some friends for her alibis. The drama increased when Juno made a mistake that make her trapped together with her victim and become a victim too by unknown monster.

The Sarah’s escapade with finding ‘coincident’ ways and heading a highway afford instant relieve but surprised me when discover that’s only Sarah illusions. 

The reality is she still trapped underground and probably never found way home. Such end was find with me but I don’t understand about a Sarah’s daughter that came so often, sometimes on a tough situation, with a birthday’s cake and looked forward for her, only this time Sarah smile and the girl vanished and followed by monster’s screaming.

How come she smiled when the danger shadows? Is that because she’s finally reunited with her lovely daughter on the other side, perhaps? Maybe you could answer it for me…