The Descent

I think this movie is good. Not great, but good enough. A group of women go cave-jumping in the Appalachians and get stuck underground. One of the women had previously suffered a personal tragedy and this affects her as she makes the journey through the caves. Hence, the double entendre of "The Descent" is clear. Some of the characters seem to fall into a particular category, ones you might say are obligatory for a horror movie (or any other type of movie involving a group of people all stuck in the same situation and trying to get out). There's a strong leader, a risk-taker (moreso than the other cave-jumpers, that is), a panicker, etc. There were one or two CGI scenes in the film, or more to the point, I believe they were two scene parts put together as one, and they didn't look right. Other than that, it's visually stimulating and gory. They eventually are attacked by some underground creatures. I have a problem with one thing, though. After one of these creatures is killed, they examine it (one of the women is in her last year of medical school...how convenient). They are calm while they study the thing, and she's spouting off how it hunts by sound and has adapted to live underground. No one seems to be troubled by the fact that these things even exist. Not enough, anyway. I know, the urgency of their situation may allow them to focus on the creature and not on why it is here, but I think that latter fact would make at least one of them really nervous.

There were definitely some moments of fright. Even when someone was creeping around a corner and you just knew something was going to be there, it still makes you jump when it happens. Probably because these creatures are always screaming at the women. I would not recommend waiting until this comes out on video, unless you're going to watch it late at night or in a room with no light and no windows...the scare factor wouldn't make us much sense in the daylight. The very last scene was unnecessary...if you see it, I think you'll know why.