Thursday, August 03, 2006
The Descent
While Alien was at the Talladega 500 racetrack, his scouts were sent out on a cave exploration mission.
Fun-loving, adventurous Sarah suffers a personal tragedy. A year later, her friends rally round her and the six girls go on a caving trip in the Appalachian Mountains. Soon, things start to go awry in this horror flick.
Scout #1:
I thought it was great! It kept me at the edge of my seat the whole time. The creatures were creepy and it always kept me guessing as to what was going to happen next. Like I said I watched this movie before. It was released on DVD in Europe a year ago and it was the same exact movie except they did change the ending. I liked this ending better. I might have nightmares about this one... very creepy but good! I loved it and I give it a 4 out of 4!
Scout #2:
THE DESCENT, directed by Neil Marshall, is a very clever film which makes excellent use of the viewer’s fear of darkness, tight spaces, heights, depths and cannibalistic humanoids. A true physiological thriller that makes excellent use of camera angles, lighting and the element of surprise. It is almost unbearably tense and claustrophobic. Makes you jumpy which is exactly what we horror movie buffs are looking for in a film. I think I heard some crying amongst the gasp in the audience during some of those jumpy moments. That makes me feel warm and fuzzy.
Timing is great seeing that Marshall (also responsible for Dog Soldiers – a solid and witty werewolf flick) spends just the right amount of time setting the story up, developing characters and letting the viewer absorb the beautiful panoramic surroundings before catapulting both the audience and the movie cast into a gruesome exploitation of primal fear. The Director made very good use of dream sequences, jumps, false starts, and sudden lunges at the camera.
In regards to the movie’s setting how about the brilliance of going from the wide open beauty of the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina (My birth place by the way) to the confinements of a subterranean world where in places it is so tight you can’t breath then transitioning to other shots where there are majestic caverns with the feel of landscapes in Lord of the Rings. The movie also has potential to be intellectually horrific considering the implication that the whole thing maybe never happened or at least only happened in the mind of Sarah (played by Shauna Macdonald). But who cares about intellect when this movie boosters an excellent depiction of gore, wonderfully done carnivorous creatures interacting with a sensuously eye catching cast and tons of physical action and wall crawling creepiness. Thankfully the film doesn't take itself too seriously and ultimately it amounts to a good old fashioned scare pic which has its share of carefully judged shocks, tension and action, all of which are pulled off with considerable skill. Marshall lays on the chills early and often.
A primal, strangely sexual violent film that well executes psychological and physical torture. In other words it is the perfect film for the self-proclaimed horror movie fan.
Well done
5 star on a 1-5 scale
Scout #3:
I didn't really care for it. It had too many false scares. The camera work was too jumpy at times. I like horror movies, but this one did not appeal to me. It did make my kids jump and scream a few times. I have to give it 0 stars out of 4.
While Alien was at the Talladega 500 racetrack, his scouts were sent out on a cave exploration mission.
Fun-loving, adventurous Sarah suffers a personal tragedy. A year later, her friends rally round her and the six girls go on a caving trip in the Appalachian Mountains. Soon, things start to go awry in this horror flick.
Scout #1:
I thought it was great! It kept me at the edge of my seat the whole time. The creatures were creepy and it always kept me guessing as to what was going to happen next. Like I said I watched this movie before. It was released on DVD in Europe a year ago and it was the same exact movie except they did change the ending. I liked this ending better. I might have nightmares about this one... very creepy but good! I loved it and I give it a 4 out of 4!
Scout #2:
THE DESCENT, directed by Neil Marshall, is a very clever film which makes excellent use of the viewer’s fear of darkness, tight spaces, heights, depths and cannibalistic humanoids. A true physiological thriller that makes excellent use of camera angles, lighting and the element of surprise. It is almost unbearably tense and claustrophobic. Makes you jumpy which is exactly what we horror movie buffs are looking for in a film. I think I heard some crying amongst the gasp in the audience during some of those jumpy moments. That makes me feel warm and fuzzy.
Timing is great seeing that Marshall (also responsible for Dog Soldiers – a solid and witty werewolf flick) spends just the right amount of time setting the story up, developing characters and letting the viewer absorb the beautiful panoramic surroundings before catapulting both the audience and the movie cast into a gruesome exploitation of primal fear. The Director made very good use of dream sequences, jumps, false starts, and sudden lunges at the camera.
In regards to the movie’s setting how about the brilliance of going from the wide open beauty of the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina (My birth place by the way) to the confinements of a subterranean world where in places it is so tight you can’t breath then transitioning to other shots where there are majestic caverns with the feel of landscapes in Lord of the Rings. The movie also has potential to be intellectually horrific considering the implication that the whole thing maybe never happened or at least only happened in the mind of Sarah (played by Shauna Macdonald). But who cares about intellect when this movie boosters an excellent depiction of gore, wonderfully done carnivorous creatures interacting with a sensuously eye catching cast and tons of physical action and wall crawling creepiness. Thankfully the film doesn't take itself too seriously and ultimately it amounts to a good old fashioned scare pic which has its share of carefully judged shocks, tension and action, all of which are pulled off with considerable skill. Marshall lays on the chills early and often.
A primal, strangely sexual violent film that well executes psychological and physical torture. In other words it is the perfect film for the self-proclaimed horror movie fan.
Well done
5 star on a 1-5 scale
Scout #3:
I didn't really care for it. It had too many false scares. The camera work was too jumpy at times. I like horror movies, but this one did not appeal to me. It did make my kids jump and scream a few times. I have to give it 0 stars out of 4.
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