The Descent
| The Descent | |
|---|---|
| File:The Descent film.jpg | |
| Directed by | Neil Marshall |
| Written by | Neil Marshall |
| Produced by | Christian Colson |
| Starring | Shauna Macdonald Natalie Mendoza MyAnna Buring Nora Jane Noone Alex Reid Saskia Mulder |
| Cinematography | Sam McCurdy |
| Edited by | Jon Harris |
| Music by | David Julyan |
| Distributed by |  Pathé Distribution Lions Gate Films |
Release dates | July 8, 2005 August 4, 2006 |
Running time | 95 min |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
| Budget | ~ £3,500,000 |
- For the book by Jeff Long, see The Descent.
The Descent is a British horror film, written and directed by Neil Marshall. It was released on July 8, 2005, having premiered at the Dawn Horror Film Festival on July 6, 2005. It has received a cinematic release in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Canada and the United States.
The Descent was both a commercial and critical success, with box office receipts from the UK alone totalling over £2.6 million and a total North American gross of approximately £13 million. The Descent received very positive reviews from many critics and a sequel is currently being planned.[1][2]
The story concerns a group of friends on a caving expedition.
Plot
Template:Spoiler Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) is still trying to come to terms with a car accident which killed her husband and daughter. She and her friend, Beth (Alex Reid), are invited to the Appalachian Mountains by their mutual friend, Juno (Natalie Mendoza). At a cabin, they join up with Juno, Holly (Nora-Jane Noone), and two sisters, Sam (MyAnna Buring) and Rebecca (Saskia Mulder). As they reminisce over an old photo, Sarah is prompted to say "Love each day" explaining that it was a saying of her late husband's.
They drive to the caves and begin exploring. When a tunnel collapses behind them, it is revealed that Juno brought them to an unexplored cave system in a misguided effort to reunite the group. As they try and find a way out, Holly breaks her leg in a fall. As the others assist her, Sarah wanders off and sees a pale humanoid drinking from a puddle of stagnant water. It disappears into the darkness when it senses her. Sarah tells the others, but they dismiss it as a hallucination.
The creatures attack the group, and target the injured Holly. While the others scatter, Juno fights with one of the creatures over Holly, who is still alive. Juno kills it, but stabs Beth through the throat by accident. Beth grabs Juno's necklace as she falls to the ground. Juno finds Sam and Rebecca, and kills another creature. They examine it, and discover the creatures hunt by sound, because they are completely blind. Sarah, who hallucinates about her dead daughter at several points, comes across Beth, who is mortally wounded. Beth gives Sarah Juno's necklace, which bears the inscription "Love Each Day", and reveals that Juno was having an affair with Sarah's late husband. At her request, Sarah euthanises Beth.
Sam and Rebecca are both killed by the creatures, but Juno manages to escape. Sarah finds Juno, but lies to her about Beth. The two make their way onwards only to find a group of creatures between them and a possible exit. A fight ensues, and the women kill the creatures. Sarah then shows the necklace to Juno, revealing that she knows about the affair. She cripples Juno, leaving her to be presumably killed by the creatures. Fleeing, Sarah falls down a shaft, and is knocked unconscious. She dreams of finding the exit to the caves and escaping. The sight of a bloodied Juno startles Sarah from her dream. Screaming, she awakes, still in the cave, hallucinating that her daughter is there with her. The creatures' screams are heard as the film ends.
Insanity theory
There has been argument that the monsters did not exist. Several clues exist to support this notion, most notably that Sarah has been through an extremely traumatic experience already and has previously suffered from hallucinations. The Insanity Theory posits that Sarah herself either killed or left her companions to die. An interview with director Neil Marshall lends further credence to the theory, as he states "...she's killed all her friends...".[3]
Marshall acknowledges this theory in the DVD commentary, yet says that this is only one possible interpretation. The fact that a sequel is being planned may support the theory that the monsters were real.
Release
Alternate ending
The Descent was released in North America with approximately a minute cut from the end. Sarah escapes the cave and sees Juno, but the film does not cut back to the cave.
In the August 4, 2006 issue of Entertainment Weekly, it was stated that the ending was trimmed because viewers didn't like its "überhopeless finale". Lionsgate marketing chief Tim Palen said, "It's a visceral ride, and by the time you get to the ending you're drained. [Director Neil] Marshall had a number of endings in mind when he shot the film, so he was open [to making a switch]." Marshall compared the change to the ending of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, saying "Just because she gets away, does that make it a happy ending?"
The North American Unrated DVD includes the original ending. Template:Endspoiler
Reception
The Descent opened on 329 screens in the UK and received limited releases in other European countries, eventually earning more than £6 million in box office receipts. It has received many positive reviews in the UK and the USA, with 106 out of 128 critics on Rotten Tomatoes giving positive reviews, resulting in an 83% freshness rating. On its debut weekend in the US, The Descent opened with a three-day gross of $8.8 million, and finished with $26,005,908. Total worldwide box office receipts are $42 million.
Roger Ebert's editor, Jim Emerson, reviewed the film for Ebert's column when Ebert went out for surgery. He gave the film four out of four stars. He wrote, "This is the fresh, exciting summer movie I've been wanting for months. Or for years, it seems."
Filming
Although the movie appears to have been filmed in an actual cave, it was actually filmed using elaborate sets, miniatures, and blue screen digital images.
Pathé, the company behind the film, deliberately released the film a bit early, forcing it to appear in theatres before another caving themed horror film titled The Cave. According to director Neil Marshall, this was "just to try and beat The Cave to the punch, piss on their chips a bit."
The skull of women motif for the title picture is based on Philippe Halsman's In Voluptas Mors photograph.
London Terrorist Bombings
During its prerelease advertising campaign a number of billboard style ads for The Descent were placed on buses throughout London. One of these, the Number 30 bus, was destroyed by a bomb at Tavistock Square during the July 2005 terrorist bombings of London. The bus was carrying a placard for the movie depicting a bloodied Shauna MacDonald staring out of the darkness with quotes from several positive reviews of the film. The half of the placard that remained undamaged after the explosions appeared in a number of famous award-winning photos of the scene by Mario Rosenberg. Part of the quoted review by Total Film magazine that read, "Outright Terror, Bold and Brilliant", was clearly visible in the photographs. Many commentators, including writers for Variety and The Times, remarked on the rather unfortunate coincidence.
Due to these events there was some initial concern that the film's release might have been delayed out of sensitivity for the tragedy but Pathé ultimately chose to release the film on schedule with a slightly retooled advertising campaign; However, the US promotional campaign managed by Lionsgate Films was significantly different than the original European version.
See also
Footnotes
- ^ "Comic Con '06: Neil Marshall Hints at 'Descent 2'". Bloody-Disgusting.com. 2006-07-22. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Butane, Johnny (2006-07-30). "Marshall, Neil (The Descent)". Dread Central. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Dread Central interview With Neil Marshall". dreadcentral.com. 2006-03-18. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
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