Falling Into The Descent

I hate to say it, but YAY

Horror movies. Such thrills, such chills...but it's the aftermath of seeing such ghostly images in the middle of the night that kills me. I have vowed never ever to see another scarey movie since the pale, white faces of an unnecessary Japanese remake came onto the big screen. So why did I make such an exception this time around? Guess never say never, right? Well, what's the big deal anyway? I mean, a plot evolving around a bunch of females taking on the lead to do something adventurous doesn't seem like a bad idea. Finally, a movie with more than just ditsy blonde girls, screaming their scrawny asses off, running barefoot without a bra on, in a see-through baby tee, bobbling left and right in the woods. Almost always after a naked sex scene in which her scared-shitless boyfriend gets butchered. Cold and predictable. This time, no men. At least no "real" ones. Just enough detail to get your heart racing a mile a minute. The setting, a cave, truly draws us in. Even if I know I'd never put myself in that position I felt like I was there! Peering around dark corners, grabbing onto jagged edges, hearing the eerie sounds of dripping water... oh, and by the way, did I mention that it's infested with man-eating ghouls? Yet what gets me the most is that the extremely suspenseful, "oh shit!" parts occur through Sara's haunting illusions and her sudden confrontation with Juno, the mistress of the film. The hideous creatures don't even appear until close to the end. That just happens to be the rotten cherry ontop of a pretty fucked up situation. Now don't get me wrong. Those things ain't something you want to see anytime soon, but it's not the premise of this movie at all. Half-way into the film, you realize that they were crazy enough to venture into an undiscovered cave by Juno, ah the sinful Asian beauty, the character you hate to love. This manipulative, slick back, ponytailed brunette dragged her naive, white friends into what turns out to be a death trap. The originality of it isn't even how real the wretched demons look or the gruesome deaths of each character. It's simply the mere thought of what it would be like to be in the girls' shoes. Squishing through narrow tunnels, losing a bag of supplies, no maps, no real way out. Frantic. Flustered. And then suddenly alone. Heartbroken Sara gets the shit-end of the stick when she comes face to face with her true enemy, but fortunately, for me I had my eyes closed.

The Descent

Yay - by Cheyenne


"the descent," is an low budget drama/horror movie that came over from the united kingdom earlier this year. upon seeing trailers for this particular film in the past couple of months, i was intrigued to say the least. looked like a psychological film that preys on your fears...with what looked like the possibility of something else along the way....

five minutes into the movie, you're introduced to the two main protagonists-- juno and sarah. right away you see something that may or may not be there in terms of the interactions. but just as quickly as it was introduced, it takes a backseat to a sudden and gruesome tragedy.
fast forward 1 year later, a group of women are getting together for their annual extreme sport trip. the tragedy of a year ago still obviously taking its toll on some members of the group. you can feel the tension between some these ladies no matter how hard they try to hide it. the said trip gets on its way. this particular trip involves the exploration of a cave system in the Appalachians(east coast usa, for you dullards that are unaware).
this particular cave system, unfortunately, has never been explored before. the problem with this, is that only one person knows this. of course, difficulties ensue. people are lost, people are hurt, people are possibly losing their minds. adding to this mass confusion is the entrance some inhabitants of this cave. up to this point, this film is all based on your fears. darkness, claustrophobia, hopelessness, anger, betrayal. once these cave-dwellers enter the picture, all hell breaks loose. people start dying. people start forgetting one another. right up to the end, when a few of the girls start fighting back, you feel that exhaustion that is expressed on their faces. i'm not going to spoil how this movie ends, but i will say that the road to the climax takes a few twists and turns that i did not see coming.
this film builds up so well. the tension and the frights are so well paced. nothing feels forced. the acting is very well done, especially the actresses that played sarah and juno. the creatures look good and the amount of gore is not over the top. i highly suggest you see this movie. you'll be satisfied by what you see.