The Descent

Some claustrophobic scary ass shittt mannnnnnn...in there..with them THINGS running around?!...you can count me out!

One of the greats. An all‑female team with clean motivations and a cave system that becomes a character. Practical creature work and in‑frame light sources make every scrape feel tactile. It builds dread and then goes feral without losing emotional clarity. Seeing the restoration on a big screen underlines how sharp the design and sound are. Still a masterpiece.

If you liked… Alien, The Thing, As Above So Below, The Ritual

>*"What are you so afraid of? The worst that could've happened to you has already happened. There's nothing left to be afraid of."*

Scariest movie of all-time! This movie scared the shit out of 14-year-old me and it still does for a few reasons. The isolated setting alone is enough to get me psychotic but when you add monsters on top of that and there's no way out... absolute nightmare fuel. I need to be in the right mindset to watch this because it flares my eczema and gets me real anxious and stressed, no other movie portrays claustrophobia quite like ***The Descent***. The scene where Sarah is panicking because she's trapped is terrifying and I know what that's like.

Over the years i've always had the same criticism; there isn't enough character development. Sarah has plenty and Juno by default but everyone else is just a steriotype. I get mixed up all the time because there's two blondes (and I notice way too late in the movie). I love the Sarah/Juno story though, much of the development is done with eye contact and it's subtle until it isn't. Those two are so freakin badass, those caves bring out your survival instincts and it's fight or flight. Always inspiring to see it unfold.

Then comes the Crawlers, what a terrifying creature design and they're realistic in the sense that I can see those things existing—or at least humans who are living in caves and adapted to darkness somewhere remote. The wall climbing makes them so unpredictable and deadly, nice screaching sounds and so fast. I like that they aren't immortal like most horror villains, if you fight and actually try you might just win. The kills in this are so brutal and bloody. The open wound is still disgusting even after all these rewatches, nice practical effects.

The use/control of light in this is remarkable, everything is perfectly lit and timed so we see the right thing. NEEDS to be seen in a dark room to really see the intended lighting and it's absolutely stunning. There's red, blue, green and yellow lighting moments in this really pop. The score is simplistic but used well, it sets up an atmosphere at the beginning and a fake sense of comfort until they stop using that score when they enter the cave and it's suddenly discomforting. The editing, sound design and incredible sets are also worth a mention.

The blood pond is still my favorite moment, so iconic and makes Carrie look like an amateur. Epic kills and perfect third act. So many thrills and action sequences, it's really a blend of horror and action. Love the original bleak ending, the U.S. ending is for softies. It's about time I give this top tier horror movie the 10/10 it deserves. Takes "seeking thrills" to a whole other level.

Dude wtf.. nearly got me an heart attack. :)

Good movie though

The audacity of those girls who mislead the group and to overreact like they did?! You did this on purpose..

The movie set is super impressive considering it wasn't filmed in an actual cave.

Scary well before the creatures show up

Don’t know how many times I’ve watched this, but it never gets old.

Solidly one of my favourite horror films without any doubt!

One of the best horror films I know: thrilling, brutal, fast and unpredictable!

Yo, that was fucked up.