The Descent [Archive] - DVXuser.com -- The online community for filmmaking

Kirk Gillock

07-26-2006, 10:54 AM

Just watched this movie with my girlfriend and, even though it was only playing on a 17" monitor with little speakers, it still scared us. I can only imagine what it will be like in the theaters, when it hits the US in August.

Don't want to reveal too much but it's definitely a must see. But be warned, this movie will mess you up and nightmares are a guarantee. My girlfriend can't sleep, she's still shaking. Then again, it didn't help that I turned the bathroom lights off while she was taking a shower. ....I'm a bad bad boyfriend.

The Machinist

07-26-2006, 11:34 AM

August 4th.

Can't wait.

Filmjunkie677

07-26-2006, 11:53 AM

I got the Region 2 DVD.

This film is one of the best horror flicks of the last 10 years.
No joke.

It has one of the sickest opening scenes in recent memory.

Neil Marshall is the real deal.

I cannot wait to see this on the big screen.

The Machinist

07-26-2006, 12:07 PM

That's all the review I need.

Thanks Filmjunkie!

Ogrus

07-26-2006, 02:16 PM

Grrrreat movie!!!!

MOVIE STUNTS

07-26-2006, 10:40 PM

Question... Whare did you guys find this on dvd? PM me:thumbsup:

Kirk Gillock

07-27-2006, 12:14 AM

Some of us our overseas. It's been out, here in Thailand, for a while. Not sure why it was delayed in the US. But hey, you all get to see all the big movies first. Let us have this one. :)

MOVIE STUNTS

07-27-2006, 12:48 AM

Im guessing test markets.

jkc123

08-09-2006, 06:57 PM

I didn't get the ending.

FilmMakerr

08-09-2006, 07:34 PM

I didn't get the ending.

watch the UK ending.

They are Them

08-09-2006, 08:39 PM

awesome movie in every way

jkc123

08-09-2006, 08:45 PM

watch the UK ending.

Ooohhh...... so she died in the cave then?

It makes a little more sense; I was wondering how the "crawler" wound up in the jeep w/her.

I enjoy it that much more now.

FilmMakerr

08-09-2006, 09:03 PM

Ooohhh...... so she died in the cave then?

It makes a little more sense; I was wondering how the "crawler" wound up in the jeep w/her.

I enjoy it that much more now.

SPOILERS:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::

JKC, that wasnt a crawler, that was the ghost of Juno.

Juno was seeing her Husband.

If you remember, Sarah was hallucinating through out the whole cave, and hearing her daughters laugther, remember? The reason she saw her daughter everytime she closed her eyes was because of the guilt, after leaving Juno to die, she emerges out of the cave, into the car, and sees Junos ghost because of guilt. But in the original ending, its all a hallucination, shes not in the jeep, she didn't get out, shes still in the cave, and she hallucinates her daugthers birthday cake one last time before the crawlers jump onto her.

make more sense?

Dario Nieva

08-10-2006, 07:26 AM

This was an awesome movie. Wasn't much of a creepy scary though more filled with "Jump" scares.

The audience wasn't the best (Lil' rowdy) but it still scared people so "The Descent" was definately worth it.

(EDIT: Thanks guys)

jkc123

08-10-2006, 09:17 AM

SPOILERS:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::

JKC, that wasnt a crawler, that was the ghost of Juno.

Juno was seeing her Husband.

make more sense?

Wow.... I must be slow because I didn't get that at all. I didn't know that Juno was seeing her husband. Was this established in the first act? I admit that I sort of tuned out during the cabin scenes. But, I thought she was pissed because Juno killed her friend and the proof of it was the necklace charm thingy the dying girl had held onto.

Thanks for the insight.

I gotta see this movie again.

Dario Nieva

08-10-2006, 10:56 AM

See, I figured it was a halucination because they mentioned halucination as one of the symptons of the situation they were in and when she got to that huge bone pitt, it looked like she fell asleep. At that point I figured she was dead but the ending threw me for a loop.

Dario Nieva

08-10-2006, 10:57 AM

FilmMakerr

08-10-2006, 12:03 PM

Yep ^

Also the necklace said the same line her husband used to tell her all the time, remember?

uhrgl

08-10-2006, 12:40 PM

They didn't test Descent overseas, it's a foreign film (I think they shot most of it in Scotland?) which is now being distributed in the US, kind of like 28 Days Later.

Descent is a pretty good flick. I definitely jumped a couple of times during the movie, and I never groaned. A friend of mine imagined the pitch went something like this:

It's Sex and City goes extreme spelunking and then the women are attacked by Anne Coulter-like beasts.

I don't want to sound like too big of a sexist, but those "Crawlers" can kill deer and other large game, and drag them into the cave, but they can't beat up women?

There was a Hollywood flick out last year that seemed similar called the Cave -- did anyone see that?

Yas Kassana

08-10-2006, 01:01 PM

It's Sex and City goes extreme spelunking and then the women are attacked by Anne Coulter-like beasts.

Hahaha! You're a funny guy. I would hate to be attacked by Ann Coutler like beasts. Breasts yes, beasts no.

mcgeedigital

08-10-2006, 01:02 PM

Bah,

Another stupid book-made movie in which the book was MUCH better.

I'll be glad if the powers that be ever decide to stop making movies for the least common denominator.

Filmjunkie677

08-10-2006, 01:06 PM

Bah,

Another stupid book-made movie in which the book was MUCH better.

I'll be glad if the powers that be ever decide to stop making movies for the least common denominator.

Are you talking The Descent??

because it wasn't a book.

The Descent is an original screenplay written by Neil Marshall

jkc123

08-10-2006, 02:33 PM

It's Sex and City goes extreme spelunking and then the women are attacked by Anne Coulter-like beasts.

I don't want to sound like too big of a sexist, but those "Crawlers" can kill deer and other large game, and drag them into the cave, but they can't beat up women

LOL!

Hey, the crawlers did kill most of the women. They only had problems with the really bad ass ones.

FilmMakerr

08-10-2006, 03:30 PM

LOL!

Hey, the crawlers did kill most of the women. They only had problems with the really bad ass ones.

Not to mention their blind.

ramsaur

08-11-2006, 07:19 AM

ok saw descent yesterday and we had to go to a theatre that sucked cuz we didn't have time for the other theatre that was acctually good and with great sound and quality... so we I didn't even get scrared or a jump scene in the whole movie. I would have if we went to a more better theatre.. just that what makes everything scary is the sound, so it had sound but it was low and had no bass going, and had no surround sound so it just all blew and sucked.. and wasn't that dark so I don't know if I'll see it again in a more better theatre but I might just wait till it comes out on dvd.

The Machinist

08-11-2006, 09:54 AM

I thought it was okay but not great by any means. Devil's Rejects still reigns the past decade of horror.

My big problem with this was the "crime and punishment". I didn't buy the justification for the punishment. I felt it was an accident and I didn't like how they tried to paint that character in a sinister light. Just didn't buy it and it really bothered me.

Ohh and i hated all the phony jump scares in the first half. Ugh...

manglerBMX

08-11-2006, 01:25 PM

its was agood movie. but i wanted juno to keep living not the main actress. i didnt like here.

manglerBMX

08-11-2006, 01:26 PM

whoops this is spidey lol

J.R. Hudson

08-11-2006, 01:27 PM

Don't make me ban you Spidey

(LOL)

spidey

08-11-2006, 01:33 PM

lol yeah im on his computer working

ramsaur

08-11-2006, 03:37 PM

well i did catch some one scene where (forgot witch character) she was looking around with the camera on night mode after sarah had already died.. she had the camera in that place where they had thier first encounter with those things. And when she was looking around there was something they put in with the skeletons.. it was a big mouth with teeth looking like a crocs mouth or something but it was so cheesy the way they made it so it looked stupid.. and another part she's filming looking at all the skeletons the "intence" music comes in and one part of it sounds like the music of an old 80's film

spidey

08-11-2006, 03:42 PM

i like the juno chick...

c.g._eads

08-12-2006, 09:47 PM

uhrgl

08-12-2006, 10:10 PM

It's good, no groaners, but it's probably a little over hyped. You can't compare it to Alien (or s).

FilmMakerr

08-13-2006, 03:35 AM

I'm thinking of seeing this. People say it's the best scary movie since Aliens (or is it 'Alien'?). Is this true? Or is this just your bi-monthly over-hyped horror flick? (aka Slither, High Tension, Cry Wolf, etc.)

lol..all those movies you just named are good. Cry wolf is a decent teen slasher, the others are good.

Homersapien

08-13-2006, 06:20 AM

How weird, I watched Descent for the first time on Friday on TV (Sky)... Has it only just come out in US at the cinema???

I didn't expect much watching this movie but I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really liked the level of fear to bravery ratio in it compared to many typical horror movies in which the characters run about scared and managed to fluke their way out of it at the last minute.

I live in a place called Matlock Bath in the peak district (UK) which as an area is a very keen place for cavers... I myself have only ever done it a few times... If you've never been caving before do it... but go with someone who knows the caves, it's great fun but can shit you up in a really good way (Especially if you watch descent just before going).

Anyway I believe the director of Descent has recently been filming nearby to here and I was talking to a friend a month or two ago and he was telling me about how the director was renting out a flat above his. Never did get the chance to meet him, shame really that I've only just seen Descent because I would've loved to go and invade his set to see what kind of stuff he was filming!

skital

08-13-2006, 10:06 AM

Wow.... I must be slow because I didn't get that at all. I didn't know that Juno was seeing her husband. Was this established in the first act? I admit that I sort of tuned out during the cabin scenes. But, I thought she was pissed because Juno killed her friend and the proof of it was the necklace charm thingy the dying girl had held onto.

Thanks for the insight.

I gotta see this movie again.

SPOILERS:

When Sarah was trying to save the girl who Juno accidently stabbed through the neck and left for dead the girl told her that Juno did that to her and she handed Sarah that engraved piece of jewelry that said "Love Each Day" (or something like that) and said it was from Paul (she got it off of Juno).

So, if it weren't for Juno Sarah's husband and daughter would still probably be alive (though she should really be blamed for that), because the whole reason why Paul crashed was because he was distracted because of having an affair with Juno. So, Juno not only was a big reason why her family was dead, but also the reason why they were lost in an unknown cave, the reason why her friend was stabbed through the neck & left for dead & the reason why most of her friends ended up dead in the cave. So, Sarah lost it. Though it's too bad Juno didn't explain that she accidently killed their friend. That might not have been enough though since Sarah held her responsible for her husband and daughter's death.

Then again, maybe hallucination girl (Sarah) flipped out and killed all of her friends in the cave and created the cave creatures in her head to blame for it all. Wait, that sounds like another movie. Nevermind. :)

FilmMakerr

08-13-2006, 05:45 PM

SPOILERS:

When Sarah was trying to save the girl who Juno accidently stabbed through the neck and left for dead the girl told her that Juno did that to her and she handed Sarah that engraved piece of jewelry that said "Love Each Day" (or something like that) and said it was from Paul (she got it off of Juno).

So, if it weren't for Juno Sarah's husband and daughter would still probably be alive (though she should really be blamed for that), because the whole reason why Paul crashed was because he was distracted because of having an affair with Juno. So, Juno not only was a big reason why her family was dead, but also the reason why they were lost in an unknown cave, the reason why her friend was stabbed through the neck & left for dead & the reason why most of her friends ended up dead in the cave. So, Sarah lost it. Though it's too bad Juno didn't explain that she accidently killed their friend. That might not have been enough though since Sarah held her responsible for her husband and daughter's death.

Then again, maybe hallucination girl (Sarah) flipped out and killed all of her friends in the cave and created the cave creatures in her head to blame for it all. Wait, that sounds like another movie. Nevermind. :)

Yeah, people have been thinking of that on the IMDB forums, its possible but I don't think the director did intend for it to come out that way. (your way of looking at the cause)

skital

08-13-2006, 08:49 PM

Yeah, people have been thinking of that on the IMDB forums, its possible but I don't think the director did intend for it to come out that way. (your way of looking at the cause)

You referring to the second paragraph or the joke in the 3rd? The second seems dead on, IMO. Does anyone else has a better explanation?

c.g._eads

08-14-2006, 09:24 PM

I thought this movie was great. Great acting. Great story. A director who really understood suspense and how to create a tension-filled scene. Something that really stuck out for me was the music! It was relentless and big and I don't know why, but that didn't bother me (I guess that stuff only tends to bother you when the movie's bad). I mean he did not hold back with that soundtrack and I thought it worked perfectly. The only problem *spoilers* is that stupid ending. Why do they have to put a moronic jump-scare with the cliche flash-cut blue-y dead character in the car - the kind of shot that someone uses when they don't know how to end their movie ("Ooh! This way we'll leave it up to INTERPRETATION. And it will get people talking!"). This movie was so much better than that. I mean I know she killed Juno and feels guilty, but wasn't this movie about something different by the end? Like just getting the hell out of there?? It would've been perfect if that truck that came (I thought that thing was going to hit her for sure), is about to hit her, so it's the exact same thing that occurred in the beginning (driver not paying attention). But this time she JUMPS out at the last second and winds up living. Or turns around, sees the truck coming at her, has the CHOICE to jump out. But doesn't. Anything is better than the stupid blue-y dead character flash cut.

Otherwise, very fun movie.

FilmMakerr

08-15-2006, 01:55 AM

You referring to the second paragraph or the joke in the 3rd? The second seems dead on, IMO. Does anyone else has a better explanation?

The joke at the end.

Darkline

08-15-2006, 10:52 AM

This was quite a big deal here in the UK.

I thought it was great up until the last 30 mins or so which became a little too generic. But that's not a criticism, just that the build up before it was so good that it didnt quite live up to it.

I loved the sense of calustrophobia and the way you would see things just out of the corner in the darkness. But once it turned into a matrix/manga 'frig you melonfamrer' piece I wasn't so impressed.

hey but he managed to squeeze a lot of homages in didnt he?

uhrgl

08-15-2006, 10:53 AM

hey but he managed to squeeze a lot of homages in didnt he?

expound.

Darkline

08-15-2006, 12:39 PM

"carrie" seemed an obvious one! (jumping from the pool of blood)

There is a conversation at the start in the car which is a direct translation of a scene in "deliverance" almost word for word but with two women (my mate was laughing at it when we were watching it in the cinema). there are more Deliverance homages in there too...

Evil Dead, aliens, the shining, are referenced in it stylistically.

I read elsewhere somewhere that a homage was paid to apocolypse now but I didnt spot that (I saw The Descent when it first came out in the UK, which is a long time ago now).

interview quote "when we were cutting the film we put on a temp score, mostly made of David's earlier work, but also a few John Carpenter scores like “The Thing”. Some of it worked so well we couldn't help but pay a little homage in the final mix. "

read the interview at

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/features.php?id=232

it tells you more about the deliverance references I mentioned but also other influences on the film, which I think you can see.

Cephalectomy

08-16-2006, 03:29 AM

I saw this movie a few months ago and love it, definitely one of my favs to come out this decade. I however do not look forward to seeing the U.S. version of this, especially from what's being said by others on here, sounds lame. The original ending should have stayed. Why does the U.S. always need gayer endings? BLAH!

dvpixl

08-16-2006, 10:59 AM

so the UK version is just that she dies in the cave and hallucinates that she got out?

that's not so much of an alternative ending...

The Machinist

08-16-2006, 11:04 AM

Its not so much that she dies.

It's the last shot it's almost kind of poetic and ties together the visions she had of the birthday cake.

It was a very cool ending i felt. Much better than the jumpscare.

spidey

08-16-2006, 12:13 PM

yea i really didnt care for the main actress I felt more for juno. is that wrong?

The Machinist

08-16-2006, 12:17 PM

Not really. I felt the main character's huge leap to Amazon Huntress was ridiculous and detracted from the movie for me.

Juno was more plausible a character.

spidey

08-16-2006, 12:21 PM

i kknow a freespirited bisexual self absorbed and man stealer who is a badass was more appealling than the woman who lost her family now is sick now turns into a badass because she has to for her family... thing is her husband didnt really love her soooo shes doing it for the kid, all i can say is i didnt like the lead i thought se was the weakest character.

what would have been nice, if juno made it out and realized how horrible of a friend she was, instead of the other. i dunno i need to see the other ending i guess.

bgundu

08-22-2006, 09:49 PM

I found this movies way more satisfying than Snakes on a Plane. In fact I think Anaconda was better than Snakes on a Plane. The Descent is not perfect, but I found the pace and acting was better than average. I was shocked to find out the North American release had a slightly different ending than the original. If you get a chance to see the movie, do a google search on the alternate ending and you'll find it on YouTube. The original is much more fitting than the lame when we get here.

Gohanto

08-23-2006, 10:15 AM

Yep I agree. Personally I was laughing constantly with Snakes on a Plane and had a great time with it, however I'm not sure how many parts were intended to be laughed at...

Yes, the descent is a surprisingly good movie. The alternate ending I did find very interesting.

Also, is it just me or did the lead really start looking like Uma Thurman did in Kill Bill?

Cinematography I thought was some of the most interesting I've seen in a movie recently.

Jeremy Ordan

08-23-2006, 10:17 AM

There is already a discussion on this film: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=44044

-Jeremy

Isaac_Brody

08-23-2006, 10:20 AM

Merged the threads..

jpeck

08-23-2006, 05:38 PM

I like both endings of the movie, each having their own benefits.

The North American ending while being partly a cheap scare that I knew was coming also has deeper meaning, imo. After seeing both endings it would have probably been better for Sarah to have still been in the cave. We already know she is on meds and is having dreams/delusions of the loss of her daughter and husband. Now she shall have to deal with her experience within the cave, the loss of her friends and how she had transformed into something far worse then what was inside the cave.

I hope The Descent can land Marshall some higher budgets, ever since I bought Dog Soldiers for $5, I have been a fan of his.

twocik23

08-23-2006, 11:46 PM

"It was a very cool ending i felt. Much better than the jumpscare."

Yes I couldn't agree more. For a second I thought they were going to end it with the traditional shot with the creature/whatever in the back seat (jumpscare), but no they didn't!! 5 stars in my book!

uhrgl

08-31-2006, 01:48 PM

[quote=Darkline
I read elsewhere somewhere that a homage was paid to apocolypse now but I didnt spot that (I saw The Descent when it first came out in the UK, which is a long time ago now).

[/quote]

The shot of the girl's head rising up from the pool of blood is exactly like a shot from Apocalypse Now.

Interesting about the Deliverance stuff -- I'll have to check that out.