The Descent (Neil Marshall, UK, 2005) August 22, 2006
Posted by Daniel Stephens in : Horror, 2000s, Film reviews, Thriller/Suspense, Sci-fi/Fantasy , trackbackDir. Neil Marshall; screenplay by Neil Marshall; starring Shauna MacDonald
On my second viewing of Neil Marshall’s brilliant horror film ‘The Descent’, I was left spotting the various homage elements he’d infused into the script and direction. Not that this was a bad thing – there’s a sense of warm, exhilaration every time one of your favourite movies is referenced. In Marshall’s previous ‘Dog Soldiers’, at first, I was felt the references to other films were too clichéd, stealing plot details from the likes of ‘Aliens’, to the point where the film wasn’t anything more than a copy. But, Marshall’s sense of humour and glee in mocking convention, comes to the fore, making for a very enjoyable film.
In ‘The Descent’, Marshall has some lovely references to Alien, Aliens and Carrie, to name just three. However, what makes this film a more rounded, well-oiled effort is the fact he doesn’t borrow as many plot details as he did for ‘Dog Soldiers’. This film just feels more original than his previous effort. Plus, his technique has matured to produce a thrilling, claustrophobic horror film that utilises excellent camerawork and photography with particularly good production design. Marshall can’t escape unoriginality completely, as his characterisation and story arc are nothing more than predictable, but he makes up for it with stylish direction, milking the entombed nature of caving to its full, (gory) potential.
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