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The Descent, if you’re unfamiliar with it, is a horror flick from 2005 directed by Neil Marshall. It’s about a group of women - lead by the bitchy Juno (Natalie Mendoza) and grieving-over-the-loss-of-her-husband-and-child Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) - who get lost on a spelunking trip.
Here's our first scene (that's right, we've got a two for one deal here). While squeezing through a tight tunnel, Sarah gets stuck.
I’m terrified of tight spaces. I won't go so far as to say that I'm claustrophobic, but getting stuck in a narrow cave system like Sarah here would give me a heart attack. I'm not gonna go crawling under the ground anytime soon is what I'm saying.
So as if playing off of humanity's inherent claustrophobia wasn’t scary enough, this shit happens:
That’s right, this movie has fuckin' monsters in it. The scariest part of this scene (other than the reveal of the creature, obviously) is the quick build up. Everyone realizes that they're completely, hopelessly lost and the only option is to freak out. And freak out they do. The way (Sam? Beth? Rebecca? Not sure who it is.) desperately screams for help just before the camera zips over to reveal the creature just STANDING there is terrible. And those flippin' monsters. I remember watching this movie (not for the first time, mind you) with my family once. Every one of us jumped (big time) when we saw that monster standing there.
My hat is off to Neil Marshall. He knows how to scare us, and not just with monsters.
I think this is my favorite modern horror movie and you've described so many reasons why here. Besides the terror of the monsters, the confines and darkness of the space and the people are almost scarier. That scene when they are crawling through the narrow tunnel is horrifying.
ReplyDeleteJess - I would not blame you if this was your favorite modern horror. It's well made and creepy as shit. This movie could have no monsters at all and it would still be terrifying for me. The first scene where the tunnel falls/narrows is so scary. Thanks for reading!
DeleteThis is one of my favorite horror movies and these two scenes are easily my two favorites as well. The first scene is one of the most claustrophobic scenes ever filmed and the second scene is just a fantastic reveal. The movie is on-another-level good.
ReplyDeleteLindsay - Definitely one of my favorites as well. Kudos to these ladies because I don't think I could even film those tunnel scenes. The reveal of the creature is so intense. Thanks for commenting!
DeleteI had never heard of this horror film until I noticed bloggers chatting about it, and turned out to be the surprise package of my 2012 Halloween marathon.
ReplyDeleteIndeed claustrophobic, I felt I was trapped in that cave with them!
Chris - Glad you like the movie. Have you seen the sequel? It's so easy to get wrapped up in these claustrophobic scenes. Thanks for stopping by!
Delete@Robert: I read the sequel was rather poor, so I skipped that one.
ReplyDelete