The Descent, for me, had done quite well on its purpose - to scare the bloody hell out of some weak-hearted audience, to satisfy blood-hungry, feast-craving, horror-licking dimwits, and most of all, bludgeoning other horror flicks that this is the real throwback to good 'ol horror movie days. I had enjoyed the film, it was a guilty pleasure, even though I thought that sometimes the film becomes a bit nonsensical. The story was alright - I mean, since when did horror stories became so tremendously affecting that it could have the possibility to change you perspective in life? Or perhaps make you into a better and more courageous person, just like the protagonists of horror movies who suddenly become dauntless.
It follows the story of six ladies who went into cave hunting, without knowing that one of them kept a secret that the cave they were about to go into was still undiscovered, with the prospect of discovering it for themselves. Giving it a name, become part of history. But there are elements surrounding the story too, like adultery and vengeance. A wife, whose husband and kid died due to a sudden car crash, finds out when they were inside the cave and dealing with horrible, unimaginable monsters, that her friend was her late husband's mistress. Somewhere between their struggle, they all find truths in the darkest of sight (caves are pitch-black), and that's what makes The Descent very human.
As they venture into the cave, there exists not only darkness, but also their deepest fears, which would trouble them, and haunt them without instances. They would battle claustrophobia, panic, and not only the darkness, but also their inner devils. And then there's the gruesome images, the human-like monsters living deep within the caves forbidden by any light, disabled with sight yet very able with the four remaining senses. They had unearthed that there is another kind of species which had evolved underneath, and in my thinking, ancient people who were locked up in the caves some millenia before and then evolved to exist in the dark, cannibals, adapting the environment most fishes and reptiles had grown to live.
The most unsual thing in The Descent was that it didn't feature any male being, but rather focused on the woman's behaviours under such circumstances. Also, I appreciated the film's gore. Yeah, it's all muck, grime and blood here, but the savagery astoundingly reflects on humans, especially the major instinct of survival and that humans, without the rational thinking, or the conscious part (quote that to Sigmund Freud), the id would suffice and overcome the brain, which makes humans irrational, impulsive and savage to the deepest core. The Descent pursued this very well.
Neil Marshall, having been directed quite a few horror films like Dog Soldiers, gave us a stunning horror film. It's a knock-out. I say, hell, it's not a corny horror flick because once you play it on your DVD, you turn off the lights and sit back on your couch, it doesn't play tricks on you like most horror movies do, but instead gives you the raw kind of horror - the ironies of human survival and human savagery. Cinematography is brilliant, and the lighting was effective, would make you believe you're in some dreary cave. Oh, by the way, this reminds me of the former film with the same theme, The Cave, but forget the latter because The Descent is way much better.

Rating: B+