|
Post by Bone Daddy on Aug 26, 2006 10:39:09 GMT -5
PLOT IN A NUTSHELL: A group of girls seek adventure on a caving expedition. Deep inside underground caves they find themselves cut off from the world and off the map. Battling to get back to the surface they realize that they are being hunted by an unknown cannibalistic force. Now they must pull together and fight for their very survival. The Descent made it US theatrical debut almost 2 years after its initial UK release. I happened to come across a ..ahhh..errrr..uhhhh.. ‘unofficial copy’ of said film. The quality was damn good, so I don’t know if it was a copy of the UK DVD or what. Ok, enough of the shadowy technical mumb-jumbo! This is a first rate thriller. If you are in any way, shape or form claustrophobic or apprehensive about the dark, then skip this and rent Mary Poppins. The ensemble cast is good, although, you never get past the surface of most of the characters, except Sara, who has the most development, albeit a dark, tragic kind. And, in keeping with minor nits, its sometimes hard to know who is who when the action gets going deep inside the twisting cavern. The locales are appropriately dark, tight and creepy. It has been a while since I so viscerally reacted to a horror film. I felt my breath catch a few times as the characters scrambled around in what amounts to a gigantic stone crypt! The blood gushing factor is not wasted here and there is plenty of throat ripping, rock-climbing implement impaling and primitive savagery that should satisfy the blood lust in the average gore-hound. The creatures that slither and climb and graphically harass the women are suitably slimy and bat-like blood and guts munchers. Overall, a solid genre entry and……. *****Potential Spoiler******* The ending is a bit gimmicky, uplifting and then downbeat. Will do for spelunking what Jaws did for swimming in the ocean.
|
|
Canetoad
The Prodigal Toad
HMaM member of the Month, July 2006
Cry Havoc! And let slip the cats of war.
Posts: 2,868
|
Post by Canetoad on Aug 26, 2006 18:21:11 GMT -5
I am sooo looking forward to this one. Thanks BD. I have a loan copy of a UK disc that so far I have been able to resist watching (just) as it opens in cinemas here in a week or two.
|
|
Conan
DWI/Evil Dead Moderator
Pennywise
Posts: 6,432
|
Post by Conan on Aug 26, 2006 20:47:44 GMT -5
I want to watch this movie too, but I seen a clip of it on IFC and it was pretty lame.
|
|
|
Post by CT on Aug 26, 2006 20:51:33 GMT -5
I have a loan copy of a UK disc that so far I have been able to resist watching (just) as it opens in cinemas here in a week or two. Go on...
|
|
Canetoad
The Prodigal Toad
HMaM member of the Month, July 2006
Cry Havoc! And let slip the cats of war.
Posts: 2,868
|
Post by Canetoad on Aug 26, 2006 21:14:16 GMT -5
Get thee behind me Phantom.
|
|
|
Post by speeddemon on Aug 29, 2006 8:08:28 GMT -5
is the australian release going to be the original version , or the altered version like the U.S is getting.?
from eatmybrains.com........
Seems that Lionsgate, the US distributors of Neil Marshall's smash UK hit of 2005 The Descent, have taken a bit of artistic licence with the film and slapped in an alternative ending in advance of this autumn's upcoming US release. However, rest slightly easier in the knowledge that this change has apparently had the wholehearted blessing and involvement of Neil Marshall himself. Lionsgate president of production Peter Block recently spoke to Fangoria who explained that they had offered Neil Marshall the chance to tinker with the ending. "“When Neil wrote the script for The Descent, even he wasn’t sure where he wanted to end the movie, because there are two very emotional beats [that close the film]. He [originally] ended it in a way that gives it an intellectual and downbeat approach, but he always wondered how it would play with an ending that had a different impact. Neil thought it would be cool to see how the other way would play; rarely does a director get this chance. If you add on a scene, it feels like you’re giving a film something extra; if you cut a little bit earlier, it’s not necessarily taking away from the experience, it’s just changing it slightly.” So, sounds to us (without giving too much away) that they've now dropped the last shot in favour of a far happier and more palatable ending. Shame, but at least more discerning US audiences will still be able to see the original UK version on the 2-disc Amercian DVD when it is released.
|
|
Canetoad
The Prodigal Toad
HMaM member of the Month, July 2006
Cry Havoc! And let slip the cats of war.
Posts: 2,868
|
Post by Canetoad on Aug 29, 2006 18:28:06 GMT -5
Not sure speedy... we often get a lot of UK prints of films before the US (mother country and all that rot), so it could be the original.
|
|
|
Post by CT on Aug 31, 2006 2:39:28 GMT -5
UK ending = brilliant! US ending = crap!
|
|
Canetoad
The Prodigal Toad
HMaM member of the Month, July 2006
Cry Havoc! And let slip the cats of war.
Posts: 2,868
|
Post by Canetoad on Aug 31, 2006 4:34:36 GMT -5
Do you know which ending we are getting cinematically Mr P? I was going to post your discs back tomorrow with a selection of new stuff I've accumulated, but if we are going to get the Hollywood ending I'll hang on to 'em for another couple of days and crack and watch your disc instead of waiting.
|
|
|
Post by Bone Daddy on Aug 31, 2006 12:47:45 GMT -5
I though the UK ending was the more upbeat and the US was downbeat? Hmmmm. My review was not based on the theatrical US version. I thought it was, but know I'm confused.
|
|
HNT
Grizzled HMaM Vet
Horror in General & Everything Else Moderator[/i]
Kiss my tuchis
Posts: 6,296
|
Post by HNT on Apr 4, 2007 9:16:46 GMT -5
I think I saw the US ending version. It didn't seem very upbeat to me. I have to say that this one really caught me by surprise and was way scarier than I would've thought
|
|
Canetoad
The Prodigal Toad
HMaM member of the Month, July 2006
Cry Havoc! And let slip the cats of war.
Posts: 2,868
|
Post by Canetoad on Apr 7, 2007 6:07:05 GMT -5
I loved the flick. Toads are not claustrophobic, but gawd it as nice to get out of the cinema into the open air. Mrs T demanded i take for a stiff Bundy afterwards.
|
|
HNT
Grizzled HMaM Vet
Horror in General & Everything Else Moderator[/i]
Kiss my tuchis
Posts: 6,296
|
Post by HNT on Apr 9, 2007 12:26:57 GMT -5
Yeah, this flick was loads of fun. The only mino criticism is that with that many beautiful women in it a bit of nudity would have done quite nicely, lol. In all seriousness though this is a very high quality offering
|
|
Canetoad
The Prodigal Toad
HMaM member of the Month, July 2006
Cry Havoc! And let slip the cats of war.
Posts: 2,868
|
Post by Canetoad on Apr 10, 2007 2:29:21 GMT -5
Mmmmm... nudity... that would be exploitative and gratuitous HNT.... toads would never watch such filth.
|
|
HNT
Grizzled HMaM Vet
Horror in General & Everything Else Moderator[/i]
Kiss my tuchis
Posts: 6,296
|
Post by HNT on Apr 10, 2007 16:03:27 GMT -5
I don't see how it wold have been gratuitous.
I mean why couldn't they be crawling through a narrow cave and all get their shirts caught on the same rock and their breasts pop out. Then they get some baby oil and have a couple of massages. I'm sure that happens all the time and I can't possibly imagine what would be exploitatie about that.
|
|