The Descent

tourdeforce said:

Strongly recommended.

This is one of the creepiest films that I have seen in a very long time.

Shut off the lights, sit back and enjoy this terrifying thrill ride.

This is a lean and mean fight for survival story- short and simple its a group of climbers in a cave with creatures trying to kill them.

Horror done right.

Do yourself a favor and don't miss this one.

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I would argee with you on most of the movie being good, however I felt the end lacked any punch what-so-ever. I thought the baddies were clever, but not unique since you can read about the same ones in HG Wells, The Time Machine, only he had a name for them.

Overall, spooky, good build, but I thought the end fell flat.

Just my opinion though.

Outlaw said:

I would argee with you on most of the movie being good, however I felt the end lacked any punch what-so-ever. I thought the baddies were clever, but not unique since you can read about the same ones in HG Wells, The Time Machine, only he had a name for them.

Overall, spooky, good build, but I thought the end fell flat.

Just my opinion though.

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Which ending? The real ending or the Americanized one?

Jcomp said:

Which ending? The real ending or the Americanized one?

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Not sure, but since I'm in America, I suppose it was the American version. It sucked. I'd say what happened but I don't want to ruin it for anyone else.

Yes, the American ending sucks. Hard.

I haven't seen the British (real) ending, but go to Wikipedia and look the movie up. You can read about there.

Apparently the marketing people thought that it was "too nihilistic" for American audiences, who like happiness first and ambiguity next and sadness not at all.

I must be British, because I would have much rather seen the original ending.

But, I saw it in theaters and absolutely loved it...until the last frame. I'm definitely getting the DVD if it has the real ending on it; that would make the film a true classic.

Have yet to see the movie but I know the book, not the basis for the movie; I think, was awesome. Jeff Long is a good writer.

not necessarily. Anyone know if the dvd will have the original ending? I haven't seen it yet, but I likes the down endings.

Kevin Yarbrough said:

Have yet to see the movie but I know the book, not the basis for the movie; I think, was awesome. Jeff Long is a good writer.

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Agreed....though I was a bit dissappointed with the ending. He could have a three/four book series out of this if he hadn't ended it like he had. Kinda had me thinking about Journey to the Center of the Earth. Creepy, and cool.

Yup

jbal said:

not necessarily. Anyone know if the dvd will have the original ending? I haven't seen it yet, but I likes the down endings.

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The DVD has the original ending.

"Don't we all want someone to fight back and escape the carnage and/or killer?"

I always do. You know the strange thing is? The trailers for these movies effect me more than the actual movies. Case in point: The Hills Have Eyes. I watched the trailer and the thought that stuck with me for hours was: "Those poor poor people."

When I actually watched the movie, I was laughing at the hillarious ways the main charicter kills the mutants. Huh. I suppose it's all in the editing.

I too was disappointed in the movie's ending. I liked a lot about it, but...couldn't understand most of the English actors. I'm sure it's just me and that's why I make it a practice never to rent movies filmed across the pond. What happened at the end in the British version?

We watched this DVD yesterday. The end flat out sucked. And there were "problems" with it if you know anything about real "caving". I was sitting there thinking, 'well that's bullshit, it wouldn't be like that'... Also, it took too long to get started, I sat here bored shitless for the first 30-40 minutes.

All that aside, it eventually got going and had some good moments. I liked The Cave better.

Just saw it. I thought it was pretty good, but yeah, the ending sucked hard.

(small spoiler)

I think it would have been cool had the scene where she made it to the Ford Bronco not been a dream sequence. I would have put her cruising down the road frantically trying to dial 911 on a cell/satellite phone. And just as she's comin' round the corner alongside the edge of a cliff, one of those white monsters pops up from the backseat and cuts her throat open, thereby sending them through a guardrail and flipping down a cliff.

Big explosion. Fade to black. Roll credits.

Oh, c'mon! It's better than the ending we were given.

Kevin Yarbrough said:

Have yet to see the movie but I know the book, not the basis for the movie; I think, was awesome. Jeff Long is a good writer.

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The film wasn't based on that book.... different story entirely....

louisgodwin said:

I think it would have been cool had the scene where she made it to the Ford Bronco not been a dream sequence. I would have put her cruising down the road frantically trying to dial 911 on a cell/satellite phone. And just as she's comin' round the corner alongside the edge of a cliff, one of those white monsters pops up from the backseat and cuts her throat open, thereby sending them through a guardrail and flipping down a cliff.

Big explosion. Fade to black. Roll credits.

Oh, c'mon! It's better than the ending we were given.

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I saw the DVD yesterday, and this was what I was expecting would happen: I had forgotten this was a British movie, and the American horror flicks are damn predictable . But I was pleasantly surprised. The ending, with its mood of quiet despair, was much, much better than the one suggested above.

Nandu.

I was working on a 'people-stuck-in-a-cave-by-a-quake-and-the-only-way-out-is-down' script.

Then two (two!) of them came out last year.

Bastards.

I only saw the British ending, didn't even know they had a US one. I really liked the movie, though it wasn't the scariest thing I'd seen by a long way. So many horrors are crap these days, though, it really stands out.

I must've rented the Director's Cut, because I only saw the "British Ending." I loved this film, mostly because of the ending. Maybe I should watch more British horror films?

williemeikle said:

The film wasn't based on that book.... different story entirely....

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I had read that book (The Descent by Jeff Long) and knowing the storyline from the movie (before seeing it) I kept wondering how they had got from that plot to this plot so when I finally saw the movie I was so angry that they had very loosely borrowed the general concept of the demonic things living in the bowels of the earth and used the same title and made something completely different that I closed my mind off to any merits the movie might have had on its own. I also couldn't get past all the superbabes with british accents.

Carlene said:

I too was disappointed in the movie's ending. I liked a lot about it, but...couldn't understand most of the English actors. I'm sure it's just me and that's why I make it a practice never to rent movies filmed across the pond. What happened at the end in the British version?

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I remember a British film from a few years back that was subtitled for the US market - it was about a bunch of Geordies (Newcastle folk) who have a very recognisable accent and unusual dialect.

The BBC subtitled a documentary about Scottish fishermen a few years back due to the accents and dialect. Even people with the UK can't understand people from different regions sometimes!

WriterInChains said:

Maybe I should watch more British horror films?

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There's not been that many in recent years, but some of the stuff from the 1970s can be quite good - The Wicker Man, for one, and some of the stuff by Pete Walker (Frightmare, House of Whipcord)...

Then there's my own horror movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2pXJ8vYjn4

Flapdoodle said:

I remember a British film from a few years back that was subtitled for the US market. Even people with the UK can't understand people from different regions sometimes!

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I frequently will put the closed captions on when watching a movie with British actors, even Harry Potter! I'm from the American midwest by way of Appallachian heritage...bet some Brits wouldn't understand a word I say either!

Captain Howdy said:

I frequently will put the closed captions on when watching a movie with British actors, even Harry Potter! I'm from the American midwest by way of Appallachian heritage...bet some Brits wouldn't understand a word I say either!

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I have noticed a lot of British actors in US shows, but they tend to speak with a neutral accent... Or a US one (I think one of the leads in the new Battlestar Galactica is actually British.)

Never had a problem with understanding US actors in movies or TV... The main problem is understanding the different words.

I remember visiting the US when I was a kid and giggling madly when someone referred to a someone's fanny!

I was just reading through the story line on part two, De2cent. It sounds like it might top the first. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/11545