Thursday, January 04, 2007

The Descent


















WOW. Doing research for this little blog was quite interesting. There are a lot of reviews out there that are quite lengthy, well thought out, and very informative.

Not that you won't get some of that from me, but I am going to make a very concerted effort to keep these short and sweet. It will most likely be hard to keep these short, and be as informative as I'd like to be. But, hey, as much as I like to blog, I don't have that kind of time.

When it comes to movies, I am a very simple person. I do notice holes in plots, I easily pick up on sub-plots, and I think (in my opinion) I have a good feel for what is "good" and what is "bad." With that said, there're very few movies (and I can't think of any right now) that I've seen, where I thought I wasted my time. You might say I am easily entertained.

So, there's my little disclaimer that this will not be better than Rotten Tomatoes. Now that we have that out of the way, let's take a look at The Descent!

The Spoiler

One year after a tragic accident, six girlfriends meet in a remote part of the Appalachians for their annual caving trip. Deep below the surface of the earth, disaster strikes when a rock falls and blocks their route back to the surface. The girls soon learn that Juno, the thrill-seeking leader of the expedition, has brought them to an unexplored cave and that as a result no knows where they are to come rescue them. The group splinters and each push on, praying for another exit. But there is something else lurking under the earth - a race of monstrous humanoid creatures that are adapted perfectly to life in the dark. As the friends realize they are now prey, they are forced to unleash their most primal instincts in an all-out war against an unspeakable horror - one that attacks without warning, again and again and again.



The Experts Say

"Prepare to be scared senseless, and then, when you think you have it figured, your certainty will be shaken by scenes built to scare you even more."
--Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE

"Relentlessly intense from first frame to last, this is a movie for viewers who felt that Tarantino's Kill Bill needed more blood and that the torture scenes in Hostel were too toned down."
--Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.com

"The Descent doesn't need to exist: a script that goes beyond outlandish. Actors who'd flunk out of Make Believe 101. Blind creatures that see things. Did we mention continuity?"
--Stephan Williams, NEWSDAY

Here's Where They Are Saying It

Rotten Tomatoes - As always, a very thorough look at the movie. Is there really any need to do research elsewhere? Well, other than here of course! Very interesting back and forth going on in the comments section from two people with very different views of the movie.

IMDb - Fairly informative site. Not as thorough as Rotten Tomatoes. Not as entertaining as Baba Ganoush.

BBC Movies - Since this was a British movie, I wanted to include a British review. Not the best site. Any of you friendly Brits want to give me some advice on where to look for reviews in the future?

Expert Ratings

Rotten Tomatoes - 7.3/10 (Critics) and 7.7/10 (Users)

IMDb - 7.5/10

BBC Movies - 4 out of 5 Stars

Baba Ganoush Says

This movie was TERRIFYING! The Unrated version (which is what I watched) also boasts some of the most gruesome scenes I've ever seen in a movie. Honestly, just doing research for this post, specifically visiting the official Descent website, sent chills down my spine. I had to skip the intro. Maybe another strange little phobia, but I HAD to skip it (enough said).

Also, I am a tad claustrophobic, and found myself squirming in my seat as the characters squeezed through caverns. Unless you are the next Jeffrey Dahmer, you will slightly be bothered with parts of this movie.

If you like these kinds of movies, I would certainly recommend watching it. There are some very glaring flaws in the plot, and the end of the movie is TERRIBLE (in my opinion). With that said, if you're looking for a little shock (in my case, it was A LOT), this is your movie.

For me, Natalie Mendoza, stole the show. Her character in the movie (Juno) is a bad-ass. She quickly let us know that the girls were not going to just going to run around screaming and wait to meet their fate.

Baba Ganoush Rating

This was a good movie, which received A LOT of hype. In the immortal words of Chuck D., Don't Believe the Hype! The movie failed to live up to its billing for me. The plot insufficiency's were hard to over look. And the ending left a very, very bad taste in my mouth. For a shocker, though, it gets the job done.

6.5 out of 10.

I hope you all enjoy my little movie posts. I love TV and Movies, so this was fun to do.

Baba Ganoush, OUT!

19 comments:

Malnurtured Snay said...

I like the movie poster on the right because it looks like they're doing something freaky and sexual.

Angry Ballerina said...

Ewwwwness...............

Divian said...

Yep, this movie definitely holds the first place in gore and shock but I hate movies that leave my butt hanging at the end. Come on now, give me SOMETHING to go on! If I wanted to make up my own conclusions, heck, I'd write my own script!

ZZZZZZZ said...

I like the poster on the right cuz it looks like a skull. Anywho, my boyfriend just bought the unrated version but I haven't watched it yet. I'm looking forward to it after reading your review! Thanks for stopping by my blog Baba Ganoush!

Baba Ganoush said...

Snay - That's always a good thing.

AB - It wasn't that gruesome. Well, actually, it was.

Awaiting - I agree. Of all the things that I hate, it is not having closure. If you are going to make a sequel, fine. But, I have a feeling that there will not be one for this movie.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sheila - After you see it, let me know what you think. As many things as I find wrong with it, I still like the movie. In fact, I own it.

JLee said...

I saw this a while back, but do remember being somewhat disappointed. I thought they coulda toned down the gore a bit and went more for "scary", but some parts of it definitely creeped me out.

Angry Ballerina said...

While I don't plan on seeing this, I do want to know what happends in the end. Who gets eaten???????

Dan said...

Is it a comedy musical?

Baba Ganoush said...

JLee - There were a few times, I felt things got a little out of hand and the gore was just over the top.

I must be a wuss, because I was terrified during the movie!

AB - 4 of the 6 girls are eaten. We are led to believe a 5th girl is eaten. The movie ends with the 6th girl dreaming she escapes the cave, only to wake up and realize she is still there. Then the movie ends. Just like that.

Dan - Yes, starring the one and only, Angry Ballerina!

Webmiztris said...

haven't seen this one yet, but my expectations were only that it's going to be mediocre - and it sounds like that's exactly what it is.

Kristin said...

I haven't seen a scary/horror movie since the 9th grade when I went to one of the many Friday the 13th part bazillion and sat with my eyes closed and hands over my ears...

I am too much of a whimp.

Just the comercials scare me.

HeatherLynn said...

I'm kind of like Kristin....I don't ever intentionally set out to watch scary movies....but occasionally I do get roped into viewing one. Texas Chainsaw Massacre was the last truly disturbing one...before that I lost sleep over "Wrong Turn"....

I bet someone makes me watch this one too....I can't wait!! *smiles*

~hl~

Angry Ballerina said...

Thats so stupid! Humph.
Oh, I don't do nude scenes unless it's in my contract.

Baba Ganoush said...

Webmiztris - Yeah, unless you like these kind of movies, you will not miss much.

Kristin - I prefer to just look away when a scary part comes on. It avoids any awkward sudden movements by me (jumping out of my seat).

HL - Chainsaw freaked me out when that one person broke their finger nail trying to hold on to the wall. Wrong Turn was just freaky. It will keep me out of West Virginia though!

AM - Yeah, the ending was terrible! Everything is PG over here - don't you know!

Anonymous said...

I kicked my freaking coffee table during one scene of this movie. I liked it overall, but the ending did leave me wanting something different. But, I guess not every ending has to be happy...she didn't HAVE to escape, right?
Ramzi

Baba Ganoush said...

Ramzi - I think I made a few sudden movements of my own.

Unless they are going to give me a Descent II, I need closure in a move. Not sure if I would watch a sequel though.

I think Juno needs her own movie!

Anonymous said...

Juno definitely needs her own movie, and it needs to have a shower scene! Hot AND a badass. Nice!
I just took the ending that that last girl is dead, too. No way she's getting out of THAT. I guess it was just there to allow us to use our imagination on what happened to her...probably was nothing good. Overall, I liked it...a nice change up for horror in my opinion.
Ramzi

Anonymous said...

Thanks! I was trying to remember the name of this movie. I saw the previews on a movie I had rented from Netflix. This will go to the top of my queue. I'll be surprised if it scares me they never do but I'm now more curious than ever to check it out.

Baba Ganoush said...

Opal - Glad I could help jog your memory. Thanks for stopping by.

I'd be surprised if you didn't get scared at least 2 times.