Now I Hate Caves Even More
Me, my dad and sister, and my regular partner in crime all headed to the Danville cineplex tonight for the 7:35 showing of the British horror flick The Descent tonight, and it was an experience.
The story centers around six women as they explore an uncharted cave in the North Carolina mountains. And as they get deeper and deeper into their surroundings, things get a wee bit more hairy as they run into a bunch of hideous bloodthirsty chuds that live in the subterranean depths of the cave. The plot is very, very similar to The Cave, but The Descent does it better.
The outdoor scenes before the spelunkers enter the cave look like the colors have been washed out, seemingly beset upon by a grey/white haze that gives these scenes an eerie dreamlike quality. On the other hand, the scenes in the cave are lit either by flashlights or green and orange chemical sticks, or by the occasional night-vision thanks to the viewfinder of one character's camcorder. The lighting (or lack thereof) not only makes it easier for things to pop out of the darkness, but when used in collaboration with the tight sets, it makes the atmosphere much more terrifying.
The acting is also well done; the roles are very physical, and the actresses (or in certain cases, their stunt doubles) are up to task. Though they are concealed in darkness or harsh lighting most of the time, the makeup effects on the creatures are very good, and other effects (like one cave explorer's fractured leg in the beginning of the movie) are quite effective in their graphicness. (Is "graphicness" a word? If it isn't, it is now.)
Online reviewer James Berardinelli wrote, "The Descent isn't perfect, but it does a lot of things right." I'm inclined to agree with that statement. It's one of the best horror movies I've seen in a while, and further reinforces my opinion that Eurasian horror is on a level beyond that of American horror. And it scared the living daylights out of poor ol' claustrophobic me. For that, The Descent receives a four out of five on the Sutton Scale.
There was only one real negative I had with the whole thing, and that was these 13-year-old teeny bopper dorks that wouldn't shut up. Now I'll admit to talking during a movie, but unless I'm by myself in the theater, I'll whisper to whoever I'm with out of respect for everyone else trying to enjoy the movie. Whispering never distracted anybody before. But no, these morons had to talk and giggle and pretty much be a bunch of annoying little turds. I don't like having to yell, "hey, shut up over there," in a crowded theater, but sometimes it's needed.
Was I ever that annoying when I was that young? I hope not, otherwise I'll have to go back in time and smack my younger self around a little bit.
The story centers around six women as they explore an uncharted cave in the North Carolina mountains. And as they get deeper and deeper into their surroundings, things get a wee bit more hairy as they run into a bunch of hideous bloodthirsty chuds that live in the subterranean depths of the cave. The plot is very, very similar to The Cave, but The Descent does it better.
The outdoor scenes before the spelunkers enter the cave look like the colors have been washed out, seemingly beset upon by a grey/white haze that gives these scenes an eerie dreamlike quality. On the other hand, the scenes in the cave are lit either by flashlights or green and orange chemical sticks, or by the occasional night-vision thanks to the viewfinder of one character's camcorder. The lighting (or lack thereof) not only makes it easier for things to pop out of the darkness, but when used in collaboration with the tight sets, it makes the atmosphere much more terrifying.
The acting is also well done; the roles are very physical, and the actresses (or in certain cases, their stunt doubles) are up to task. Though they are concealed in darkness or harsh lighting most of the time, the makeup effects on the creatures are very good, and other effects (like one cave explorer's fractured leg in the beginning of the movie) are quite effective in their graphicness. (Is "graphicness" a word? If it isn't, it is now.)
Online reviewer James Berardinelli wrote, "The Descent isn't perfect, but it does a lot of things right." I'm inclined to agree with that statement. It's one of the best horror movies I've seen in a while, and further reinforces my opinion that Eurasian horror is on a level beyond that of American horror. And it scared the living daylights out of poor ol' claustrophobic me. For that, The Descent receives a four out of five on the Sutton Scale.
There was only one real negative I had with the whole thing, and that was these 13-year-old teeny bopper dorks that wouldn't shut up. Now I'll admit to talking during a movie, but unless I'm by myself in the theater, I'll whisper to whoever I'm with out of respect for everyone else trying to enjoy the movie. Whispering never distracted anybody before. But no, these morons had to talk and giggle and pretty much be a bunch of annoying little turds. I don't like having to yell, "hey, shut up over there," in a crowded theater, but sometimes it's needed.
Was I ever that annoying when I was that young? I hope not, otherwise I'll have to go back in time and smack my younger self around a little bit.
posted by Matt Sutton at
10:43 PM
1 Comments:
Sounds good. I might have to go check this baby out.
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