Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Is there anybody there!



Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.


Well since I am on the subject of the best horror films I might as well cover my other favorite horror film of all time...the Descent.

The Descent is a british horror film by director Neil Marshall who later went on to direct Doomsday and Centurion. Marshall has a way with horror movies as in he doesnt follow the usual film conventions set out in horror movies. Usually in horror movies everybody except one person is a complete idiot who runs and gets themselves killed. And usually that person is a man or a really mentally unstable woman. Well thats not really the case here. In the Descent it focuses on six women and six women only. This offers great character development and a genuine connection to the characters that you do not see in other horror films usually. Even Dawn of the Dead has troubles with character issues, only focusing on a small group. Descent however feels very close knit.

And that brings me to the second thing I love about this film: the lighting and atmosphere. Everything in this movie is so black and dark. It really feels like you are inside the cave with them. All the light in the movie is natural light from either flashlights or flares or from the video cameras night vision. It gives a sense of the unknown and claustraphobia. Like there is so much and so little in the caves. And thats whats great about this film is that it doesnt rely on a villain or a creature (although there are the creatures-called crawlers) but more on the psychological fears and the paranoia that you see in the film. And you feel it right along with them.

But atmosphere, lighting, great directing and a gripping story cant save a film if it has bad acting. Luckily all six women are very unique in this movie and very diversified. They all are there own women and all six of the actresses really stay true to their character and develop and grow in the movie. Its a phenominal acting job considering the camera is mostly focused on them since all there is is darkness around them.

In terms of scares there are plenty. If you want to be scared during a movie, I mean seriously uncomfortable and nervous then this is the movie. I always consider this and the Exorcist to be the scariest movies I have ever seen. Like seriously cold sweat inducing sleep with the lights on scary.

So if you need Halloween viewing for this Halloween pick up The Descent and Dawn of the Dead for good ones and then I reccomend watching the Halloween series (despite most of them being lackluster) just because it fits the season.

MY VERDICT: TOP 20

2 comments:

  1. One of the most disturbing scenes for me was when one of the characters was going though an incredibly tight and narrow section of the cave and got stuck. The director was able to portray the panic of claustrophobia exeptionally well and made me squirm in my seat. But was this really scarier to you than others? Say "30 Days of Night"? Yes, The Exorcist rules.

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  2. Oh, and check out 'In Voluptas Mors' by Dali, which you may already indeed be familiar with.

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