The Descent

R

Released Aug 4, 2006

1 hr. 39 min.

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

List

87%

189 Reviews

Tomatometer

76%

100,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

A year after a severe emotional trauma, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) goes to North Carolina to spend some time exploring caves with her friends; after descending underground, the women find strange cave paintings and evidence of an earlier expedition, then learn they are not alone: Underground predators inhabit the crevasses, and they have a taste for human flesh.

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Critics Consensus

Deft direction and strong performances from its all-female cast guide The Descent, a riveting, claustrophobic horror film.

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Regina P

I did like it... but I was expecting more about the creatures. I wanted to know if they were humans who adapted to living there and if the characters would find clues about how the creatures began living down there. Then I figured one of the characters would be spared and become one of the cave dwellers. Then the ending was just so cookie-cutter. It was still entertaining to me, but it could have increased the eerie factor by so much more.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/24/24

Full Review

Hargie M

it was the setting itself that truly captured my imagination. The claustrophobic confines of the cave seemed to close in around me, every narrow passage and jagged rock formation serving as a reminder of my own vulnerability. And when the creatures emerged from the shadows, their primal ferocity sent chills racing down my spine.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/21/24

Full Review

Petar

this movie sucks ass, worst movie ever

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/16/24

Full Review

Alec C

Prepare for terror from the deepest depths of the earth! A group of cave spelunkers travel through an unknown cave system that seems to be uninhabited, only to find themselves in the den of some nasty cave dwellers who are out for blood. Bloody, visceral and with a constant sense of claustrophobia, we watch as these unfortunate explorers try to escape from the cavern of chaos!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/12/24

Full Review

RayLime T

I have never been so scared watching a horror movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/10/24

Full Review

Tyler c

I was thoroughly suprised and impressed by this movie. The all female cast put on a great and complelling performance. And the ending absolutely stunned me and caught me off guard "extended cut or non US version". All and all was great 8/10

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/24

Full Review

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Neil Marshall

Director

Shauna Macdonald

Sarah

Natalie Mendoza

Juno

Alex Reid

Beth

Saskia Mulder

Rebecca

Nora Jane Noone

Holly

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Alyx Vesey

Bitch Media

While I think we should question the authority of the ubiquitous male writer-director to shape horror productions, I think Marshall does a good job representing his female characters.

Jan 7, 2021

Full Review

Sarah Lilleyman

TIME Magazine

Marshall could very well be the Caravaggio of the B-movie.

Oct 15, 2008

Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

This intermittently effective UK horror thriller carefully establishes the psychological relationships among the women, then squanders this calibrated and generally plausible setup with a series of crude, implausible, and scattershot horror effects.

Sep 24, 2007

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

... a film stripped to bloody basics, a ferocious and taut exercise in action horror that recalls early James Cameron, with more gore and less sentimentality.

Aug 19, 2023

Full Review

Stephanie Archer

Film Inquiry

The Descent falls into a long line of horrors preying on the visceral fears of audiences, cleverly bringing these terrors to the surface in a film that is at times hard to watch and experience.

Jul 29, 2023

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Writer and director Neil Marshall brushes with several unique strokes in crafting a film that bucks many of the genre’s trends while never running away from what makes the genre great.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 20, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

A year after a severe emotional trauma, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) goes to North Carolina to spend some time exploring caves with her friends; after descending underground, the women find strange cave paintings and evidence of an earlier expedition, then learn they are not alone: Underground predators inhabit the crevasses, and they have a taste for human flesh.

Director: Neil Marshall
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
Screenwriter: Neil Marshall
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Celador Productions
Rating: R (Strong Violence and Gore|Language)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 4, 2006, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $26.0M
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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