The Descent

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The Descent

R

2006

1h 39m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

188 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

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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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

Bryce Hanson

Horror Movie Talk

This is a fantastic horror movie that hits a lot of different beats of horror. It deals out claustrophobia, dread, jump scares, interpersonal drama, all while passing the Bechdel test. A rare accomplishment in any horror film.

Rated: 10/10

Sep 23, 2025

Full Review

Akos Peterbencze

The Screen

In Neil Marshall’s 2005 horror masterpiece, darkness emerges as a living organism. It shifts and lurks and claws its way into our nerves, under our skin, and eventually, inside our heads.

Oct 31, 2024

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

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Taylor

The Descent scares from the first to last scene. Claustrophobic and nauseating in the best way.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/12/25

Full Review

James O

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.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/27/25

Full Review

Kyle K.

Well done. Intense from start to finish.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/21/25

Full Review

Mike V

Scream your last breath. The Descent is a 2005 British horror film written and directed by Neil Marshall 📿 Not bad, but not my favourite either 😐 Meh, it passed the time. Just. 😐 👍🏼👎🏼 After a personal tragedy, Sarah joins her friends on a caving expedition in the Appalachian Mountains. But when a rockfall traps them deep underground, their adventure turns into a nightmare. As they search for a way out, the group discovers they are not alone—lurking in the darkness are savage, cave-dwelling creatures. With rising tension and dwindling trust, the women must fight to survive against both the predators and each other.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/21/25

Full Review

Troy R

Still a great scary movie with a decent story. The all female cast is a unique take, as well as them not stumbling about being helpless (besides the few times they are). Movie is mostly realistic and creates good tension as the film progresses. Gore is also another positive in that it all looks real or intentionally over the top movie ridiculous. Funny enough even though this is not my first watch, the movie still felt new and some of the things I had completely forgotten. This time around I saw the UK ending, and while both are mostly the same it did leave the movie in a more final place than the US ending which was more ambiguous. Also having playing The Forest since my first viewing it was nice to see the connection between the film and the game.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/18/25

Full Review

Me

I'm not a climber but if I was I would never climb again in caves this one sort of traumatized me The second one is even I think a tad better

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/16/25

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

The Descent: Official Clip - Sudden Death

2:02

The Descent: Official Clip - Words of Warning

2:18

The Descent: Official Clip - The Creature Looks Human

2:46

The Descent: Official Clip - Blood Bath

2:28

The Descent: Official Clip - Holly's Death

2:10

The Descent: Official Clip - Fighting Back

2:13

The Descent: Official Clip - A Rock and a Hard Place

2:15

The Descent: Official Clip - If We Stay Here, We'll Die

2:01

The Descent: Official Clip - Juno's Descent

2:13

The Descent: Official Clip - The Killing Floor

2:08

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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
Producer: Christian Colson
Screenwriter: Neil Marshall
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Celador Productions, Lionsgate Television
Rating: R (Strong Violence and Gore|Language)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 4, 2006, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $26.0M
Runtime: 1h 39m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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