The Descent: Part 2

As this is a review of a sequel, there will obviously be information that will spoil the first film for anybody who hasn't seen it, and it is a film you should definitely see. Please watch The Descent before reading this review and watching this sequel.

Deep in the Appalachian Mountains, a man is driving his truck when he stops to allow a deer to cross the road when the beaten and bloodied Sarah, the only survivor of a group of six friends who went caving, who bangs on his window and collapses. When questioned at hospital, it transpires that she has absolutely no memory of what has happened over the past few days and doesn't know that her five friends are missing, presumed dead.

A rescue operation is under way as Juno, one of the missing women, is a senator's niece and there is some urgency to find the six women. When a call comes in that Sarah has been found, the man heading the operation asks that it be kept very low key and that only those immediately involved be privy to the information. The small rescue team are all exhausted but move to the new location at a mine shaft and take the elevator deep underground where they can move into the cave system that was being explored when the crawlers appeared.

It isn't long before bad things happen and the rescue group, including two law-enforcement officials with almost no cave diving experience, realise that this is no ordinary cave. Sheriff Vaines stubbornly refuses to leave his gun at the surface despite warnings that discharging a firearm underground is one of the last things you want to do. The Sheriff is also extremely sceptical about Sarah's amnesia, believing her at least part responsible for the women's disappearance but his scepticism will soon be swept aside when the group encounter the dreaded crawlers. When they stumble on some discarded climbing gear and a camcorder, they are able to see what the first group recorded, who was there and what they were up against.


This sequel is directed by Jon Harris, who edited the first film, and I assumed, given how this film begins, that it was driven by the American market. We start shortly after Sarah has escaped from the cave, which is how the American cut finished, whereas, the British version finished when Sarah escaped from the cave only to reveal that that escape was a figment of the imagination and she is still underground, lost in her own psychosis and happy with her (deceased) daughter. I was wrong and Harris reveals in the commentary that this follows directly from the end of the British version and that he hasn't even seen the American cut, but that still doesn't ring true to me. I can't reconcile the ending of the British version and the beginning of this film.

The Descent was one of the finest horror movies of 2005 and one of the best films of the year, making the Sight & Sound list of the best five films of the year. It also really brought director Neil Marshall into the mainstream after his previous film, the little seen Dog Soldiers, was a hit among genre fans but did not break into the mainstream. The Descent was a different affair with a much bigger theatrical run that really helped Marshall's career.


Putting all this aside, the question is 'how good is The Descent: Part 2 on its own merits?' The answer is that it's a decent film with a reasonable amount of tension, atmosphere and well delivered shocks. It isn't in their same class as the first film which built on the tensions within the group to create a terrible level of claustrophobia so when the jumps come, the level of horror is already high. Part 2 is more predictable and you can almost guess when the crawlers will make an appearance making it less effective in scaring you than the first film. Harris does a neat job of separating the group out through rockfalls and people becoming lost in the darkness, so that when the crawlers emerge from the gloom, they don't appear to everyone at once.

The Descent: Part 2 is an effective and scary film that suffers by its association with Neil Marshall's masterpiece and is clearly an inferior film but this doesn't prevent it from being a well constructed and effective shocker.

The Disc

Extra Features
The audio commentary with Jon Harris, Shauna McDonald, Kristen Cummings and Anna Skellern is a jovial and interesting affair but sometimes the women don't know when to shut up and keep talking over Jon Harris, preventing him from regaling us with his full anecdotes. He somehow manages to keep his cool and remembers where he was in his stories before he was so rudely interrupted and talks well about the shoot, casting and the effects.

The making of featurette is a decent watch, running at about 25 minutes and covers most aspects of the shoot. It isn't the most in-depth or comprehensive piece you will ever see, but it is a good watch and does shed some light on how the film was made.

The rest of the supplementary material includes deleted scenes with optional commentary by Harris, none of which really cry out for reinsertion for a director's cut, some storyboard galleries a production design gallery and the theatrical trailer.

In all, this isn't the best set of bonus features you'll ever see but it is a better than reasonable selection and all of the special features are worth a look.


The Picture
The Descent: Part 2 is, like the first movie, a very dark film that requires extreme clarity so that you can derive the most from the underground sequences where every little detail is of the utmost importance. It is therefore pleasing that the contrast levels are so good. The blacks aren't inky as they would be on a high-definition transfer and the Blu-ray will presumably have a much better picture. That said, this is a very good picture and the design of the crawlers is as good as it was the first film and really helps in the atmosphere, jumps and to make it as effective a horror is possible.

Just as with The Descent, there is a high level of gore and violence which are very well done, especially the scene where someone repeatedly hacks at someone's wrist with a pick!

The Sound
The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track is very good, with the surrounds used extremely well, filling the room with the clicking from the crawlers to really up the tension and make sure the jumps are as effective as possible.


Final Thoughts
I considered The Descent to be one of the finest horrors of the last decade so to make a sequel is really a lose-lose situation. It will never be as good as the original and will always be judged against that film.

Taking this sequel and judging it on its own merits, it is a good film, nothing special and certainly nothing that will be considered one of the best films of the year. I don't know if I would have considered it any differently if it wasn't a sequel and didn't have to constantly compare it to such a masterpiece of modern horror. It is a film that I thought didn't need to be made but, now that it has been, it is worth watching and the package is reasonably good.

You really need to have seen The Descent to get anything out of this as there is a major plot development that relies on a working knowledge of the first film for it to have any impact. Fans of the original film who are curious about this will be pleased to know it's not terrible and is worth a watch.