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Created Mar 18, 2008 01:15PM PST • Edited Mar 18, 2008 01:15PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Perfect 5.0

   A perfect horror film and one of the best horror films of the last ten years. The story isn’t the most original but it definitely handles the terror with a wicked sensibility that makes it feel completely fresh and new. Neil Marshall does a tremendous job with the direction, making a low budget scary movie feel like cost far more than it did. the actresses took to their respective roles quite well as well. This is a perfect way to spend an evening and a surefire choice if you’re in for a good fright film. a guaranteed future horror classic.

4. Acting

   Really Great 4.5

   This may be one of only examples of an all-female horror cast! Shauna McDonald handles her role very well As Sarah, Natalie Mendoza is great as Juno, Alex Reid is good as Beth, Saskia Mulder is cast well as Rebecca, while Myanna Buring plays Sam and Nora-Jane Boone plays Holly. A very gifted small principle cast of women highlighted by a couple of other well cast bit parts for the beginning and end.

5. Male Stars Really Great 4.5

   There are no male stars of this movie! There is a small male role in the very beginning and the bulk of the “creatures” are also played by males. By that respect I would say that the creatures are very frightening and original and so I’ll give it a 4.5 based on the fact that the role only required a good scare and it delivered.

6. Female Stars Perfect 5.0

   The entire cast is female stars, with Shauns McDonald and Natalie Mendoza being two of the more developed for the film. The characters of Sarah and Juno are definitely the two you find yourself rooting for the most in the film, and when you see them survive another scenario you find yourself anxious to see how they pull off the next one, if they even do. Often horror doesn’t involve such strong and fully realized characters but in this film, you believe and feel for the cast.

7. Female Costars Perfect 5.0

   It’s hard to say who the female costars are, but if the rest ofthe female is the costars, then with that I would say that they have earned as many accolades for their ability to turn horror characters into real people. Saski Mulder, MyAnna Buring, Alex Reid, and Nora-Jane Boone round out the cast and do a fantastic job of making you feel for the predicaments that they face.

8. Male Costars Really Great 4.5

   As mentioned above, the only real male stars are either the bit part at the beginning or the beasts, and for that this is the same score as the male stars category above.

10. Film

    Really Great 4.5

    Neil Marshall has become one of the most dependable directors for horror in only two films. the Descent is a rollercoaster ride of thrills. The direction in tight places is amazing and claustrophobic at the same time, really giving you a feel for the suspense. The actors are great, the cinematography is fantastic…everything in this film is perfect for the horror genre. To create a fantastic horror film is no easy feat, and The Descent is a fantastic horror film.

11. Direction Perfect 5.0

    Neil MArshall crafted a superb film that delves into many fears. Claustrophobia, the dark, isolation, injury, and then when you think nothing else can go wrong, the unknown occurs. There is nothing scarier than the unknown and when you combine the other elements with what you couldn;’t possibly understand, the results are truly terrifying. Rumor has it that the reveal of the beasts was not known to the actors until the day of shooting the respective scenes, thereby making the scenes of terror on the faces absolutely real. Well done.

12. Play Really Great 4.5

    Horror movies are supposed to have clunky dialogue, and in some places this is no exception. The truth of the matter is still that this is a more realistically written movie than a lot of others, with real circumstances occuring and the characters coming across as very real and fully dimensional. This isn’t your typical hollywood horror tripe…this is better.

13. Music Really Great 4.5

    My perfect idea of music is if it accentuates the scene. the music in The Descent accentuats the scene absolutely perfectly, making every suspenseful moment burst through like any good horror movies needs to if it intends to be considered a hororr film in this day and age. There are no especially memorable moments in the score, but it is well done.

14. Visuals Perfect 5.0

    Marshall and his team know a thing or two about creating fantastic visuals and this is no exception. The creatures are definitely original and frightening, while the gore effects are something to behold. Special kudos to the maeup FX crew for this film, they have truly outdone themselves.

15. Content

16. Edge

    Horrid 3.6

    This isa horror movie, it’s gotta be a little bit rude! There are numerous cries that involve curse words and other forms of derogatory language, massive amounts of violence that lead to very gruesome deaths and other suspenseful moments that many people may or may not be able to handle. There is very little sex save for some language, but the reason this movie earns its label of crude is for the violence…this movie does not shy away from the red stuff at all.

17. Sex Titillating 2.0

18. Violence Monstrous 4.8

19. Rudeness Nasty 4.1

21. Reality

    Supernatural 3.2

    The reality of this goes back and forth. People go cave dwelling al of the time, and in fact it is a known fact that people can become trapped..it does happen. The more supernatural elements of this are derived from what happens about halfway into the movie…namely the creatures that live in the caves. While this is a neat idea, it is a departure from reality. The physical elements are very realistic though, with the death and mayhem being slightly surreal but for the most part very real in its portrayal. All in all, this is a supernatural film with a lot of realism surrounding it, perfect for a good, scary time.

22. Circumstantial Supernatural 3.7

23. Biological Supernatural 3.1

24. Physical Surreal 2.9