The Descent

Les personnages et les conflits entre eux ne sont pas grand-chose, mais la ligne d'horreur est excellente. Neil Marshall se déplace habilement dans un environnement restreint, en tirant parti de l'atmosphère dense de l'isolement et ouvrant de nouvelles portes toutes les dix minutes. Les pièges sont parfaits, les "méchants" effrayants et répugnants, et leur prise de vue rapide est impressionnante. Et les poses d'action finales sont moins gênantes que vous ne le pensez. Plus quelques clins d'œil agréables aux amateurs d'horreur (musique de The Thing, les doigts dans les yeux de The Evil Dead...). Un film de genre au-dessus de la moyenne, créé à partir d'un scénario moyen et un grand pas en avant pour le réalisateur après Dog Soldiers. (12/02/2006)

Je me suis ennuyé comme un rat mort pendant la première moitié. Ça s’est légèrement amélioré dans la deuxième partie grâce à l’apparition de créatures mutantes, mais mon impression générale reste malgré tout assez mauvaise. Et pour couronner le tout, le final était confus. Un « divertissement » qui me dissuade de regarder Doomsday. (04/06/2008)

Neil Marshall (watch out for that name in the future!) has undergone some mysterious reinvention and after the lackluster, if not bad Dog Soldiers. He has made a little genre treat, for the enjoyment of horror fans and for the sweating of claustrophobics. In the first half he builds up the tension with precision, with the help of great likeable and unknown actresses, thanks mostly to unpleasant claustrophobic feelings and the suspicion of something bad, and the second half turns into an uncompromising bloody carnage. Already in some scenes in Dog Soldiers, Marshall showed that he knows how to do jump scares, but here he developed this ability into complete perfection – there were a couple of times where I really had a heart attack. Yet the final impression is not perfect. There are a few fatal logical lapses, such as the fact that the blind cave creatures don't react to heat at all, even when they pass within inches of a burning torch. Also, the transformation of one of the heroines into some kind of terminator with a specialty in axe fighting is not very believable, and the trampling of the viewer catharsis in the final few seconds is almost a slap in the face. Still, I recommend it to horror fans and be warned, it is an absolute must to see this film in total darkness or you will get nothing out of it. (01/04/2006)

The simple premise incorporated into a meandering screenplay was used quite flexibly by director Neil Marshall to his advantage. Today, creating a well-blended mix of latex creatures, atmospheric emotions, and captivating soundscapes is almost impossible. What initially appears as a hopeless survival for the group of heroines brings something in the second half that perfectly glues you to your seat. I have no objections to the director's creativity until the end, which not only begins to rely on an overly "polished" plot but also pushes the lack of credibility of the characters to an unbearable extent. Indeed, the position in which the heroines are introduced at the beginning certainly does not correspond to the ending, where one of them stands majestically astride one of their "prey." Because of that, and also due to the contrived psychology, which is more detrimental and creates an unsightly mess among the relationships of the characters, I will refrain from giving it the highest rating. And I'm supposed to climb a mountain after this? (17/10/2005)

The best horror film of 2005. After an average werewolf flick, Neil Marshall took a step back and created a perfect combination of atmospheric tension and bloody carnage. If you want to see the monsters in person, I recommend a visit to the Rieseneishöhle cave in the Dachstein massif near Hallstatt, in Austria. On the walls of one of the chambers there’s a projection of one of those “Gollums” and it’s bloody realistic. (05/04/2007)