The Descent: Part 2

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The Descent: Part 2

August 3rd 2010 02:49

If there’s one movie that did not warrant a sequel, it’s Neil Marshall’s masterful nightmare The Descent (2005), one of my favourite horrors of the past twenty years. But following its huge box office success, in particular the US version (which featured an alternate "upbeat" open-ending), producers decided a sequel would be a sure-fire hit. Marshall remained in an executive producer capacity, and Jon Harris, the editor of both movies, took up the directing duties. J. Blakeson, the writer/director of the excellent The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009), and James McCarthy were brought on board as screenwriters, with James Watkin, writer/director of the very good Eden Lake (2008) working on it as well.

Shauna MacDonald as Sarah

Well, they botched the screenplay up real nice. But it’s not just the lame screenplay that makes this movie so mediocre; it’s the overall cheap look of the movie, the less-than-impressive performances, and the stupid-as-hell ending (which, of course, sets up the possibility of another movie). Director Harris has no style, the gore effects are compromised by very fake-looking blood that has the consistency of water and the colour of bright ketchup, and the production design (the caving system) has none of the authenticity of the original, despite the same talented designer (Simon Bowles) on board. As for the ridiculous amount of light underground that renders all the torches essentially useless (yet are still used by everyone), dear, dear, dear ...

Vaines (Gavan O'Herlihy), Sarah, Cath (Anna Skellern), Rios (Krysten Cummings), Greg (Joshua Dallas) and Dan (Douglas Hodge)

WARNING! CONTAINS SPOILERS!

Natalie Mendoza as Juno

The Descent’s original UK (and the rest of the world, except America) ending had Sarah (Shauna MacDonald) holed up in a dead-end, so traumatised she hallucinates she has escaped the underground cave and is finally free from the hellish horror. But no, she’s still trapped, and the crawlers are closing in. Sarah chooses to daydream of her dead daughter’s birthday as a final attempt to “escape” her fate. Will be too dark for American audiences Marshall was told, so he was forced to trim the ending of its final scene, thus implying Sarah has escaped the cave, but is given a final shock when she is confronted by the apparition of Juno (Natalie Mendoza).

Claustrophobes beware

The Descent: Part 2 begins at roughly this junction. Sarah has freed herself from the subterranean depths, and is rescued by an Appalachian old geezer as he’s driving through the forest road. Sarah is hospitalised, suffering mostly from shock and amnesia. The disgruntled local sheriff, Vaines (Gavan O’Herlihy), insists Sarah join a small team that will descend into the caving system to look for Sarah’s missing comrades, especially since its revealed Juno is the daughter of the local Mayor.

In a lame sequel no one can hear you scream

Sarah and Vaines are joined by Vaines' deputy Rios (Krysten Cummings), and three experienced cavers, Greg (Joshua Dallas), Dan (Douglas Hodge) and Cath (Anna Skellern, a curious Aussie addition). They access the cave via an old mine elevator drop courtesy of the old geezer who mentions his grandfather and other men disappeared down there many years ago. Down they all go (except the old geezer) into the bowels of the earth. How many will survive, and what will be left of them?

With more plot-holes and inconsistencies than you can shake a pick-axe at, The Descent: Part 2 is a gobbling howler, although to be fair, not nearly as dire as Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007). But then I was always going to come into this movie with low expectations, and even with those I was disappointed. Shauna MacDonald’s character spends most of the movie scowling, and says sweet fuck all. Fine, she’s meant to be heavily traumatised, but finds a monumental amount of steely determination and courage once she’s back in the cave. But the re-introduction of Juno’s character during the movie’s last third is just plain silly. She somehow survived the crawlers savage attack, and has been hobbling around on a nasty punctured leg, traumatised, but able to scowl effectively and lead the surviving team members close to an exit. But not before a final scuffle with Sarah over unfinished business.

Shauna MacDonald finally realises the sequel sucks, but it's all too late

Juno is mortally wounded, but manages to squeeze out a “sorry” to Sarah (for having an affair with her late husband). That’s just enough for Sarah to realise now that her buddy is truly dead, that she must sacrifice herself in order for Rios to survive and see her own daughter again. Someone must survive this nightmare! Anyway, Sarah can finally join her daughter and husband in the afterlife, so all good. Rios claws her way up out of a small hole in the forest floor, traumatised, but determined to connect with her own daughter on her mobile phone (I’m sure the reception is good in the mountains), yet fails to hear the old geezer sneak up behind her and knock her senseless, then drag her back to the hole in the ground to leave her for crawler collection. Perhaps he has an unspoken agreement with the cannibalistic cave dwellers … Perhaps they’re inbred relatives of his dear grandfather … Perhaps it doesn’t matter at all, it’s simply a pseudo-shock ending to facilitate a third Descent.

Aha, the ol' hand up through the soil trick!

The Descent: Part 2 has been released straight-to-DVD down under through Icon’s Insomnia distribution wing, which basically means it’s mutton dressed as lamb. Apart from a couple of half-decent gore sequences (a wrist hacking is intensely handled), which were probably reversed engineered to fit the slight narrative (and one scatological scene that seems designed purely to create revulsion), there is very little to recommend the movie. The genuine fear factor so present in the original movie (mostly due to the surprise element) is almost entirely absent in the sequel. If you loved the first Descent, do yourself a favour and steer well-clear of this turgid shocker (and I don’t mean frightener).

Here’s the trailer:

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

11 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by David O'Connell

August 3rd 2010 06:50

Screen Fanatic

Ah mate, bitterly disappointing that there's no redeeming features at all! Like you, love the original.

Comment by Jason King

August 3rd 2010 07:58

Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness

Same here - the original kicks ass but the book it is so incredibly loosely based on shits all over both of them

It is kind of like Journey to the Centre of the Earth and is written by a guy called Jeff Long.
http://www.jefflongbooks.com/

They did a great movie though and basically just stole the premise.

I will suss this out so I can yell at the screen

Comment by Deni

August 3rd 2010 09:08

Abstract Magick
Cinema Herald

I loved the original. It was great. It even made my husband scream but he insisted it was more of a "manly yelp"

The only thing I didn't like in the original which carried over to this this sequel which had almost nothing that I liked, was the "feud" between Juno and Sarah. It was kind of insulting that in such dire circumstances as this, two women would squabble over an affair. The affair is reduced to pettiness in this circumstance. But, of course, there needed to be some underlying tension. And then again, I'm afraid to admit that if this situation were real, it would probably happen that way.

Now if it were me, I'd have worked with Juno to get us both out of the hole (if possible) and then I would have proceeded to beat her ass - and then throw her back in the hole...just saying!

Aside from a few good scenes, the beasties in this one became too familiar and then I got bored. I couldn't wait for it to end.

Comment by ShaunK

August 3rd 2010 09:51

Screen Adventure

what the hell!!! Part 2!? why?

depressing, ruining the good name of the first as a result

Comment by JohnDoe

August 3rd 2010 13:38

Film & TV on DVD

You deserve a medal for bravery even putting this one in the DVD player Bryn,

What can I say. Sounds like what I expected. Another quality original that didn't need a sequel and is let down by misunderstanding of what made its predecessor work.

Comment by Matt Shea

August 4th 2010 03:37

20/20 Filmsight

Nice one Bryn, and I applaud your sense of duty in watching this. Surprised to learn of the talent they had onboard for the screenplay, given how poorly the final product has obviously turned out.

Comment by Bryn

August 4th 2010 04:12

Horrorphile

Yup to everyone. Makes you wonder ...

Comment by Mountain Fog

August 4th 2010 13:49

Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!

Firstly Bryn,
I want to thank you for putting this one through the paces and saving me the pain....I've been sitting on it for a long time now, and partly blame it on my sudden evaporation of drive to review... as there are more along the same quality I am expected to review, it is depressing...very depressing... and lots of dental work...''

cheers

fog

Comment by Bryn

August 5th 2010 01:14

Horrorphile

Fog,

and lots of dental work

You stumped me there ...

Comment by Mountain Fog

August 5th 2010 14:17

Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!

Bryn,
I am suffering the pangs of a dentist visit, who is trying to fix the bad job the last dentist did on me, I just threw it in to give an idea of my personal suffering and how some of these films have accentuated the pain of it all...

cheers

fog