Scariest Movie Ever? Could Be . . .
Written: Jul 05 '06 (Updated Jul 05 '06)
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Terrifying, Good Ensemble Cast, Great Cinematography, Good Relationships, Unyielding Panic
Cons: Might be confusing for some
The Bottom Line: An inventive and utterly terrifying movie that ratchets up the tension continually.
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| CATSocialD's Full Review: The Descent |
I am not a fan of horror movies. However, I still mark this movie as a must-see for this year.
Any plot summary would be a little pointless, as any good horror movie depends almost entirely upon its technical elements, but I give one anyway. A group of old friends get together for their yearly adventure. The women have gone mountain climbing, white water rafting and base jumping. This year, they go spelunking in the wilds of Appalachia, with an intent of helping one of them get over a tragedy. This being a horror movie, they become hopelessly trapped and rapidly go mad as the caves throw everything at them.
The cinematography is fantastic. It begins with a style resembling snapshots to show the women in their reunion mode. The women drink and bond in a way that makes us sympathetic without resorting to any cheap methods. Once the women are in the caves, the frames immediately introduce extreme claustrophobia, making the entirely audience squirm. The pictures get darker as they are trapped underground longer, letting the viewer fill in the blanks.
The editing is taut and not overly rapid. However, combined with the low light potentially confusing cinematography, some might find it too fast. The film is clearly designed to disorient the viewer and limit their information, but this can be angering for some viewers.
The writing shies away from most stereotypes for women and horror movies and deals well with those that come up. This gives the actresses a great deal to work with. Only two women, Shauna MacDonald as the lead Sarah and Natalia Mendoza as Juno, turn in truly memorable performances. However, this is an ensemble piece and this works to the movies advantage. They all play a collection of subtle relationships with realism that only underscores the panic they experience underground. It is the right choice for the movie and I commend the cast.
I saw this at a packed festival screening and can attest that most of the viewers agreed with me that this is possibly one of the scariest movies ever made. One man in the audience fainted—I kid you not. However, in the bathroom afterwards, I overheard two middle-aged men agreeing that the movie was boring and confusing with poor camerawork. While I disagree with them, I wonder if this movie plays well across all generations.
Overall, this is a very taut thriller. It is original and sharp and once it gets going, it does not let up. I am not exaggerating when I say it is one of the scariest movies I have ever seen.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Scary Movie
Viewing Method: Film Festival
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
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Epinions.com ID:
CATSocialD
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Member: Adam Rauscher
Location: Los Angeles CA/New York NY
Reviews written: 136
Trusted by: 27 members
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