The Descent

[Supreme Power]

I think this film has one of the deepest messages in film history, actually. I think the whole point flew over everyone's heads.... and that's very sad.

In a nutshell, here's The Descent:

Spoiler

The reason why we don't learn what the creatures are, is because they were revealed in the beginning scenes of the movie. They are Sarah's PERSONAL DEMONS. After going through such a traumatic thing, like her husband and daughter getting killed right in front of her, she becomes crazy at the very beginning... as shown in the hospital scene. The lights going out throughout the hall represent the demons coming to get her, and right before they do, she gets away in time.
As they descend into the cave later on, her personal demons come back to haunt her in the form of the creatures. So really, the title ''The Descent'' has NOTHING to do with six girls ''descending down into a cave''.... it actually means that the movie is about Sarah's Descent into Madness. As the girls get killed off one by one, Sarah is the only one that ends up kicking ass in the end, and she is the STRONGEST one out of all of them. The reason why she is the strongest, is because she is the only one that went through a traumatic experience... therefore, she can fight the creatures easier. She ends up going into ''all-out-crazy'' mode, as seen in the climax.
Now, the ending doesn't suck as much as you all think. There was ALOT of thought put into it, and it wasn't some cliche pointless ending like you assume.... You have to seriously examine it, and I know that's a difficult task for most people.
The European ending is better, because it shows that Sarah is STILL in the cave, and that she will never get out. In reality, this is actually a HAPPY ENDING, because she has officially overcome her personal demons, and she ends up seeing her daughter down there with her. If one were observant, they would see that the birthday cake shown throughout the movie with her daughter has only five candles on it, indicating that she was five when she died. However, in the end, there are SIX candles, which shows that this event is a year later, and that her daughter actually LIVED to see her sixth birthday down there in the cave.... in SARAH'S MIND. Sarah never sees visions of her husband because he was a lying cheating bastard and got what he deserved. Her daughter, however, was innocent.

This whole debate about ''Oh, it's stupid how Sarah gets out of the cave and drives the car, and then sees Juno's ghost, and then she wakes up in the cave again, and it blows!!11! LOLZ'' is actually the smartest thing about the movie, because it shows that escaping the cave isn't REALLY what will bring happiness to Sarah. Happiness to Sarah is being with her daughter, no matter where she is.... And now that she has faced her personal demons (the creatures), has overcome them, and was stronger than anyone else... she can die peacefully with the fact that her daughter is down there with her, which means that it's a happy ending.




Now, one could argue that the creatures don't actually exist, and that Sarah killed everyone, since she is the FIRST one to see a creature. However, I hate that idea. The creatures are supposed to represent her personal demons, and the cave is supposed to represent her descent into madness. It wouldn't make sense for Sarah to be a psychotic killer....so TRUST ME.... the creatures were real. They were just a METAPHOR for something else. If you want to get literal... then they were ''Bat People.''

So yeah, this movie was seriously misunderstood, and it's a damn shame that almost nobody recognizes it's brilliance. Everybody keeps saying, ''It's a cool creature movie, and there's blood everywhere, LOL!!''.... and it saddens me.

Best horror movie ever. By far.

Hmm, yea I actually did connect with what the title meant after I saw it the first time in theatres. But that ending did have me confused.

And I do believe this was the best horror movie I've seen in years and I'm a huge horror fan.

 

[dark_b]

Hmm, yea I actually did connect with what the title meant after I saw it the first time in theatres. But that ending did have me confused.

And I do believe this was the best horror movie I've seen in years and I'm a huge horror fan.

and thank god we didnt get a sex scene. t:
i hate that with horror movies.

 

[Wolfwood]

I think this film has one of the deepest messages in film history, actually. I think the whole point flew over everyone's heads.... and that's very sad.

In a nutshell, here's The Descent:

Spoiler

The reason why we don't learn what the creatures are, is because they were revealed in the beginning scenes of the movie. They are Sarah's PERSONAL DEMONS. After going through such a traumatic thing, like her husband and daughter getting killed right in front of her, she becomes crazy at the very beginning... as shown in the hospital scene. The lights going out throughout the hall represent the demons coming to get her, and right before they do, she gets away in time.
As they descend into the cave later on, her personal demons come back to haunt her in the form of the creatures. So really, the title ''The Descent'' has NOTHING to do with six girls ''descending down into a cave''.... it actually means that the movie is about Sarah's Descent into Madness. As the girls get killed off one by one, Sarah is the only one that ends up kicking ass in the end, and she is the STRONGEST one out of all of them. The reason why she is the strongest, is because she is the only one that went through a traumatic experience... therefore, she can fight the creatures easier. She ends up going into ''all-out-crazy'' mode, as seen in the climax.
Now, the ending doesn't suck as much as you all think. There was ALOT of thought put into it, and it wasn't some cliche pointless ending like you assume.... You have to seriously examine it, and I know that's a difficult task for most people.
The European ending is better, because it shows that Sarah is STILL in the cave, and that she will never get out. In reality, this is actually a HAPPY ENDING, because she has officially overcome her personal demons, and she ends up seeing her daughter down there with her. If one were observant, they would see that the birthday cake shown throughout the movie with her daughter has only five candles on it, indicating that she was five when she died. However, in the end, there are SIX candles, which shows that this event is a year later, and that her daughter actually LIVED to see her sixth birthday down there in the cave.... in SARAH'S MIND. Sarah never sees visions of her husband because he was a lying cheating bastard and got what he deserved. Her daughter, however, was innocent.

This whole debate about ''Oh, it's stupid how Sarah gets out of the cave and drives the car, and then sees Juno's ghost, and then she wakes up in the cave again, and it blows!!11! LOLZ'' is actually the smartest thing about the movie, because it shows that escaping the cave isn't REALLY what will bring happiness to Sarah. Happiness to Sarah is being with her daughter, no matter where she is.... And now that she has faced her personal demons (the creatures), has overcome them, and was stronger than anyone else... she can die peacefully with the fact that her daughter is down there with her, which means that it's a happy ending.




Now, one could argue that the creatures don't actually exist, and that Sarah killed everyone, since she is the FIRST one to see a creature. However, I hate that idea. The creatures are supposed to represent her personal demons, and the cave is supposed to represent her descent into madness. It wouldn't make sense for Sarah to be a psychotic killer....so TRUST ME.... the creatures were real. They were just a METAPHOR for something else. If you want to get literal... then they were ''Bat People.''

So yeah, this movie was seriously misunderstood, and it's a damn shame that almost nobody recognizes it's brilliance. Everybody keeps saying, ''It's a cool creature movie, and there's blood everywhere, LOL!!''.... and it saddens me.

Best horror movie ever. By far.

I totally agree, after I finished watching it I sat there thinking about it for awhile and afterwards I really began to appreciate the movie even more so. One of the best movies of the year, definitely the best horror movie.

and thank god we didnt get a sex scene. t:
i hate that with horror movies.

For a second, I thought Holly was going to have a lesbian scene with someone.

 

[The Dark Defender]

I agree the film has a very deep message but I don't think that's quite it.

Spoiler

Everyone in the film makes mistakes out of bad judgment or selfishness that results in severe harm or death. When things got hard and they should've been banning together, they ran off in different directions and were only concerned with covering their own asses rather than the good of the group. Their situation was horrible, but not unwinnable. The reason the Crawlers won is because they knew how to function properly as a cohesive unit and didn't quarrell over petty differences as the women did. 2, 4, or 6, etc... working as one stand a better chance of survival than individuals only concerned about themselves.
Whether the Crawlers were real, or Sarah imagined them, the film shows that people are more dangerous to people than monsters are to people.
As was the point of Apocalypto, groups are not conquered from without before they've been destroyed from within, that's what happened to Juno and company in this film. This message could apply to anything in life from a family, to a school, to an entire country, to an entire planet.

 

[Castlewood]

I agree the film has a very deep message but I don't think that's quite it.

Spoiler

Everyone in the film makes mistakes out of bad judgment or selfishness that results in severe harm or death. When things got hard and they should've been banning together, they ran off in different directions and were only concerned with covering their own asses rather than the good of the group. Their situation was horrible, but not unwinnable. The reason the Crawlers won is because they knew how to function properly as a cohesive unit and didn't quarrell over petty differences as the women did. 2, 4, or 6, etc... working as one stand a better chance of survival than individuals only concerned about themselves.
Whether the Crawlers were real, or Sarah imagined them, the film shows that people are more dangerous to people than monsters are to people.
As was the point of Apocalypto, groups are not conquered from without before they've been destroyed from within, that's what happened to Juno and company in this film. This message could apply to anything in life from a family, to a school, to an entire country, to an entire planet.

See, I think that's what makes the movie such a gem. Whether it's YOUR take on it, or MY take on it, they are both completely different perspectives, and nobody can say that either one of them are wrong.
This might be the new Matrix, or the new Fight Club, or the new American Psycho. Everybody can have an opinion, and there isn't a clear answer on what it all REALLY means.

Like I said, best horror movie ever.

Horror movies are so filled with sex, killers-wearing-a-mask, holding a bloody knife, chasing the half-naked blonde girl up the stairs, running to the car and it conveniently doesn't start. This movie has none of it. We were able to watch ''The Descent'', and we could look at six HOT women during the entire two hours (with there literally being ONE man in the ENTIRE movie, mind you), and we did not look at their hotness in a sexual way. I was so ENTHRALLED in the story (yes, it has a story, unlike other horror movies), that I was able to ''escape'' from those typical things that society calls a ''horror movie.'' This movie changed the whole freakin' genre. It pointed at other horror movies and said, ''Look what I can do, and look how I can change things up.'' It's a freakin' movie REVOLUTION.

**Bows to Niel Marshall**

 

[The Dark Defender]

Marshall's next movie is an apocalyptic sci-fi epic in the mold of Escape from New York, and he wants to do an Ancient Roman battle epic btw.

 

[Celestio]

I think this film has one of the deepest messages in film history, actually. I think the whole point flew over everyone's heads.... and that's very sad.

In a nutshell, here's The Descent:

Spoiler

The reason why we don't learn what the creatures are, is because they were revealed in the beginning scenes of the movie. They are Sarah's PERSONAL DEMONS. After going through such a traumatic thing, like her husband and daughter getting killed right in front of her, she becomes crazy at the very beginning... as shown in the hospital scene. The lights going out throughout the hall represent the demons coming to get her, and right before they do, she gets away in time.
As they descend into the cave later on, her personal demons come back to haunt her in the form of the creatures. So really, the title ''The Descent'' has NOTHING to do with six girls ''descending down into a cave''.... it actually means that the movie is about Sarah's Descent into Madness. As the girls get killed off one by one, Sarah is the only one that ends up kicking ass in the end, and she is the STRONGEST one out of all of them. The reason why she is the strongest, is because she is the only one that went through a traumatic experience... therefore, she can fight the creatures easier. She ends up going into ''all-out-crazy'' mode, as seen in the climax.
Now, the ending doesn't suck as much as you all think. There was ALOT of thought put into it, and it wasn't some cliche pointless ending like you assume.... You have to seriously examine it, and I know that's a difficult task for most people.
The European ending is better, because it shows that Sarah is STILL in the cave, and that she will never get out. In reality, this is actually a HAPPY ENDING, because she has officially overcome her personal demons, and she ends up seeing her daughter down there with her. If one were observant, they would see that the birthday cake shown throughout the movie with her daughter has only five candles on it, indicating that she was five when she died. However, in the end, there are SIX candles, which shows that this event is a year later, and that her daughter actually LIVED to see her sixth birthday down there in the cave.... in SARAH'S MIND. Sarah never sees visions of her husband because he was a lying cheating bastard and got what he deserved. Her daughter, however, was innocent.

This whole debate about ''Oh, it's stupid how Sarah gets out of the cave and drives the car, and then sees Juno's ghost, and then she wakes up in the cave again, and it blows!!11! LOLZ'' is actually the smartest thing about the movie, because it shows that escaping the cave isn't REALLY what will bring happiness to Sarah. Happiness to Sarah is being with her daughter, no matter where she is.... And now that she has faced her personal demons (the creatures), has overcome them, and was stronger than anyone else... she can die peacefully with the fact that her daughter is down there with her, which means that it's a happy ending.




Now, one could argue that the creatures don't actually exist, and that Sarah killed everyone, since she is the FIRST one to see a creature. However, I hate that idea. The creatures are supposed to represent her personal demons, and the cave is supposed to represent her descent into madness. It wouldn't make sense for Sarah to be a psychotic killer....so TRUST ME.... the creatures were real. They were just a METAPHOR for something else. If you want to get literal... then they were ''Bat People.''

So yeah, this movie was seriously misunderstood, and it's a damn shame that almost nobody recognizes it's brilliance. Everybody keeps saying, ''It's a cool creature movie, and there's blood everywhere, LOL!!''.... and it saddens me.

Best horror movie ever. By far.

Wow, I never thought of it like that. Great interpretation!

 

[Lord Blackbolt]

Just saw the movie today. It was great....I gotta say...I thought that Juno chick was hot. Hope to see her in some other movies soon. Though...I gotta say... there were some real jump out of my seat moments. First time in a while I've had that.

 

[The Dark Defender]

Just saw the movie today. It was great....I gotta say...I thought that Juno chick was hot.

You and the vast majority of people that have seen the movie, she's typically the first thing people comment on.

 

[deathshead2]

Rented the movie after hearing such great things about and well hate to say it but I turned it off. Couldn't stand it. The girls were just too annoying for me. If they weren't so annoying I might have watched all of it.

 

[The Dark Defender]

You'd probably be rather annoying too if you were trapped in a cave with demonic fles-eaters.

 

[deathshead2]

No this was all in that flashback crap. Before I even got to the part with them seeing the monsters.Really wanted to see the monsters too.

 

[The Dark Defender]

I didn't care for it. None of the characters were developed, the monsters were like weird looking monkeys, there really wasn't a plot...it just wasn't that good in my eyes...at least not for all the hype. The atmosphere was the only thing it had going for it.

The characters were developed quite a bit, before and during the events in the cave. From the beginning the psychological descent of Sarah is set up, then the group is shown in a very natural, human way inter-acting as friends before the trip, and a ton of human drama is played out while in the cave.
The Crawlers looked absolutely nothing like monkeys, they looked demonic, fitting with the hell symbolism of the underground setting.
The plot is simple, but with a ton of complexities. This is a human survival story that has alot to say about what people do when they end up in a situation where they could all succeed or all fail based on the decisions each of them makes, a great psychological-mind bender, a great visceral monster movie, as atmospheric as any film ever made, and a great human survival story.
Few films can compare to how thought-provoking and meaningful this film is, even with a seemingly simplistic plot.

 

[The Dark Defender]

No this was all in that flashback crap. Before I even got to the part with them seeing the monsters.Really wanted to see the monsters too.

That wasn't a flashback, and screaming and crying are common (and understandable) reactions to losing loved ones.

 

[deathshead2]

I thought the SF said all that stuff was crap she was remembering while in the cave. Well whatever. Not all the girls in the group lost loved ones. Yet they were all annoying there voices made me want to cut my ears off.

 

[The Dark Defender]

No, but they all ended up in a situation that would make just about anyone an emotional wreck.

 

[OverMyHead]

She was also having an affair which didn't help matters.

You are correct.

Juno swung that thing into Beth's neck thinking it was one of the creatures behind her. She was surprised to see it was Beth, but then Beth noticed the necklace and she realized Juno was cheating with Sarah's husband.

Juno, seeing that Beth was mortally wounded, left her behind since she was the one who did that to her and Beth discovered her affair with Sarah's husband. She just wanted to get away with it and hide the affair as well as the accidental death of Beth. And yea Sarah was extreme in wounding Juno and leaving her for dead in spite of revenge of the affair and death of Beth.

How do we know Juno was boning Sarah's husband?

__________In the beginning when they were water rafting in the rapids, Juno and Sarah's husband came in close contact and the camera panned to Beth who looked at them suspiciously. After the accident Sarah talked about a saying that her husband had, "Love Each Day."

Later on in the cave the group is talking about the accident in the beginning and Juno says "We each lost someone in that accident." meaning she had deep feelings for Sarah's husband. When Juno accidently pierces Beth in the neck with that tool, Beth grabbed the necklace and realized it was the necklace that was given to Sarah.

When Sarah later discovers Beth, she is told that Juno was the one who did that to her. Beth then shows Juno's necklace to Sarah and on the back of the necklace, Sarah sees her husband's saying "Love Each Day." confirming they had an affair. Kinda debatable if Sarah was justified in leaving Juno for dead. But then again Juno mortally wounded Beth, left her for dead, and had an affair with Sarah's husband. So she had it coming.

 

[OverMyHead]

Anyone here actually bought the DVD?

I did. I rewatched it, and it's still amazing.

The shortest chick was the cutest (& hottest) of them all.

Which girl of the six climbers did you like the most?

 

[Day in the Life]

All of them are too crazy imo.

 

[Supreme Power]

You are correct.

Juno swung that thing into Beth's neck thinking it was one of the creatures behind her. She was surprised to see it was Beth, but then Beth noticed the necklace and she realized Juno was cheating with Sarah's husband.

Juno, seeing that Beth was mortally wounded, left her behind since she was the one who did that to her and Beth discovered her affair with Sarah's husband. She just wanted to get away with it and hide the affair as well as the accidental death of Beth. And yea Sarah was extreme in wounding Juno and leaving her for dead in spite of revenge of the affair and death of Beth.

How do we know Juno was boning Sarah's husband?

__________In the beginning when they were water rafting in the rapids, Juno and Sarah's husband came in close contact and the camera panned to Beth who looked at them suspiciously. After the accident Sarah talked about a saying that her husband had, "Love Each Day."

Later on in the cave the group is talking about the accident in the beginning and Juno says "We each lost someone in that accident." meaning she had deep feelings for Sarah's husband. When Juno accidently pierces Beth in the neck with that tool, Beth grabbed the necklace and realized it was the necklace that was given to Sarah.

When Sarah later discovers Beth, she is told that Juno was the one who did that to her. Beth then shows Juno's necklace to Sarah and on the back of the necklace, Sarah sees her husband's saying "Love Each Day." confirming they had an affair. Kinda debatable if Sarah was justified in leaving Juno for dead. But then again Juno mortally wounded Beth, left her for dead, and had an affair with Sarah's husband. So she had it coming.

You know what, I didn't even notice that the first time.

Gotta look for it again on the DVD.

 

[Lord Blackbolt]

You think they'll ever do a sequel? So many women going missing....someone has to go looking for them right? What if a group of guys go into the caves now...encounter the crawlers...and run into Sarah STILL in those caves...and she's been in there for months now....almost just like those crawlers now....?

Just a thought....hopefully they don't do one of those DTV sequels.

 

[The Dark Defender]

"How do we know Juno was boning Sarah's husband?"

There was an indication of a relationship between Juno and Paul that can be taken that way, we don't know for sure if there was an affair(not that it comes close to justifying the decision Sarah makes at the end

Spoiler

which got both of them killed were they could've both escaped

anyway. She was the only one in the film that risked her life to save others, and none of them "had it coming," thinking that is missing the point of the movie.

"You think they'll ever do a sequel? So many women going missing....someone has to go looking for them right? What if a group of guys go into the caves now...encounter the crawlers...and run into Sarah STILL in those caves...and she's been in there for months now....almost just like those crawlers now....?

Just a thought....hopefully they don't do one of those DTV sequels."

It's already in the works, Marshall is "overseeing" it but not directing it and Lions Gate is making it as an American sequel. It'll be another all female cast and Marshall says it'll explore the cave system more.

 

[dark_b]

You think they'll ever do a sequel? So many women going missing....someone has to go looking for them right? What if a group of guys go into the caves now...encounter the crawlers...and run into Sarah STILL in those caves...and she's been in there for months now....almost just like those crawlers now....?

Just a thought....hopefully they don't do one of those DTV sequels.

 

[Ghostrider84]

okay, just saw this film... got a few questions

what was the alternate ending i was hearing about

and "where those monster's even real? I mean, were they a hallucination?"

anyone else see the connection of...

Sarah Killing Five Crawlers

Five women die in the cave....

 

[black_dust]

okay, just saw this film... got a few questions

what was the alternate ending i was hearing about

and "where those monster's even real? I mean, were they a hallucination?"

anyone else see the connection of...

Sarah Killing Five Crawlers

Five women die in the cave....

American Version : Sarah gets out and sees Juno in the car

Original version : Sarah get out sees Juno in the car, flashes back to the cave shes still there sitting infront of a birthday cake, camera pulls back and her daughter is on the other side of the cake, then you hear the crawlers coming for her. the end.

As for the hallucination thing nice theory you never know could be true.