Halloween Horror: The Descent (2005)

Extreme spelunking becomes extreme terror for six women when the cave collapses and monsters start to appear.

Here's the great thing about Eyesore Cinema. You walk in determined to rent a particular movie and it happens to be out (this is not the great part). But, unlike with big chain rental stores, you won't end up walking out empty-handed or compromising on quality (I speak from experience – this is how I saw No Reservations . Still bitter). Though I was on a mission to find Sauna, I left with The Descent, and while my movie night took a different turn, I was more than pleased (could that be a metaphor for life?).

Neil Marshall’s The Descent was so terrifying and enjoyable I'm not sure where to begin. Perhaps with the basics: Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) and five adventurous girlfriends reunite a year after a tragic accident to go extreme spelunking (because what says, "We're there for you girl!" like exploring claustrophobic caverns?). When the cave collapses and they become trapped, the women begin to discover not only horrible things about each other but also creatures that make Gollum look like the Easter Bunny.

Having just watched Marshall’s Dog Soldiers, I found it remarkable to see what the director could do with a little more experience and a few more dollar signs (this was only his second feature-length film). I recognized many of his trademarks, here more finely tuned: a strong opening, an ambiguous conclusion, gore galore (including gruesome impalements), and conflict of a man (in this case, woman) vs. nature (this time the latter swallows the former).

But what makes The Descent truly great is its all-female cast. In a role that gives Ophelia a run for its money as the most thankless part for an actor, Oliver Milburn as Sarah's husband is (spoiler!) killed off within the first five minutes, and with him go all the men. What's so refreshing is that despite (or perhaps because of) the all-female cast, the plot unfolds with not one sexually-exploitative death, gratuitous booby, or girl-on-girl action scene. And it's also no Steel Magnolias – these women are fighting tooth and pick-axe for their lives and not crying about it.

The Descent also manages to keep you in a constant state of fear, even after the monsters are revealed. The movie is about being trapped, both mentally and physically, which means that the monsters are only one piece of this horror layer-cake. Even if Sarah managed to Trotsky-ize every last beast, she would still be stuck miles below ground with no food or water. She’s also stuck in her mind, mourning a daughter who died along with that non-character you might remember from the first few minutes of the movie, also known as her husband. Purposely hyper-real dream sequences set this up early on, and the film's haunting conclusion reinforces one fact: Sarah is screwed, whether she gets out or not. And that's truly terrifying.

Read Kiva Reardon's blog here.