The Lost Highway: The Descent
Posted by Mary Markham on 08.22.2006
Claustrophobic Darwinism at it's finest.
I'm going to break tradition here and instead of discussing films already released on dvd, I'm going to talk about one I just saw at the theater. I realize another staff member already "reviewed" the film but when the first line of the review is a juvenile reference to "girl on girl" action I'm inclined to pass. Therefore I as a "woman" will be writing about a bone chilling British horror film from the standpoint of a mature film viewer.
"The Descent" was a film I was originally apprehensive about. Reasons being:
1) I was under the assumption that this was another stupid horror film I had no idea it was a "foreign" film. Yes I pigeon hole the UK into the foreign film market and thank god!
2) Two, the trailer is so misleading (what else is new in America) that it looked ridiculous. For example if I have to see the trailer for "Pulse" one more time I might actually start digging my own grave.
3) Although the trailer is shown rather frequently, there is no press on this film. Why you ask? Simple: HOLLYWOOD DIDN'T MAKE IT. Yes Lionsgate Films picked it up but it was made by a British director, filmed on location in Scotland and then at Pinewood Studios in London and uses an eclectic cast of unknowns. (at least in America)
Okay so those were my uneducated excuses. I as you may or may not know am a horror aficionado. I understand the genre and all its inconsistencies. It is not easy to make a "good" horror film. When dealing with the human psyche and fear it takes a master to control that in a way that is convincing and horrific. So there are always going to be horror films that don't have the chops but are still scary in there own way and that's just fine with me. It seems that the new school of making scary movies is undermined by CGI technology, fast cut edits and overall poor scripts. So when a film doesn't necessarily follow these rules then I'm intrigued and impressed. Films such as "Cabin Fever", "Hostel", "Wolf Creek" and now "The Descent" have given me hope that there are true auteurs of horror making good films.
From the opening scene and credits of "The Descent" (silly as it may sound) I KNEW in my bones that this was going to be good if not great! The quiet strange atmosphere of the actual credits to the misleading happy first scene was a setup for 2 hours of intense fear. I couldn't have been more on target! There are very subtle references to other films (a tipping of the hat perhaps!) and I won't get into that but I will say the beautiful aerial shots of what is supposed to be the Appalachians are crippling and chilling much like the beginning of "The Shining". Setting up isolation from the beginning is pure genius.
The story is simple. Six girls get together once a year for some adventurous trip. They are strong women who aren't afraid to take risks as is apparent from their previous vacations. No Club Med for these gals!
One year after a devastating accident happens to one of the girls they decide at the request of their uber competitive friend Juno to go spelunking in the Appalachians. Sharon who was the victim of the accident is trying to overcome the gigantic emotional walls that have trapped her from life. Fragile though she may be, she is a fighter and is more than happy to oblige on this adventure.
Another indication of the maturity of this film was the relationship between the women. They are all just as dynamic as the next and just as ferocious in their competitive yet loving nature. There was not one gratuitous nude shot through the entire film. That separates the boys from the men for sure. The director focused on them as humans not sex objects being led to their demise by a knife wielding madman! Bravo. Furthermore they are bright and intelligent women. No big breasted, scantily clad bimbos here. There is however secrets among them and this eventually will lead to base, human alpha decisions. Competitiveness will never outweigh the immense power of emotion.
The film is beautifully shot, creating claustrophobic situations for a good part of the film. The cave shots are intense and the lighting is used from whatever tools the women have as opposed to camera lighting. You see exactly what and when they see making it all the more nerve jangling.
What it is that they encounter is a form of Darwinism at its basest. Creatures that have fine tuned their adaptation to their enclosed and permanent residence. It begs to ask the question of altered human life that we are not even aware of.
The remainder of the film is brutal survivalist behavior. The women immediately succumb to their instincts and use them to stay alive. There is plenty of blood and violence in the nature of a gory horror film however in this movie it doesn't seem unnecessary just part of the experience you are sharing with the characters. Not for the weak of stomach! All the elements work. Tight, enclosed space isolated from the rest of the world, encountering a monster of sorts and allowing survival to overcome any obstacle without the typical American annoying soundtrack. Silence is golden here. "The Descent" is an excellent horror film and gives me hope for the future of this genre.
