Are you looking forward to summer, and possibly to some time spent outdoors? Are you the kind of person who loves a good hike? Well, then we’ve got just the horror movie to keep you from ever doing those things ever again. The Descent tells the story of a group of friends who travel to the middle of nowhere to do some spelunking.
As they make their way through the caves, though, they discover evidence that they aren’t the first people to make this trip, and that they are not alone inside these caves. A terrifying, brilliant, often funny movie that has aged beautifully, The Descent is the ideal movie to watch before it leaves Amazon Prime Video next week. Here are three reasons why you should check it out before the end of June.
It features a great ensemble cast
Although none of the women at the center of The Descent went on to become major stars, part of the movie’s brilliance is in the way each of its central characters bounce off one another. The movie is at least as much about what it’s like to have female friends as it is about trying to survive an attack of mole people, and the infighting and petty grievances inside of the group seem incredibly real.
The Descent isn’t afraid to make each of its central characters distinctly human, which also means that each of them is both charming and frustrating in specific ways.
It’s not afraid to get gnarly (and gory)
While some horror movies really pull their punches, The Descent plays by an entirely different set of rules. It takes a while for the real horror of the movie to kick in, but when it does, you should be ready for some really terrifying, gory kills.
Not many horror movies are set in caves, but The Descent finds inventive ways to stage its key sequences so that they feel both thrilling and distinct from one another. If you’re not into the gorier side of horror, The Descent may not be for you, but the gore is certainly a huge part of the fun.
It’s smartly directed
This kind of horror film, which has a relatively simple premise and no major stars, could have been pretty schlocky in less capable hands.
Thankfully, though, it was directed by Neil Marshall, who really has a sense for how to stage the increasing horror of the film without making things feel overly repetitive or redundant. Marshall may be best known now for his work directing Game of Thrones episodes like Blackwater, and those episodes just affirm how smart he can be about the staging of major, complicated sequences.
You can watch The Descent on Amazon Prime Video.
