The Descent: Part 2






My grade: C+

In 2006 I gave The Descent an A, likening it to The Thing and basically thinking it a masterpiece of suspense. I stand by that.

And for a very large chunk of this sequel, The Descent: Part 2 was everything I feared it would be. Pointless, derivative, and illogical (Juno's alive?!). Sarah escapes from the caves, only to be grabbed by the local sheriff overseeing the search for the girls. And for no particular reason whatsoever, said sheriff decides to take Sarah back into the caves to assist the rescue effort. Gee, this doesn't sound like a bland follow-up.

Crawlers appear. Set pieces from the first are ripped off wholesale (hope you liked seeing crawlers appear on view-finders!). And then, about an hour in, something funny happens.

The drama returns. Sure, it basically brought characters back from the dead (Juno and Sarah -- at least in the real ending) just to see how they would deal with the first film's third act, but dammit, I actually cared. And though I had a serious lack of attachment throughout the film due to me considering Sarah and June dead since '06, with this being nothing more than a "what if?" follow-up, in the final 20 minutes I actually wanted to see them make it out alive.

For the bland characters and lack of ambition, but decent direction, I give it a C-. For the final scenes in the cave with Juno and Sarah, I bump it up to a C+.

I dunno, I think they should have given us an ascent before giving us yet another descent

It's mostly pointless and stupid. There's a good five minute chunk near the end once Sarah and Juno meet, but it's quickly done away with and followed up with a truly terrible ending. It might've helped if any of the characters were given even names, let alone personalities. But really, what would you expect from a sequel to a neutered version of the original film?

Isn't this a sequel to the original ending, though? (Where she magically made it out afterward...) I recall something about Sarah escaping through a mine, which ain't what happened in the American version.

She gets out of the cave in the American version. They basically cut it after she sees Juno in the car.

No, I know that. But she crawls out of a long tunnel full of bones. The Descent 2 says she made it out through a mine shaft.

In any case, it destroys the intent of the original.

Just because it betrays its ending and themes and brings two characters back from the dead? Pfft.

I know quite a few people subscribe to the idea that the crawlers were all in Sarah's head in the first, and that she killed everyone herself. Her "It's all just your imagination" line here seemed to be a barb against those people.

A mine shaft is a vertical or near vertical tunnel used to get to the bottom of a mine or cave system because the bottom is not accessible from a level surface. The horizontal tunnels I think you are thinking of are drifts or levels that lead to the mine shaft.

I posted a review a few days ago but dr. lecter deleted it

I know what a mine shaft is. The film says she got out of one -- there's a line of dialogue -- which is why it doesn't fit with the US ending.

But it does, she went out of that ridiculously angled thing, which would be considered an old mine shaft. Theres bones there because the creatures would probably hunt them at night. I think there is much more logic problems than that one.

Jesus, this movie left me breathless.. Not often does a horror sequel come along to an original movie that was very much loved from horror fans all around the net and even though Neill Marshall was Producer or Executive Producer on this, Jon Harris hammered this one home, both in retaining the claustrophoic feeling of the cave from the 1st movie and creating new ones, particularly a scene involving

Spoiler: show

A woman being trapped in a crevass with one of the cave crawlers digging his way underneath to get her only to get his head squashed by a boulder: Fucking AWESOME!!

It was also nice to have that continuity feeling in attachment to the 1st movie as well when it came to running into the dead girls and of course, seeing

Spoiler: show

Juno

Now I've seen all over the net, folks complaining about how this movie was very much unneeded, how there were gaping plotholes and whatnot in this and to a degree, YES, there were a few things done in the beginning that made me very happy, especially when

Spoiler: show

The Colonel Sanders looking sheriff who insisted on being handcuffed to Sarah met one of the most violent deaths I've seen in horror in awhile, getting his arm cutoff to free the others while being chewed to fucking death from the crawlers hanging from him and ultimately pulling him down to his death..

How, one could drag a woman back down to a cave system after she was traumatized, but you know what?? Who cares?? This movie worked and even though there was the big WTF at the end with the Twist, this still delivered as one of the better horror sequels for 2010 right down to the carnage.. I can't think of anything that was better, but this is a keeper and BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO isn't getting it back.. I give this a 9 out of 10 and will be interesting to see where they go with a 3rd movie in explaining the ending..

Are there many horror sequels in 2010 to compete with?

Well Im holding back on reading your response, cause Im looking forward to it too.

yay puns

B+


Can an unnecessary sequel be good? Apparently yes. The first film to prove that to me was Infernal Affairs II (though admittedly it was a prequel and thus a bit of a different beast). The Descent: Part 2 became another movie to show me that.

Now there's little denying that the film is unnecessary, especially considering the first film's original (and much better) ending. The sequel's ties to the original probably represent the film's worst aspects. First of all, it ties into the American ending of the first film which is the worse of the two endings available...making the sequel seem even more stupid to international audiences. Second of all - it's about how the whole second trip down the cave is set-up. Basically Sarah re-appears from the cave and is found by the police. At that point there is a massive search for all five of them (they have been missing for over two days now), but of course in the wrong cave system. Conveniently, Sarah experiences a short retrograde amnesia when she is found, not remembering anything that happened during the past two days, neither the Crawlers nor the fact that her friends are dead. So what's the smartest thing to do? The local sheriff decides that it's taking the traumatized and tired Sarah down the caves again, something that would never happen, not even if a senator's daughter was missing down there. It's just a very very stupid set-up, but obviously how else were they going to bring Sarah into this and still have her down in those caves? Of course once they get down (albeit through a mine shaft and not the entrance that the girls took in the first film), Sarah's memory is getting better, but no one believes her until it is too late.

Now once we get past the unrealistic set-up of the plot during the film's first 20-30 minutes, it turns into a horror ride that at its best equals the first film. Once you can accept this sequel for what it is and forget the act that it was very unnecessary (as shown by the illogical set-up), it's a very fine horror flick. Unlike what you'd expect it takes its time as well to build up tension and the first attack by the Crawlers doesn't happen until about 45-50 minutes into this 94-minutes long film. The biggest difference between The Descent and The Descent: Part 2 is that the scenes before entering the cave system are much better in the first film as it doesn't have to deal with any baggage of the previous film. However once down in the cave the two flicks are almost equal in tension, suspense and, well, the blood level. Sure, in a lot of scenes this film copies signature moments of the first one (think the arm rising from the ground as someone tries to escape the caves or walking around with nothing to see the surroundings, but a video camera. Indeed, the film's not about originality, but it still succeeds in being a very effective horror film. The Crawlers' attacks are fast and fierce and some of them take the viewer quite by surprise. The cave setting is very well-done again and several moments are actually able to evoke the same feeling of claustrophobia as the first film did. In other words once the shit hits the fan I was in for quite a ride. It might have a slow build-up, but after that it grips you tight and doesn't let go until the very end. A reveal in the middle of the film (something that most folks here probably know...involving someone from the first film) is very nicely done and enjoyed that turn of events.

Now after about 30 minutes of non-stop tension and bloody action, there's the ending. Now the ending of the first film is a little shocking, but most of all depressing and feels like quite a punch in the gut (I'm talking the original ending). The sequel's ending, however, left me with only one thought on my mind: "What the fuck?!". And I really don't mean that in a bad way. It certainly will take the viewer by surprise, but unlike the first film it will leave the viewer also with a big question and a lack of a satisfying answer. This is definitely a set up for The Descent: Part 3...

To put it in a nutshell: The Descent: Part 2 is an unnecessary film that does play by the numbers, but it uses the best of what made the first film work well and during the final 30 minutes makes you forget any gripes you had about it when it started. Definitely one of the best horror sequels in a while and superior to the likes of [Rec]²!

I thought it was solid. Not as good as the first, but not the abomination it may have been. Overall a good sequel.

B

Same here. B