2006
Hard-edged and razor-sharp, the first hour of Neil Marshall’s cave-set nail-biter is some of the most virtuosic horror filmmaking of the last 12 months “? an expertly mounted exercise in slowly dawning dread. “The Descent” wobbles mightily as its narrative winds down, but the restored, bleaker final shot comes close to redeeming the penultimate, sanguine acrobatics. A veritable cavernful of bonus features are on board, further fleshing out Marshall’s grim accomplishment, making this a solid blind buy for those who skipped it in theaters.
–Preston Jones
This article appears in Jan 17-23, 2007.