Post by STLGM on Aug 16, 2006 14:00:25 GMT -5
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The Descent
Starring:Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, Nora-Jane Noone
Running Time: 99 Minutes
Review:
Let me start by saying I love horror movies, I can even find some kind of enjoyment in the cheesy films like Final Destination or the modern slasher movies like Scream and even some of the remakes that have come out lately. Unfortunately it seems that the modern slasher or a blah remake is becoming more and more the norm for North American horror and an original scary movie a rarity. To find something truly enjoyable you have to look over seas. The really original and quality movies are coming from places like Japan(The original Ju-on or Audition), France (Haute Tension -- I highly recommend)and in this case England(Dog Soldiers).
Now onto the review, I had high hopes for this movie so I dragged the wife and best friend out last night to see it in theaters before I search for the UK DVD. The Director (Neil Marshall) did a great job developing the characters and the relationships between them, and while there was not much in the way of "horror" in the first half of the film I would say this slow build is important to the movie and makes the characters more enjoyable instead of just dropping them into a blood bath in the first 10 minutes. A side note if you suffer from claustrophobia it is probably not the best movie for you to watch. About half way through the movie the bloodletting begins and goes full on till the movie is over. There is some very solid hand held camera work that adds to the film and the fight scenes very nicely in fact there are some great scenes using the night vision feature on a hand held camcorder. It certainly doesn't go easy on the gore factor but doesn't live or die by it, adding some very tense scenes by just using the claustrophobic aspects, lighting (or lack there of) and the twists and turns of the cave (which was actually only 6 sets adjusted as needed), and what would a horror movie be with out a few solid twists and while they were not altogether unexpected they did add to the movie.
Over all I really enjoyed the movie and will certainly watch it again, and would rate it up there with Haute Tension as one of the best horror movies made in the last 5-10 years.
Grade: A- [Would of gotten an A if not for a bad CGI scene and a bit of predictability, but then what movie isn't at least a bit predictable]
The Descent
Starring:Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, Nora-Jane Noone
Running Time: 99 Minutes
Review:
Let me start by saying I love horror movies, I can even find some kind of enjoyment in the cheesy films like Final Destination or the modern slasher movies like Scream and even some of the remakes that have come out lately. Unfortunately it seems that the modern slasher or a blah remake is becoming more and more the norm for North American horror and an original scary movie a rarity. To find something truly enjoyable you have to look over seas. The really original and quality movies are coming from places like Japan(The original Ju-on or Audition), France (Haute Tension -- I highly recommend)and in this case England(Dog Soldiers).
Now onto the review, I had high hopes for this movie so I dragged the wife and best friend out last night to see it in theaters before I search for the UK DVD. The Director (Neil Marshall) did a great job developing the characters and the relationships between them, and while there was not much in the way of "horror" in the first half of the film I would say this slow build is important to the movie and makes the characters more enjoyable instead of just dropping them into a blood bath in the first 10 minutes. A side note if you suffer from claustrophobia it is probably not the best movie for you to watch. About half way through the movie the bloodletting begins and goes full on till the movie is over. There is some very solid hand held camera work that adds to the film and the fight scenes very nicely in fact there are some great scenes using the night vision feature on a hand held camcorder. It certainly doesn't go easy on the gore factor but doesn't live or die by it, adding some very tense scenes by just using the claustrophobic aspects, lighting (or lack there of) and the twists and turns of the cave (which was actually only 6 sets adjusted as needed), and what would a horror movie be with out a few solid twists and while they were not altogether unexpected they did add to the movie.
Over all I really enjoyed the movie and will certainly watch it again, and would rate it up there with Haute Tension as one of the best horror movies made in the last 5-10 years.
Grade: A- [Would of gotten an A if not for a bad CGI scene and a bit of predictability, but then what movie isn't at least a bit predictable]