DVD Reviews

The Descent: The Original Unrated Cut

Some of you may have seen the film “Dog Soldiers” (which I personally love) and some of you haven’t.  But I’ll tell you one thing, Director Neil Marshall knows horror.  I can’t wait for his next film, “Doomsday,” which should be just as good or better then his outings so far.  But this is a review of the film and DVD not the director so I’ll just get to it.

On an annual extreme outdoor adventure, six women meet in a remote part of the Appalachians to explore a cave hidden deep in the woods. Far below the surface of the earth, disaster strikes when a rockfall blocks their exit and there’s no way out. The women push on, praying for another exit, but there is something else lurking under the earth. The friends are now prey, forced to unleash their most primal instincts in an all-out war against an unspeakable horror – one that attacks without warning, again and again and again.

The audio comes to us in both 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround EX and Dolby Digital 2.0.  Subtitles are available in either English or Spanish for those that need them.  The 5.1 track manages to create some amazing ambience.  The score swells in and out and sometimes simply stops, all to create an atmosphere that is claustrophobic and/or frightening but never overpowers the dialogue which is always audible.  There is lots of bass response giving that added “boom” when necessary.  The surrounds in this film are some of the best I’ve ever heard.  When the cave opens up, ever echo is perfectly reproduced and when things get tight, you can almost feel the walls through the speakers.  So why didn’t I give a higher rating?  Cause I’ve discovered that the Region 2 release of this film had a DTS track!!  Now I know that different regions get different releases but I would have really liked to hear the DTS track on this one.  And for that reason alone, I’ve reduced the score.  Call me bitter if you want but I really like a good DTS track.

The video comes to us in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio.  The picture is gritty and seems dirty at times but this is all seems intentional (and if not intentional worked out well anyways).  Given that there is very little light in the film (they are in a cave afterall) I can confidently say the black levels are great!  Detail is there even in the darkest of scenes.  Very good cinematography. Kudos to the cinematographer and lighting crew for a bang-up job. 

In the supplemental materials we get a wealth of goodies. First up is not one but two commentaries.  The first is the director and crew, which gives a decent look into the technical aspect of the film. The second is the director and the girls which seems less formal and more easy going.  Neil Marshall does a good job of trying not to repeat information during the commentaries which is always a good thing. “The Descent: Beneath the Scenes” is a behind-the-scenes featurette containing interviews intermingled with shots from the film, behind-the-scenes footage and some storyboards. Running about 40 minutes, the featurette is quite informative. “Descending – Interview with Writer/Director Nail Marshall” is exactly what it says it is and runs 7 minutes long.  I’m not quite sure why the director is used so much in the extras but you do get the sense that he knows his stuff.  Maybe he shouldn’t have been included in the C! ast commentary. Then again, maybe he should have done a third commentary starring just him (all depends on your preferences). There are 9 “Deleted and Extended Scenes” which run a total of around 39 minutes which is quite a lot. The “Outtakes” are short and generally not very funny (short of the greenscreen one), but I always enjoy a good blooper reel. “Storyboards” is a nice extra as it gives a comparison to the actual movie (shown in a small frame) but it only runs around 10 minutes.  Perhaps a HD or Bluray release would have the entire thing? The stills gallery contains almost 25 images.  Not very impressive in numbers but it’s interesting to compare the way the photos look to the way the film looks in the same scene. There are cast and crew biographies for 17 people.  That’s a lot even if it is a really simple extra to include. There’s a trailer for Saw III which plays when you insert the DVD and is accessible from the extras menu and finally some DVD credits.

I highly recommend this film.  It is a great journey into the depths of fear.  Fans of Neil’s first outing will not be disappointed.  Thankfully the DVD is almost as good as the movie itself.  An easy recommend for purchase but should you doubt me… give it a rental.  I’m sure you’ll quickly decide to add it to your collection.

Review By Robert Harding