If you have ever seen the British horror film The Descent and were delighted by the terrifying and visually horrid images you saw, then you will be welcoming The Descent part 2. The first was a huge success and the sequel looks to be even more frightful.
Continuing on from where the first ended, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) has made her way out of the cave alive, but without any knowledge of what has happened to her over the past two days. With the search teams looking for the remaining girls having no success in finding their way through the labyrinth of tunnels below them, Sarah must accompany the rescue team back to the cave, with her frightful memories gradually returning and events taking a turn for the worst, again.
From the very start, there are enough jumps to make you elevate from your seat and lose all bowl control as well as the popcorn on your lap. Probably the most startling is the appearance of the creatures. They pop up from nowhere and pounce like rabid dogs oozing from the mouth and ready to feast. The jumps don’t stop there as they continue throughout and never give your heart time to return to a steady pace before hitting out with even more scares. For much of the time a scene will build up your anticipation and anxiety regarding what will happen only to cause something completely unexpected. The ending is very unpredictable and will leave your mouth dropped to the floor with surprise and have your head full of questions.
If you are a closet claustrophobic and just the sight of small spaces is enough to shorten your breathing then this sequel has no place for you. Small tunnels the size of rabbit holes and swimming though water filled tunnels will make the hairs on your arms stand up and when you find what is at the end of the tunnels, you will be even more horrified. The design of the creatures is like something from the depths of hell and this is what makes them so frightful; blind creatures with grey green skin that follow their prey through sound and can rip you shreds with the slice of a nail or the gnashing of teeth.
What makes this film so agreeable for a horror film is the present of fairly unknown actors. Viewers this way have no wishes for someone in particular to survive or be slaughtered. You simply follow the character on their path of torment with an inner desire to shout at the screen ‘BE QUIET!’ or ‘DON’T GO DOWN THERE’ as we have some sense that something dreadful is around the corner.
Out of all the horror flicks been released of late, The Descent part 2 is likely to be the more bloodthirsty one of them all. With the flesh ripped from the skin and blood pouring from gaping wounds, this is the most shocking, terrifying and possibly repulsive film you will see in quite some time.
Michelle Moore