I really enjoyed Neil Marshall's DOG SOLDIERS and knew right away that here was a genre director to keep an eye on . For some strange reason it wasn't until tonight that I got round to seeing THE DESCENT and felt disappointed with it . If you're after a film that delivers buckets of gore and has you jumping out of your seat then you will not be disappointed . If however you're after a film that has the same sort of charm as DOG SOLDIERS then you'll be as disappointed as I was
That's the problem with THE DESCENT because it lacks any sort of charm , humour or warmth and unfortunately if you liked one of Neil's films you'll probably dislike the other . The one problem I had with DOG SOLDIERS is that it took a long time to get into its stride and it's possibly the only thing it shares with this film , though to be honest it's worse in that respect because we have to wait almost a whole hour before the monsters turn up and until then we have to endure a girls get together in the remote American wilderness . Compare this narrative structure to something like 28 DAYS LATER which instantly draws the audience into the story , or even better 28 WEEKS LATER which has an absolutely awesome opening ten minutes
Right away you can see the difference between the two movies . In one we have good natured British squaddies complete with a blokey attitude while in the other we have a cosmopolitan bunch of unsympathetic women who I found very annoying , so much so that I found myself cheering for the monsters . Not a very charitable attitude I know but compare this with the characterization of Sgt Wells , Coop and Spoon from the earlier movie where you couldn't not like the characters . Likewise throughout THE DESCENT there's a totally grim , bleak and nihilistic atmosph ere that is reflected in thestoryline and you won't feel like smiling after watching this . You can make the argument that Neil Marshall has made two horror films that are poles apart and you'd be right , but shouldn't a horror film be fun ? Isn't this the reason why DOG SOLDIERS was so enjoyable ?
Despite my criticism THE DESCENT was met with critical and commercial success and put Neil Marshall on the map in America . Seeing as we have a horror director who can make very different genre films I can't help thinking that if the rumoured 28 MONTHS LATER makes it into production then Neil Marshall would be a strong contender for director . One common criticism of the first two films in the franchise is that the second halves have a problem sustaining the momentum which is not a problem I've seen with this director's previous work and a grim , downbeat ending would be more in keeping with the 28 franchise than with this type of horror movie
That's the problem with THE DESCENT because it lacks any sort of charm , humour or warmth and unfortunately if you liked one of Neil's films you'll probably dislike the other . The one problem I had with DOG SOLDIERS is that it took a long time to get into its stride and it's possibly the only thing it shares with this film , though to be honest it's worse in that respect because we have to wait almost a whole hour before the monsters turn up and until then we have to endure a girls get together in the remote American wilderness . Compare this narrative structure to something like 28 DAYS LATER which instantly draws the audience into the story , or even better 28 WEEKS LATER which has an absolutely awesome opening ten minutes
Right away you can see the difference between the two movies . In one we have good natured British squaddies complete with a blokey attitude while in the other we have a cosmopolitan bunch of unsympathetic women who I found very annoying , so much so that I found myself cheering for the monsters . Not a very charitable attitude I know but compare this with the characterization of Sgt Wells , Coop and Spoon from the earlier movie where you couldn't not like the characters . Likewise throughout THE DESCENT there's a totally grim , bleak and nihilistic atmosph ere that is reflected in thestoryline and you won't feel like smiling after watching this . You can make the argument that Neil Marshall has made two horror films that are poles apart and you'd be right , but shouldn't a horror film be fun ? Isn't this the reason why DOG SOLDIERS was so enjoyable ?
Despite my criticism THE DESCENT was met with critical and commercial success and put Neil Marshall on the map in America . Seeing as we have a horror director who can make very different genre films I can't help thinking that if the rumoured 28 MONTHS LATER makes it into production then Neil Marshall would be a strong contender for director . One common criticism of the first two films in the franchise is that the second halves have a problem sustaining the momentum which is not a problem I've seen with this director's previous work and a grim , downbeat ending would be more in keeping with the 28 franchise than with this type of horror movie