The Descent
Lions Gate Films | Release Date: August 4, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
71
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
It's the most intense, unpredictable and thrilling cinematic experience I've had the pleasure to squirm through in ages. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The director of The Descent is savvy enough to suggest even more than he shows. And he's old-school enough to load up on glimpses of good, clean, gruesome gore. Read full review
91
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
A nasty little tube of frozen horror concentrate. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
Neil Marshall's horrifically terrific The Descent cannily recasts 1972's "Deliverance" as a female-bonding thriller with some "Hills Have Eyes"-style mutant terror tossed in for truly harrowing effect. Read full review
88
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Though the film's downbeat ending was softened for U.S. release, it's still a long way from happy. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
The Descent sustains a level of intensity that most horror films can barely muster for five minutes. Read full review
83
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
The most exhilaratingly horrifying movie to come out in years. Read full review
80
EmpireDan Jolin
Brutal, bloody, terrifying, astonishing... And so tense it'll leave you aching. The most significant Brit chiller since "28 Days Later." Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
This one is a creepy white-knuckle excursion into horror, where even the "boo!" moments are so well developed that they cause a jolt. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
This is one of the scariest movies featuring female heroines since the "Alien" series, and what makes it uniquely scary is where these women are -- in tunnels two miles under ground -- when they realize they are not alone. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Prepare to be scared senseless, and then, when you think you have it figured, your certainty will be shaken by scenes built to scare you even more. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Easily the summer's scariest movie. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
A cult classic is born. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
At the heart of the film, beyond the human/crawler conflict, is the suppressed tension between Sarah and Juno. That Marshall bothered to include such a fillip sets him apart from run-of-the-mill scaremongers; it makes me want to see what else he's done and will do. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad Derakhshani
Amid this unrelenting ferocity, Marshall gives his characters emotional depth, and elicits terrific performances from the cast. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
Marshall takes a modest budget and a concept that isn't all that original and produces a frightening, intelligent and sexy thriller. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
For those who like their horror served straight up with no ironic chaser, The Descent is a tasty cup of torment. Read full review
75
PremiereKelly Borgeson
The Descent is bloody, disturbing, and genuinely frightening--you'll be very happy to leave that dark theater. Read full review
70
VarietyDerek Elley
The chills and spills keep comin' to agreeable effect in Brit-made scarefest The Descent. Read full review
70
Film ThreatJeremy Knox
All in all, this is an accessible art house horror film whose trailer and premise do not do justice to the end result. Read full review
70
Village VoiceRob Nelson
In the great B tradition, Marshall gets a lot out of nothing. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
What follows is a sensationally entertaining escalation of frights, the kind that make you wiggle and squirm as you alternately laugh at your own gullibility and marvel at the filmmaker's cunning and craft. Read full review
70
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Marshall keeps the film lean and focused. He does have a nice taste for horror imagery. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
While the women's battle with the cave creatures has fine jump-from-your-seat moments, it gradually becomes the same chase flick horror fans have seen dozens of times. OK, it's a darn good one in most respects. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
The Descent may not be everything you've heard, but man, it's also a lot of things you haven't. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
You either go for a movie like this or you don't. But though I didn't like it much, I've got to admit that The Descent is a nerve-jangler. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Eventually, though, the monsters come out -- blind, snarling cave-dwellers, looking much like Gollum's bigger kin -- and The Descent becomes a simple exercise in guessing who, if anyone, will survive. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
Compulsively watchable, with its fair share of effective sledgehammer shocks; it just isn't very good. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
It's made expressly for fans of unmitigated gore. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
This intermittently effective UK horror thriller carefully establishes the psychological relationships among the women, then squanders this calibrated and generally plausible setup with a series of crude, implausible, and scattershot horror effects. Read full review
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