The Descent

A group of six women who share a taste for extreme outdoor pursuits meets in a remote part of the Appalachian Mountains for a caving expedition. Among them is Sarah, who is still recovering after a personal tragedy a year earlier. The trip is led by Juno, whose forceful and reckless streak pushes the group off the route they had planned. When a rockfall seals the passage behind them, the women find themselves trapped deep underground, and it becomes clear that no one knows where they have gone. Searching for another way out through a labyrinth of tunnels, they realise that something else is down there with them: predatory creatures adapted to life in the dark, which hunt them without warning. As the group's trust in one another breaks down, the women must rely on their own resolve to have any chance of getting out.

Written and directed by Neil Marshall, this was his second feature, following Dog Soldiers (2002). It was produced by Christian Colson for Celador Films, Northmen Productions and Pathe, and stars Shauna Macdonald as Sarah, Natalie Mendoza as Juno, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring and Nora-Jane Noone. Made for about 4 million USD, it took roughly 57 million USD worldwide, a strong return on a modest production. Audiences rate it 7.2/10 on IMDb from some 271,000 votes and 7/10 on TMDB from over 4,500 votes, while a critics' rating of 7.6/10 from 189 reviews places professional assessment slightly above the audience scores.