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The Descent

The Descent

Adventure · Horror · 2005

After a personal tragedy, Sarah joins her friends on a caving expedition in the Appalachian Mountains. But when a rockfall traps them deep underground, their adventure turns into a nightmare. As they search for a way out, the group discovers they are not alone—lurking in the darkness are savage, cave-dwelling creatures. With rising tension and dwindling trust, the women must fight to survive against both the predators and each other.

Movie details

The Descent

“Scream your last breath.”

2005 Adventure · Horror 1h 40m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

After a personal tragedy, Sarah joins her friends on a caving expedition in the Appalachian Mountains. But when a rockfall traps them deep underground, their adventure turns into a nightmare. As they search for a way out, the group discovers they are not alone—lurking in the darkness are savage, cave-dwelling creatures. With rising tension and dwindling trust, the women must fight to survive against both the predators and each other.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Descent?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Wrong Turn 2: Dead End

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Hellraiser

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The Resurrected

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Mandy

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Neil Marshall

Written by

Neil Marshall

Shauna Macdonald

Shauna Macdonald

Sarah

Natalie Mendoza

Natalie Mendoza

Juno

Alex Reid

Alex Reid

Beth

Saskia Mulder

Saskia Mulder

Rebecca

MyAnna Buring

MyAnna Buring

Sam

Nora-Jane Noone

Nora-Jane Noone

Holly

Oliver Milburn

Oliver Milburn

Paul

Court is in session

Put The Descent on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.