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The Descent

Play trailer Poster for The Descent R 2006 1h 39m Horror Mystery & Thriller Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
87% Tomatometer 190 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
A year after a severe emotional trauma, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) goes to North Carolina to spend some time exploring caves with her friends; after descending underground, the women find strange cave paintings and evidence of an earlier expedition, then learn they are not alone: Underground predators inhabit the crevasses, and they have a taste for human flesh.
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The Descent

The Descent

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Critics Consensus

Deft direction and strong performances from its all-female cast guide The Descent, a riveting, claustrophobic horror film.

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Critics Reviews

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Alyx Vesey Bitch Media Jan 7, 2021
While I think we should question the authority of the ubiquitous male writer-director to shape horror productions, I think Marshall does a good job representing his female characters. Go to Full Review Sarah Lilleyman TIME Magazine Oct 15, 2008
Marshall could very well be the Caravaggio of the B-movie. Go to Full Review Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader Sep 24, 2007
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. Go to Full Review André Didyme-Dôme Rolling Stone en Español Sep 11, 2026
A landmark film in modern horror. It understands that the most enduring fear lies not in the immediate jump scare but in the prolonged experience of feeling trapped, betrayed, and confronted by oneself in the dark. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Marcelo Paredes Cinencuentro Feb 20, 2026
The Descent stands as a great horror film worth revisiting. It's a profoundly sensory work, the experience of which is significantly enhanced under optimal viewing conditions...[Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Sebastian Zavala Kahn Me gusta el cine Feb 17, 2026
4.5/5
An unbearably tense, constantly surprising and visually inventive experience, which concludes in a depressing but appropriate way (thankfully, here it's arriving with the original British ending). [Full review in Spanish]. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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REBEL Aug 14, 2026 This was one of the best movies I’ve got to see at your theater. See more Handsomepugmom Aug 14, 2026 This 100% needs to be seen on the big screen! I’m so happy I got to see the Fangoria Staff pick of August See more Neil H Aug 14, 2026 First off, the score isn’t talked about enough, it’s really another character in this film. It really propels the movie from start to finish. It displays such an aire of mystery while being really grounded, the sweeping nature of the strings give off such a foreboding sense of dread with some great anticipatory keyboard stabs. They took quite a low budget and made something unsettling, closterphobic and totally original, not to mention memorable. def worth noting the performances are of a pretty high caliber, v understated acting. prob Neil Marshall’s best work. See more Taylor Oct 12, 2025 The Descent scares from the first to last scene. Claustrophobic and nauseating in the best way. See more Dave T @Millenialcritical 23 hrs ago If you like ADR, weak dialogue, illogical characters and a goofy plot, this one is for you. See more Ellie-mae F @RT00090300 Sep 23, 2026 I really enjoyed this film, good story line a good eerie chill, good monsters , it had you on edge you seat, some death scene was brutal. Definitely enjoyed this film . A baddie killer main character was proper rooting for her See more Read all reviews
The Descent

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Cast & Crew

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Neil Marshall

Director

Shauna Macdonald

Sarah

Natalie Mendoza

Juno

Alex Reid

Beth

Saskia Mulder

Rebecca

Nora Jane Noone

Holly

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The Descent

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The Descent

The Descent (2005) The Descent (2005) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A year after a severe emotional trauma, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) goes to North Carolina to spend some time exploring caves with her friends; after descending underground, the women find strange cave paintings and evidence of an earlier expedition, then learn they are not alone: Underground predators inhabit the crevasses, and they have a taste for human flesh.
Director
Neil Marshall
Producer
Christian Colson
Screenwriter
Neil Marshall
Distributor
Lionsgate Films
Production Co
Celador Productions, Lionsgate Television
Rating
R (Strong Violence and Gore|Language)
Genre
Horror, Mystery & Thriller, Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 4, 2006, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$26.0M
Runtime
1h 39m
Sound Mix
Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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