The Descent (DVD)
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Once the six women rappel down into a completely isolated, totally unexplored network of dark caves deep the in the
When The Descent, already a hit in Britain in 2005, was released in the U.S. last summer, there was a bit of dissent because the original, darker, ending was edited. What happened was, the movie simply ended a little earlier for American audiences. We got the "happy" ending. On the DVD, there is not a choice between the two: the first ending is back, as is the original director's cut.
If you did not get to see The Descent on the big screen, I pity you. While it's still an awesome movie no matter what the venue, I did notice the all-encompassing experience of seeing the film in a dark, cavernous movie theater lessened its impact somewhat (even on a big screen, hi-def TV). I also noticed that in spite of the slightly extended ending, the British cut is more succinct, and there are less pre-cave shenanigans between the girls in the woodsy cabin. This is a good thing. And, the cave-crawlers are just as scary. Another good thing!
In fact, there is really nothing at all to complain about, when it comes to the The Descent DVD. Upon viewing it again, I feel as strongly as ever about placing it on my 10 Best Movies of 2006.
The Unrated DVD has two great commentaries. There is one featuring writer-director Neil Marshall, and several of the actresses who appeared in the film — Nora Jane Noone, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring, Shauna McDonald, and Alex Reid), and another one with Marshall and his crew (producer Christian Colson, editor Jon Harris, assistant editor Tina Richardson and Production Designer Simon Bowles).
Marshall leads the way in both commentaries, ably guiding everyone through and giving them each a chance to speak as he reminisces with them and asks several questions. Obviously the commentary with the crew is more technical, and the one with the actresses is more anecdotal. The latter is more fun — and at times quite hilarious. As the group gasps and reacts to the shocking death scenes, it's like watching the movie with friends! Very fun stuff.
Also quite fun, if perhaps too demystifying, is the featurette of outtakes and bloopers, in which one of the "crawler" actors does a dance routine. Actually, this is one of the most genuinely amusing gag reels I have seen lately, and it's quite obvious that this group of filmmakers and actors really liked each other.
The 40 minute "Beneath the Scenes" featurette shows how the sets were constructed, how the creatures evolved from imagination to the drawing board to fruition, and so on. It's very much in depth, as are the other extras: "DesENDING," and an interview with Marshall.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson