The Descent: Cave Horror! (AKA Nightmare Fuel)
This one is pretty low-hanging fruit — and I promise all my Spooktacular picks won’t be so obvious — but I feel like The Descent is worth revisiting after 17(!) years. To discuss it, I need to start with my central question:
Is it scary? Yes! JESUS CHRIST! Fuck…it sure is.
The story centers on a group of adventurous women, one of whom suffers a devastating personal tragedy in the opening moments of the film (a horror trope I happen to love), who go caving is the Appalachian mountains. A tunnel collapse early on in their expedition puts them in a terrifying predicament. Due to the actions of a couple of the more daring thrillseekers, they are trapped and without hope of rescue. Early on, they face extremely claustrophobic conditions, unsteady terrain, and some gnarly injuries. Coupled with the fear of our characters dying a slow death in the dark, The Descent has already provided me with enough nightmare fuel in its first half. And then the humanoid bat creatures come at them…
The film, a relatively low-budge production, starts off looking a bit cheap and the performances early-on are a bit amateurish. However, once the horror picks up, that all turns around. The actors all kick into another gear, portraying different degrees of resolve against the situation, captured in beautiful reds and black (with occasional green from a cleverly-used video camera and glow sticks). There is gore, and literal pools of blood, and shocking acts of violence perpetrated by and against our heroines. It’s a 99-minute horror thrillride.
I don’t think anything will replicate my legitimately exhausting experience of seeing this in theaters. It’s also hard to feel the same level of terror in a repeat viewing when you know what’s going to happen. However, at the time, I was certain this was the scariest film ever made. It very well might still be, especially for people with certain pre-existing phobias — enough reputable publications seemed to think it belonged in that conversation once upon a time. If you end up watching it for the first time, you’ll have to let me know what your experience is. Just make sure to watch it in the dark.
Is it streaming? Yes, currently on Paramount+, Prime Video, and free on Tubi.
Part of my 2022 Halloween Spooktacular
