DVD Review: ‘The Descent: Part 2’ Merely Sinks

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CHICAGO – Why does every successful horror film need a sequel? If they’re big enough, they usually come out theatrically, but there’s a whole sub-genre of straight-to-video follow-ups to horror hits, the latest being the truly bad “The Descent: Part 2,” a film that merely serves to enhance the reputation of the original by comparison.

HollywoodChicago.com DVD Rating: 1.0/5.0
DVD Rating: 1.0/5.0

The best thing about “The Descent: Part 2” is the set-up. It’s all downhill from there. Haven’t you ever wondered about the aftermath of a horror movie? The camera usually fades to black when the villain is killed or the hero is safe, but there’s clearly going to be a lot of questions and clean-up. What happens next is a common genre question and “The Descent: Part 2” cleverly picks up immediately after the end of Neil Marshall’s beloved film.

The Descent Part 2 was released on DVD on April 27th, 2010.
The Descent Part 2 was released on DVD on April 27th, 2010.
Photo credit: Lionsgate Home Video

As Sarah Carter (Shauna MacDonald) emerges from the hellhole of chaos in “The Descent,” people immediately wonder what happened to her fellow cave explorers. Deeply traumatized, Sarah doesn’t fully remember and is forced into a rescue party to save them. By the time Sarah has enough flashbacks of slime-drooling creatures, it’s too late for the new crew of victims waiting to be crushed, eaten, or both.

The Descent Part 2 was released on DVD on April 27th, 2010.
The Descent Part 2 was released on DVD on April 27th, 2010.
Photo credit: Lionsgate Home Video

“The Descent: Part 2” is a movie in freefall. It starts promisingly but just gets less and less interesting. The new cast of supporting characters are remarkably boring and have none of the energy of the original crew. I couldn’t wait for them to die. And yet the first hour of “The Descent: Part 2” is almost entirely nothing but waiting. The first film had an element of surprise that the second one simply doesn’t, making the dragged-out slow burn merely painful because we know exactly what’s coming.

The first act of “The Descent” featured some of the most claustrophobic moments of the last decade but director Jon Harris and his crew are unable to recreate the same sense of tight, deadly spaces. “Part 2” always feels like a set, perhaps because of the less believable characters, but also simply due to less-refined camera work that doesn’t adequately convey the deadliness of the location even without man-eating creatures at play.

When the action finally gets going in “The Descent: Part 2,” things don’t look up. It’s horribly choreographed, hard to follow, and simply stupid. It really makes you appreciate what Marshall accomplished with the first one. Perhaps it is unfair to compare to one of the best horror films of the last decade (although calling yourself “Part 2” makes it inevitable), but this unintelligble junk with uninteresting characters fails regardless of what you think of “The Descent”.

2010 has already produced two awful straight-to-video horror sequels in “Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever” and now this disaster. Here’s some advice for horror directors: Whatever you do, don’t sell your sequel rights.

Special features on “The Descent: Part 2”:
o Audio Commentary with Director Jon Harris and Actors Shauna MacDonald, Krysten Cummings & Anna Skellern
o Making of “The Descent: Part 2”: Deeper & Darker
o Storyboard Gallery
o Deleted Scenes

‘The Descent: Part 2’ is released by Lionsgate Home Video and stars Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza, Douglas Hodge, Krysten Cummings, Gavan O’Herlihy, Joshua Dallas, and Anna Skellern. It was written by James McCarthy & J. Blakeson and James Watkins and directed by Jon Harris. The DVD was released on April 27th, 2010. It is rated R.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Zach's picture

Wow...

Overall this was a three-star horror film, it had twists and turns.. but it was hardly “hard to follow”… and if it was for the writer of this review.. I feel so very sad for him! Certainly some of it, mainly the premise of bringing the pseudo-heroin back into the game is far fetched.. look past that and you find a well crafted suspenseful scare.

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