When previews for this film started going around, someone said that it was “the scariest film since ‘Alien.’” I knew then that I would have to see this movie. Is it as good as the Ridley Scott sci-fi horror classic? No, but it does stand on its own as an original film with some genuine suspense, intensity and scares.

The film starts with some women doing some whitewater rafting, which lets the audience know, these ladies are adventurous. One woman also makes eye contact with her friend’s husband for a little too long, so the audience knows that something is going on between those two and then the movie jolts to a shocking start that turns everyone’s relationship upside down from then on. We flash forward to a year later as the group of women are going on a caving expedition somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains (North Carolina, I think) and of course it isn’t a simple in and out looky-loo around a cave.

As the group gets deeper into the cave, problems start to arise and things get more and more uncomfortable. When the worst thing that could happen a mile or so below the surface happens (one of the women breaks her leg in a truly disgusting scene), the movie is going at top speed and that’s when director/screenwriter Neil Marshall decides to add the coup de grace to the mix; Gollem-like creatures that look like Nosferatu and are stalking the women and attacking them throughout the cave.

And that’s “The Descent,” a movie about being stuck in a bad situation that just gets worse and worse. It is a simple plot and that’s the beauty of the movie. Being stuck in a dark space with no discernible way out is scary and when you add flesh eating monsters to the mix, it is very scary. What keeps this from being the next “Alien” then? Well, there isn’t a real star or anyone that is going to use this film as a breakout performance, ala Sigourney Weaver. Also, the heroine is a very flawed character - almost too flawed - and even though her flaws are not of her own doing, it still bogs her down and makes it hard to root for her.

“The Descent” is still a very good horror movie and it is leaps and bounds better than most of the horror dreck that hits theaters these days. It isn’t for everybody though and if you do not like scary films where lots of things jump out at you or feature lots of gore (and the second half of this film is very, very gory), then stay away from this film. If however, you’ve been waiting for a film that made you want to cover your eyes in places, this is your best bet this summer.

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