Sarah Carter:  Shauna Macdonald
Douglas Hodge:  Dan
Joshua Dallas:  Greg
Anna Skellern:  Cath
Gavan O’Herlihy:  Sherif Vanines
Doug Ballard:  Dr. Roger Payne
Natalie Mendoza:  Juno Kaplan
Nora-Jane Noone:  Holly

Release Date: December 4, 2009
Studio: Lionsgate
Genre: Horror 
Rated: 18     1 hr 34 mins

CAST:

The Descent Part 2

October 16, 2010

Reviewer: Rottenbucher

DIRECTOR:

Jon Harris

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In a rather unique horror cinema event, The Descent Part 2 picks up roughly 36 hours after the conclusion of the original.  Those who languish through countless sequels are always exposed to the second (or tenth) film coming a few months to years later and is basically the same film.  Oddly, the bulk of The Descent Part 2 plays out as an extended Act III of The Descent.

Out of the cave and into the light, a blood-drenched Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) is picked up along a roadside. While she is in the hospital and suffering from amnesia there is a search and rescue mission underway for the remainder of her party. But Sheriff Vaines, desperate to find the remaining girls and find out why Sarah was covered in so much blood, forces her back into the caves.  Sarah eventually freaks out as her memory returns and then fractures the rescue party who’s loud searching efforts alerts the Crawlers.

The Descent Part 2 has most of the claustrophobia that made the first film such a terrifying flick. Sometimes though it seems abnormally too bright and the shadows aren’t nearly as menacing. It also relies more on the Crawlers and more violence and gore.  That doesn’t necessarily take away from the film, it doesn’t add much either. The film throws a nice twist in the middle that totally works and adds a nice dynamic that saves the film from totally getting stuck in the cave.

So given that The Descent Part 2 has all of the aspects that made the original such a thrill ride, why isn’t it as good?  The answer is simple, too much cave shenanigans.  Once the group breaks apart and the Crawlers are able to pick them off one by one it gets all too familiar.  But the pace of The Descent Part 2 is twice that of the original.  The last 20-minutes move along in a rather brilliant blur of blood and squeamish tight places. That does makes up for the familiar territory but at the same time kind of ruins the progression of the first film to the second.

If you absolutely loved The Descent, then the sequel is a nice pick up and continuation of the overall story. However, if you didn’t care about the surviving characters from the first film and claustrophobic elements don’t creep you out, The Descent Part 2 isn’t going to do much for you.