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Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Jackson Mendoza, Krysten Cummings, Douglas Hodge, Gavan O'Herlihy ... see more see more... , Joshua Dallas , Anna Skellern

The Descent editor Jon Harris makes the leap to the director's chair in this sequel to Neil Marshall's claustrophobic 2005 creature flick. Sarah Carter (Shauna MacDonald) has managed to escape from th... read more read more...e Appalachian cave system where all of her friends were killed by "crawlers" -- primordial humanoids who have adapted to living in the subterranean darkness. In hopes that some of the spelunkers may have survived, Sheriff Redmond Vaines rounds up his deputies for a rescue mission, and decides to take Sarah along as a guide. At first Sarah has no memory of the horrors that wait below, but the further the team pushes into the cave, the more vivid her flashbacks become until the reality of the situation sinks in. Now, the rescue crew is being hunted from the shadows by a whole new clan of crawlers that are even more vicious and terrifying than their predecessors. Sarah was lucky to make it out of the caves alive the first time -- will that luck carry over into her second descent, or is she doomed to die while dreaming of escaping into the sunlight? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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36% liked it

18,878 ratings

Critics

55% liked it

31 critics

R, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: Jon Harris

Release Date: August 24, 2009

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DVD Release Date: April 27, 2010

Stats: 1,851 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,851)

  • lewiskendell
    December 17, 2011
    lewiskendell
    I love The Descent. It's easily one of my ten favorite modern horror movies, and I've seen it more times than is probably healthy. It's excellently paced, atmospheric, genuinely claustrophobic, and frightening in both psychological and more visceral ways. The Descent: Part II is ... read morenothing like the first movie when it comes to atmosphere, tone, or (unfortunately) quality. This is just a bad (and oddly bright), gross-out blood-fest that's blindly grasping at the name recognition of its predecessor.

    I had to struggle just to focus on the bland, annoying new characters. There's no real tension, no creativity to be found, and it doesn't even look like its related to the first movie. I've seen better sets and special effects on old Xena episodes (better writing, too). I understand that this is the work of a completely different director (the editor of the first film), but it's like he completely abandoned anything and everything that mad the first movie memorable, plopped some hilariously generic new characters into the caves with the barest story to support their existence, and then just copied parts of the first movie in the most boring and amateurish ways possible.

    Part II is a shoddy, unnecessary sequel if I've ever seen one, and should be skipped with impunity by even casual fans of the original. The best parts of the movie are actually the brief flashbacks to the first one, which is my way of saying you'd be much better of just watching the original again. Horror movies don't have to be masterpieces to entertain me, but I can't help but compare The Descent: Part II to its predecessor, and it doesn't compare well at all.
  • helpahorse
    June 24, 2011
    helpahorse
    Really stupid actually.

    The fact that they'd bring Sarah, who was clearly suffering from PTSD, back down into the cave is so unbelievable.

    The gore was terrible, unlike the original which was fantastic. The characters were for the most part obnoxious and unlikable with the... read more exception of Sarah and Juno, the original characters.

    The twist with Juno was good, but the very end when the guy hit the girl with the shovel and dragged her back to the cave? What the fuck was that? Who was that guy? It didn't make any sense at all. The movie was tolerable up until that point, then I was like "this movie is a piece of shit". It was a funny movie though, not intentionally funny, but I laughed anyway.

    Really poor attempt at a sequel.
  • MizturY0da
    April 16, 2011
    MizturY0da
    2 stars
  • blacksheepboy
    April 7, 2011
    blacksheepboy
    I was ready to accept the fact that this sequel picks up where the US edited version of the first film left off, instead of the amazing uncut one. But nothing can make me forgive the heavy-handed direction or the lack of inspiration in this silly horror movie.
  • Deano78
    April 1, 2011
    Deano78
    A pretty decent follow up to the first film, continuing right where that one left off. Ok second time round, you know what to expect, so the surprise element has gone. Otherwise it's pretty much more of the same, although with some odd plot decisions but we have to overlook ratio... read morenal decisions in horror films. Good to see the lead character back again for this one. If you enjoyed the first and want a bit more, go see this!
  • itsjustme2004
    January 31, 2011
    itsjustme2004
    Gruesome. Disgusting. Suspenseful. Scary. Fun to watch!!! The rare sequel that is almost as good as the original.
  • Beefy
    January 25, 2011
    Beefy
    Meh. Not bad, really, but nowhere near as claustrophobic as the original, with a couple of characters whose actions make no sense and really destroy credibility.
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    November 27, 2010
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    Good movie, it wasn't as good as the first one but still made me shake a little watching it at night time. The ending was the only thing I didn't like I mean it's freaking wicked completely, I couldn't believe what happen at the end, seriously messed up!!!! Anyways if you like ev... read moreil endings you will like this one.

    Two days after the events of the first film, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) is washed away to safety with no memory of the events of the last time she was in the cave. She is taken to a hospital, where it is revealed some of the blood on her matches that of Juno Kaplan (Natalie Mendoza). Sheriff Vaines (Gavan O'Herlihy) demands that along with his deputy Elen Rios (Krysten Cummings), Sarah and three specialists - Dan (Douglas Hodge), Greg (Joshua Dallas) and Cath (Anna Skellern), must go back into the cave to find the missing women. A new entrance is found with the help of a sniffer dog. The team members are sent down via an old mine shaft operated by the old, mysterious Ed Oswald (Michael J. Reynolds).

    Whilst crawling through a narrow tunnel in the caves, Sarah has a flashback of what happened in the caves, and in a nervous panic, attacks Vaines, Greg and Elen and runs off deeper into the caves. Vaines pursues Sarah but eventually runs into a crawler and fires a shot that causes part of the cave to collapse, separating Cath from the rest of the group. Elen, Dan and Greg arrive in a room full of bones where they find the video camera used by Holly in the first film. They watch the playback, which reveals the women were attacked by the cave dwelling 'crawlers.' Then, the three are attacked by a group of crawlers and separate.

    The trio split, and Elen starts calling for help, alerting the crawlers to her location, but is stopped by Sarah, who warns Elen that the crawlers hunt via sound. The two then watch as a crawler attacks and kills Dan, ripping his throat open and dragging him away. Later, Cath escapes and kills a crawler and runs into Greg. The two climbing away from a crawler and using their radio to divert the pursuing crawler away from them. They travel deeper into the cave and find Sam hanging lifelessly. They decide to try to use her to swing across the chasm, but are both attacked by crawlers. Greg falls below, whilst tackling a female crawler, and although Cath makes it to the other side, she is attacked and killed by another crawler once she gets there.

    Elen and Sarah wander deeper into the cave, and kill another crawler before Elen reveals she has a daughter, which makes Sarah more determined to escape. Vaines is wandering around the cave and is about to be killed by a crawler before he is saved by Juno, who is revealed to be alive and an expert in hunting the crawlers. Later, all four meet up again. Juno and Sarah immediately fight, but then they all decide it's best they work together to escape and survive. Juno leads them off into the feeding pit, which she claims is also the exit. Vaines handcuffs Sarah to him so she can't leave them to die like she did to Juno. As they progress, Vaines falls over a ledge and is attacked by crawlers from below. Elen cuts off his hand to save Sarah from falling and to prevent the crawlers from attacking them as well.

    At the film's climax, Elen, Sarah and Juno reach the exit, but are blocked by a small group of crawlers. As they try to tip-toe around the crawlers, Juno is grabbed by a dying Greg. Juno screams in surprise, which gets the attention of four crawlers. Greg dies and the women are left to fight off the crawlers. The battle is tough, but Elen, Sarah and Juno kill a crawler each. After that, Sarah sees that Juno is losing the battle to a crawler larger than the others and strangles the crawler from behind. Tensing up, the crawler rips into Juno's stomach, mortally wounding her. She and Sarah finish it off before Juno dies in Sarah's arms. As Sarah mourns for her loss, Elen turns around to leave, but finds them surrounded by a large group of crawlers. Sarah, with the need to redeem herself for Juno's suffering and nothing to lose, screams to draw attention to herself, allowing Elen to escape.

    Elen reaches the outside and is about to call for help when she is attacked by Ed, who hits her with a shovel and drags her back to the entrance to be food for the crawlers. As Elen recovers from the hit, a bloodied crawler jumps out at her as the movie ends.
  • stormyweather980
    November 20, 2010
    stormyweather980
    Wayyyyyyyy better than the original to me! I wasn't crazy about the original "Descent", probably mostly because I thought the creatures failed majorly in comparison in look and sound and overall coolness, as did the cave itself, to that seen in one of my all-time favorite films, ... read more"The Cave". However, I loved this sequel! The creatures are the same, but there are way more memorable parts and a better storyline between all the characters. The ending was a nice twist too, which I appreciate. Surprised that most seem to prefer the original and that only 38% of Flixster users like this film as of now, cause I loved it.
  • LWOODS04
    October 29, 2010
    LWOODS04
    Cast: Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Jackson Mendoza, Krysten Cummings, Gavan O'Herlihy, Joshua Dallas, Anna Skellern, Douglas Hodge, Doug Ballard, MyAnna Buring, Axelle Carolyn

    Director: Jon Harris

    Summary: In this gruesome thriller, blood-drenched Sarah Carter (Shauna MacDon... read moreald) surfaces as the lone escapee from the savage cave-dwelling Crawlers that terrorized her and five others. Traumatized and unable to explain the nightmare, she must return to help find her friends. But it's not long before the search team becomes the Crawlers' fresh prey. And Sarah once again battles to cheat death, as she clings to the hope that her friends are alive.

    My Thoughts: "It's a good sequel considering most sequel's are pretty bad. I just felt it was more of the same that happened in the first movie. You know what's going to happen when they all squirm their way through the cave. I liked the first one a bit better. The story was just more interesting to watch, and their was still suspense. This one's characters were kind of bland and the cops were annoying. The ending was different and unexplained which hopefully doesn't lead to a third one of these. They all start looking the same after the first two. But definitely a strong sequel and worth the watch."

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Critic Reviews

Leslie Felperin
May 17, 2009
Leslie Felperin, Variety

As popcorn entertainment, it delivers, and should satisfy fans on all platforms. Full Review

Tim Brayton
February 9, 2011
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

Thank the sequel for underscoring, in its devastating mediocrity, just how great and special the original was to start with. Full Review

Scott Nash
November 11, 2010
Scott Nash, Three Movie Buffs

Doesn't come close to the original, but still manages to entertain. Full Review

Josh Bell
April 30, 2010
Josh Bell, Filmcritic.com

By the standards set up by its predecessor, it's a letdown, but by the overall standards of horror sequels, it's a complete success. Full Review

Scott Weinberg
April 27, 2010
Scott Weinberg, FEARnet

You can practically see the film trying to "color between the lines" laid down in the first film, but there's just enough freshness to keep Part 2 chugging along. Full Review

Bill Gibron
April 23, 2010
Bill Gibron, PopMatters

With its back-and-forth plot pointing, illogical leaps in pragmatic believability, and a finale that flips a big fat middle finger at anyone who invested 90 minutes in this junk, The Descent 2 cannot ... Full Review

Christian Toto
April 22, 2010
Christian Toto, What Would Toto Watch?

No one expected 'Part 2' to rival the original, but it delivers a fair number of scares while replicating the eerie tension from the first film. Full Review

Sam Bathe
April 15, 2010
Sam Bathe, Fan The Fire

You won't be missing anything spectacular if you don't catch The Descent: Part 2, for horror fans and those who enjoyed the original, however, it's definitely worth a go. Full Review

December 8, 2009
Heat Magazine

A claustrophobic, creepy popcorn flick that compensates for predictable scares with deliciously disgusting moments involving a whole spectrum of bodily fluids.

Nev Pierce
December 4, 2009
Nev Pierce, Empire Magazine

An uninspired retread of a horror classic, this tries hard to justify its existence... and fails. Full Review

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  • Neil Marshall directed 2 of the movies below, what were they?  Answer »
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