036 The Descent (2005)

Retro Grade Podcast

“THE WORST THING THAT’S HAPPENED TO YOU HAS ALREADY HAPPENED AND YOU’RE STILL HERE.“

On this week’s episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we talk about a horror gem from the mid 2000’s, The Descent. Directed by Neil Marshall, the film is about a group of women who go exploring remote underground caves, and find that they are not the only ones there. We go into depth about the story, how the film leans on the main characters internal conflict to drive the film instead of letting the creatures be the main draw, and why that is a GOOD thing.

We talk about how people complain about horror movie characters “acting stupid,” and why that is no longer a valid excuse given how some people in the world have responded to a global pandemic. We also get into how the characters of The Descent behave in a way that is true to their respective personalities laid out before a monster ever appears in the movie. We talk about how it was extremely rare to cast an entire film with female characters, and how they are written with nuance over stereotypes.

We go into the making of the film, how the director and production had to get creative in order to make the most of their 4 million dollar budget, without compromising the quality and how these restrictions lead to some of the boldest decisions we would see in a horror film from recent memories. Shooting a film in the dark isn’t easy. How do you make sure it’s not too dark for the audience to see what’s happening, and not dark enough so that it compromises the atmosphere of claustrophobia?

We also talk how this film would go on to influence future films and video games. So join us for this special Halloween episode of Retro Grade Podcast!
Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.

Artwork by @jannelle_o