Christian Hernandez92 said:I honestly just don't get how anyone can call this movie a masterpiece?!
It’s actually wild how so many people, even hardcore horror fans, hype this mediocre flick up and act like it belongs in the same league as the all-time greats...
The whole thing is just riddled with flaws, half-baked ideas, and total nonsense; the scenario biti pun rupa and full of logical gaps that basically insult the intelligence of any average viewer, and at times it gets so predictable and forced it’s almost impossible to sit through; all of that just creates this grating sense of disbelief that, for me, is pretty much the defining trait of this movie...
I’ll only mention a few things since it’s been a while since I watched it (and I had to watch it twice—once because I couldn't believe such a massive flop was getting so much praise)...
S P O I L E R !
The biggest issue, which the entire concept relies on, is the evolution part. Basically, you're supposed to buy that these "monsters" are actually humans who’ve been trapped in the dark, isolated in caves for years and evolved into a new kind of predator...
The movie claims they lost their sight, their hearing, and even their sense of touch. But somehow, none of that stops them from popping up on the surface every now and then to hunt animals that are way faster and more agile, creatures that have all their senses intact and are perfectly adapted to life on the surface and fighting off other predators. And despite all those trips to the surface, they always manage to stay totally undetected. You have to wonder how a creature that’s supposedly COMPLETELY incapable of living above ground would even handle it... Seeing all the animal bones the main characters find deep in the cave really makes you think these things are killing stuff on the surface quite successfully—the contrast is just insane...
Then there are moments in the movie that represent the absolute peak of zero logic: like how the "monsters" don't feel fire just inches away from them, meaning they can't see it or feel the heat, yet the fight scenes with the girls and the way they stalk and kill them suggest something COMPLETELY different about what these creatures are capable of; or when a monster holds its hand right on one of the girls' heads and doesn't notice her presence—not the body heat, the breathing, the torch burning right next to her—it's obvious... Despite everything mentioned, these "monsters" still act like perfect predators, jumping out of the shadows, walking on the ceiling (!!!!!!!), and hunting the girls with a level of skill that would require them to have fully developed senses, high intellect, and perfect motor skills... Just look at the scenes where they emerge from the darkness to hunt their "prey"—the main characters—and then compare that to the huge holes in the logic, and it's easy to see how inconsistent the whole idea is...
The absurdity, inconsistency, and, frankly, stupidity just keeps going: a girl travels from the UK to the US and, through no fault of her own, stumbles upon a brand-new cave system right next to a famous, well-mapped one that experts and researchers had already thoroughly explored; and that rockslide that blocks their ONLY exit is such a cliché, forced moment (which, weirdly enough, is CRUCIAL for the plot) that it actually made me want to gag... And regarding the theory of evolution—that process takes thousands of years. Given when America was discovered, we can only conclude these "monsters" are an exception to evolution, like some kind of crazy, super-fast evolutionary jump happened in those caves (which is actually my favorite little detail ;)).
I should also mention that this movie isn't just suffering from these kinds of errors and absurdities—I could go on FOREVER about the terrible character development, how it focuses on useless, trivial details instead of the actual plot, the shallow relationships between characters, the poorly defined motives, and so much more... but I won't. I think I've said enough about why this movie doesn't deserve its rating, highlighting just a fraction of its failures, and how it fails to scare or even make anyone think if they've ever seen more than three GOOD, coherent horror movies in their life...
P.S. And okay, here’s my hot take on the stuff most people get wrong—the idea that those "monsters" aren't even real, but are just some hallucination cooked up by > because her past, all those regrets, frustrations, and old wounds, is crashing head-first into this nightmare reality of constant darkness, claustrophobia, and being trapped with people who have their own dark histories and messy motives... to me, that’s honestly the only way to truly make sense of the movie, and it totally lines up with how I see it. Even if you look at it that way, you still run into plenty of plot holes and inconsistencies (not to mention how unoriginal it feels, since there are so many better movies out there doing the exact same thing), but I really feel like the film only holds any actual value if you view it through that psychological lens, because if you try to watch it as straight realism, it honestly just becomes kind of ridiculous...
Oh, and... S P O I L E R > :-)
Ah, I had to respond:
First, don't try to lecture me here with your precious terminology; it's painfully obvious you're just flaunting your supposed eloquence.
Second, you're looking for logic in every single, literal little detail of a HORROR genre film? My dear, if you went looking for logic in other horror films—like the ones you've already recommended, which apparently seem more logical and realistic to you than a random mutation occurring in nature, lol—then it wouldn't be horror in the first place. If you understand what the writer was trying to achieve.
Third, the film is absolute perfection. I saw it for the first time a year ago, stumbling upon it by chance on my brother's satellite TV, having no idea that everybody raves about this movie. So, I didn't watch it thinking about how famous critics praise it to the skies; I watched it without any prior knowledge, unaware such a film even existed and not being one of those people who succumb to collective euphoria—yet it thrilled me so much I still haven't recovered. The film kept me completely tense throughout, creating a sense of discomfort and claustrophobia, which RARELY happens to me. Also, the appearance of the mutant came when I least expected it; there wasn't even a hint that mutants existed until the moment they appeared.
See, almost everyone reacts to the film, whether positively or negatively, and that's the trick—hardly anyone is left indifferent, and that is exactly what gives it greatness and makes it popular and special.
That's all on that. Though I have plenty more to add, I won't... it's not worth it.
Btw, hi everyone, especially the Descent fans😁 and sry for jumping in headlong like this to react to a month-old post {I just had to}.🙂
