Horror Movie Review: The Descent: Part 2 (2009)

Up there as one of the most unnecessary sequels ever, The Descent: Part 2 lacks in almost every department when compared to the original. However, as a stand-alone movie, it’s perfectly fine.

The original film is a modern horror classic that sees a group of women try to reconnect after one of them suffers a traumatic event. They go spelunking into what is later revealed to be an unmapped cave system. Inside they come under attack from pale, hairless creatures that are violent and blood-thirsty. It’s a great movie, tense and claustrophobic, gory and violent while also being clever and empowering.

Read our review of The Descent here.

Some may not know that the film actually has two endings. One of which the UK got and the other for the US audience. Take a guess which country got the bleaker ending?

It is the US ending, the one where Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) escaped the cave that sets up this movie. However, instead of driving away herself, she actually stops a driver who picks her up and takes her to hospital. There the police try to question her about the whereabouts of her friends while at the cave entrance a new set of climbers are going to go down having found the women’s path in.

Sarah is a suspect in their disappearances seeing as she was covered in blood and has no memory of what took place inside the caves. That there is a bit of a sticking point already. Really? She has no memory of anything that occurred? Traumatic or not, a lot of things happened down there. It’s not a bluff either as she is taken by the police back to the cave to go back in. If she remembered anything then she wouldn’t go back in.

Sarah, a few police officers and a couple of climbers discover another and safer route in to the caves. So set about trying to solve the mystery of what occurred down there.

This again requires some serious logic ignorance to believe. Sarah is a suspect and has no memory, not only that but she is pretty beat up. There is no way she would be taken back into the cave only a short while after checking into a hospital. It’s silly. A really silly way to include her in this story when she really didn’t need to be.

Yes, she’s a badass and here, once her memory returns, she really gets to showcase a stronger and tougher woman. However, that’s a role that could have gone to someone new. Especially as the new cast are undefined characters there to be killed off quickly. It’s in such complete contrast to the original movies well-written set of characters.

Once in the cave, The Descent: Part 2 proceeds to walk the same path as the previous movie. With the group come under attack from the creatures. People die, blood is shed and the creatures howl. There’s very little fresh here yet it is enjoyable. Especially when they start to come across the bodies of the original movie’s women. The makeup and effects are impressive.

Then The Descent: Part 2 does something so stupid. So utterly idiotic that you just have to throw your hands up and scoff. Do you remember Juno (Natalie Mendoza) from the first film? Well, she’s still alive! In a baffling turn of events, Juno survived having her leg impaled by a pick and being surrounded by the creatures. We even hear her scream as Sarah escapes the cave.

This is such a moronic plot point that is only there for the brief face off that her and Sarah have. Juno tries to kill her, Sarah somehow manages to convince her that she came back to save her and Juno goes along with it. Then 10 minutes later she is killed by the creatures anyway. Pointless, utterly pointless.

Which sums up The Descent: Part 2 perfectly. It’s not a bad movie but it doesn’t even come close to touching what made the first so special.