daily scream: the movie that made a screening room full of critics whimper
2005’s *The Descent* is on Max in the US and Prime in the UK (and other services, too)
The Daily Stream becomes the Daily Scream for spooky season!
One of my most memorable experiences watching a film as a professional is of sitting in a screening room with around 25 other critics, all of the rest of them men, and… Friends, lemme tell ya, the whimpering that 2005’s The Descent elicited! From hardened guys who’d seen it all (moviewise, at least). I don’t usually find monster movies scary, but what British director Neil Marshall does here is something special. Something terrifying.
When a group of women spelunking in Appalachia get trapped by a cave-in, they discover that they are not alone, and the things they’re not alone with are hunting them. Think Alien, but underground, so: a neverending anticipation that awful things are waiting around every bend in the relentless, claustrophobic darkness (and they usually are). This is the sort of movie that makes you wanna pull your legs up onto the seat lest something hideous reach out from underneath and grab your ankles. (Read my 2006 review.)
US: stream on Max (via Prime); rent/buy on Prime and Apple TV
UK: rent/buy on Prime
See The Descent at Letterboxd for more viewing options.
When you rent or purchase a film through my Prime and Apple links, I get a small affiliate fee that helps support my work. Please use them if you can! (Affiliate fees do not increase your cost.)
Like this? Want me to keep it up? Show your support by becoming a paid subscriber (if you aren’t already):
Please feel free to share this with anyone you think might enjoy it. Thank you!
find lots more movies to stream at Flick Filosopher
You control which emails from me you receive in your Substack account settings. Go to My Subscriptions > Flick Filosopher > Edit > Email notifications, then uncheck whichever bits you don’t want to receive by email. (No matter what email settings you choose, you can always read stuff at the Flick Filosopher Substack site or in the Substack app.)
follow me…
Bluesky | Letterboxd | Rotten Tomatoes | Pinterest | Mastodon | Post | Spoutible | Facebook