I'm one of those "purists" who enjoys horror movies most when a crisp autumn moon scrapes cold, bare trees, but tomorrow I will make a mid-summer exception. For this month's "Cinemacabre" presentation at the Bloor Cinema the ghouls at Rue Morgue have brought us The Descent.

From all the buzz, The Descent sounds to be one of those rare horror films that eschews dull, senseless gore in favour of fostering an impression of genuine dread. In other words, this may be an instant horror classic. The film's pedigree is there: writer/director Neil Marshall gave fright-fans the chilling Dog Soldiers which had more scares in a random 10 minute sequence than in all Eli Roth movies combined.

The basic plot of The Descent: six women on a caving adventure become trapped underground in an unexplored cavern populated by fearsome creatures with a taste for flesh. The women are forced to battle for their survival but find that the most difficult enemy is each other as loyalties disintegrate in the darkness.

Yes, it sounds quiet a bit like the similarly themed snooze-fest The Cave which was released last year but The Descent actually hit the festival circuits at the same time and seems the superior film on one-tenth the budget of a Hollywood film; think along the lines of Alien's "Ten Little Indian's" plot but buried underground. The Descent has an exceptional 7.4 rating at IMDB (from over ten thousand votes) which is an unsually high score for a horror movie. Comments suggest that this is a movie best seen in a theatre with a decent sound system because it gives more life to the creatures as if they're surrounding you in the darkness. If director Marshall maintains his high standards of character development and tension, this should be another winner.

The Descent is showing as an advance screening for ONE NIGHT ONLY (tomorrow - July 20) at 9:30 at the Bloor Cinema - 506 Bloor West. Prizes and ghastly fun always accompany these Cinemacabre nights so arrive early!

pic taken from the official website