FILM REVIEW: The Descent 2

BOOK BLURB:

This sequel to Neil Marshall’s surprise shocker of 2006 promises to make audiences scream as much as its predecessor did. Beginning just moments after the end of the previous film, THE DESCENT 2 follows a rescue mission to save a group of female spelunkers who disappeared in the Appalachian Mountains. A sole survivor, Sarah (Shauna MacDonald) comes out of the caves, but a local sheriff makes her go back into the dark to aid in the search. This time around, Jon Harris, the editor of THE DESCENT, is at the helm.


REVIEW:

Having loved the original its always a challenge when a new offering appears in the same franchise. What occurred within this one really took the mick out of the carefully built mythos in the original. There was no character building, the plot outline was pretty much dumped just to get into the cave system and once in it was audience attempted shock value as well as gore fest rather than anything else. A great shame as I really have a lot of enjoyment from the first with its careful building of characters as well as adding moments of claustrophobia to make the audience suffer along with the cast which was sadly lacking from this offering. Add to the mix a sheriff who goes against every rule of law enforcement and you pretty much sum up this movie in a succinct matter of fact. There was potential but nothing to really make you care if the cast lived or died.