Are you any way claustrophobic? Yes? Don't even read this so.
Sarah's life is in bits. Her husband and her daughter have died in a car accident 12 months ago and it has, quite understandably, ruined her. In an effort to lift her spirits she meets up with her friends Juno, Beth, Sam, Rebecca and Holly for a weekend away in North Carolina. Before things went bad Sarah was an adventurer and to help her return to this way of life her friends are bringing her on on a caving adventure. But Juno has an ulterior motive and her impulsiveness sees them trapped almost as soon as the fun has begun.
Then they realise they aren't the only ones down here in the darkness.
Wouldn't you just die in that situation? Even watching it and knowing how it turns out is petrifying. Did you find yourself struggling to breathe during that? Yup, get used to that feeling. Neil Marshall directs this slice of terror impeccably. The fear comes at you from every angle. The horrific creatures dwelling in the dark. The suffocatingly narrow caves and passages our gang are forced through and the trauma of being betrayed by those who you thought cared about you. It never lets up from the opening frames to the haunting finish. It is a horror film in it's truest sense. No laughter, no relief, just non stop dread and Marshall ladles it on with the skill of the cinema's greats.
Because it's an all woman cast the usual dynamics of a horror film don't apply. The trope of the final girl becomes a guessing game, the usual gung ho actions don't occur and people actually talk to each other and plan things out. It makes for a rather refreshing watch.
I don't usually pick films that are so stressful as my faves but this one just does everything right. It's rare a horror film is as effective on a rewatch but this one will get you every time and as such it's a lock for my fave film of 2006.
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