The Descent

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaYw_4BtJbw

A couple of friends are seen being lowered into a cave via harness's before the menu screen appears. There is no music at this point, just the sound of water dripping and the odd scream or two. The screen remains black and a spotlight reveals credits. We are then taken to a family and group of friends white water rafting. The way its cut together makes us suspicious of what's going to happen. You have the characters panicked faces, the sound of only the waves and their screams, and two bystanders, a daughter and father. The group finish rafting and calming music starts up. There's some sort of discussion going on debating whether to go back to the hotel or stay to pack up. Two of the friends volunteer to stay letting the husband, wife and daughter go home.

Were joined in the car with the family and they're discussing a birthday party. The concerned wife asks her husband if he's OK. To which he replies 'I'm fine'. The camera is placed behind his shoulder at this point. He looks at his wife and we see him swerve into a car coming the other way. Poles from the top of the opposing car slide off the roof, through the windscreen and into the driver. This is totally unexpected and I personally did not see this coming.
The screen turns black with just enough light letting us see a little girls face blowing out candles on a cake... a flash back?

We join the wife in hospital as she wakes up, she takes a look around her and detaches herself from the machinery. Stumbling out of her room and into the corridor she finds herself alone. 'Jessie' she says, 'Jessie' now louder. She looks straight at the camera and her face becomes pained. Its about now that she turns and runs.. and about now that I realise, I might need a pillow to get me through the next thirty seconds or so.

She is still running and the lights begin to turn off. She runs faster and the music builds up.. she runs straight into her friend who tells her 'they're gone'. They collapse onto the floor in tears and suddenly the corridor becomes busy again.

The screen is filled with the words 'The Descent' and the opening scene is over.

The first five minutes or so don't give much away in terms of the rest of the film. You wouldn't know that they go on a daredevil caving holiday, and you wouldn't know that after a rock fall, they get trapped and hunted down by human predators. Without reading the back of the case I wouldn't have had a clue what to expect.

Produced by Neil Marshall
Production Companies- Celador Films/ Northmen Productions/ Pathe
Budget- $3,500,00
Opening Weekend- $8,411
Overall- $13,361