Descent [Theatrical Movie,Special Edition,,Unrated Version]

Extras:
Though I do not own the standard definition release, it appears that all of the features from the original DVD release have made their way onto the Blu-ray release and Lionsgate further expands their Blu-ray capabilities with a picture-in-picture supplement that is reminiscent of what Warner Bros. has done on HD-DVD. I have criticized the studio in the past for releasing a few bare-bones titles, but they are definitely on the ball with this one. The Blu-ray release is the Original Unrated Cut of the film and contains the ending that was originally deemed too dark for us Americans, and with the nice amount of extras, "The Descent" is a quality special edition release.

The film contains two commentary tracks, though their ordering is incorrect on the disc menus. The first recorded commentary is listed second, while the commentary that was recorded second is listed first. The first commentary references the second commentary, and had I listened to them in the order they were created, it would have been a nicer experience. Regardless, they are both quality tracks and full of information and insight into the film. The first Director and Crew Commentary is the track that was recorded second. It features Director Neil Marshall, Editor John Harrison, Assistant Editor Tina Richardson, Producer Christian Colson and Production Designer Simon Bowles. The second Director and Cast Commentary features the director and most of the girls that are featured in the film. Shauna Macdonald, Alex Reid, MyAnna Buring, Saskia Mulder and Nora-Jane Noone provide anecdotes and information relating to the film. Both commentaries were worth a listen, though the cast commentary is the more entertaining.

Aside from the two commentaries, the Blu-ray only supplement The Gate: The Descent Underground Experience offers a third reason to re-watch the film. The Underground Experience provides a picture-in-picture in the lower right corner of the screen that provides making-of and interview vignettes. The picture pops in and out throughout the film and featured a lot of very nice moments. I particularly enjoyed the Crawler in a bathrobe interview. I cannot think of another Blu-ray title that has featured a supplement of this variety. It has been slowly becoming commonplace on the competing HD-DVD format and Lionsgate has perhaps set the bar for a quality Blu-ray release a bit higher with this release of "The Descent." However, this is not a truly interactive feature, as it is with HD-DVD. This is actually an ´alternate´ version of the film and the pop-ups are part of the picture.

A number of supplements that do not require you to rewatch the film are also included and take up a considerable amount of time. These are presented in high definition video, more kudos for Lionsgate on this release. DescENDING – Interview with Director Neil Marshall (7:13) finds the director discussing the two endings and offers more background on the two approaches to ending the film. The alternate ending is the ending the director prefers, which is the negative of the two. The two endings both contain a twist and reason for thought. The Descent: Behind the Scenes (41:19) is a lengthy and informative making of documentary that features a lot of face time with the films director. Some of this footage appearing during the "Underground Experience," but it was still a nice inclusion for this Blu-ray release. There are also nine (9:56) Deleted and Extended Scenes that can be played individually or collectively.

Caving: An HD Experience (8:38) is another Blu-ray only supplement. This bit features a lot of scenery of an actual cave. Caves are very dark places and with the eerie music playing in the background and the occasional sounds of water drops and other cave ´noises,´ this was actually kind of creepy to watch. Some of the video was hardly better than VHS in quality, but other moments were definitely only possible with high definition. Another Blu-ray only supplement is the Storyboard-to-Scene (10:26) comparison. This showed picture-in-picture comparisons of various scenes from the film with highly detailed storyboards via HD video.

After the two Blu-ray only supplements, there are a few more common pieces of value added content. A Still Gallery with two dozen photographs requires use of the remote to page through them. Cast and Crew Biographies for seventeen members of the cast and crew are menu-navigatable bits. There are Outtakes (5:18) that features belches and burps and other funny segments set to a rousing rock song. Women claim they never burp. I have video proof of this now. This was a very good set of outtakes and the green screen dancing Crawler was absolutely hilarious. Where did he get the broom from? The Also Available from Lionsgate and BD Credits complete the impressive list of supplements for the Blu-ray release of "The Descent."

Closing Comments:
It took almost two full weeks to review "The Descent." I watched the film on April Fools Day and planned to write my review that night. I then sat down and listened to the first commentary and completed a second full viewing. The film sat for a full week before I sat down and wrote the review for the film, sound and video. I then sat down to ´skim´ through the second commentary and interactive features for a half hour or so and complete my review. The second commentary was awfully entertaining and I watched the film for a third complete time. Having already watched "The Descent" three complete times for this review, I waited another week and watched the complete film with the "Underground Experience" turned on. For what would have typically taken two hours to cover the two commentaries and the interactive video took closer to five additional hours. I don´t know if it was the British accents of all the pretty girls or just my interesting with the making of this film, but "The Descent" took forever to get through completely. I couldn´t spot listen to the commentaries as I do for most films with more than one track.

I like "The Descent," but I am disappointed by it. The film started off as an incredibly entertaining horror film and hooked me in when they perfectly pulled off a scene involving a trapped girl. I knew the horror of that moment and could feel it down my spine. It was a frightening and very real horror scene. However, the film became all too obsessed with the Crawlers and lost much of the impact that I felt it could have had. It was a slightly better than average horror film, but it really could have been a contender. Regardless, it was good fun and the Blu-ray release may be the best single-disc release thus far released on the high definition format. The video and sound are all very good and had it not been for the dark visuals and long silences, they would have scored perfectly. The features took me two weeks to get through because I enjoyed them. I have a hard time not recommending this film because of the technical merits and first third of the film are simply among the best available on the format.

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