The horror film genre is probably one of my favourites. Something about sitting in a dark room waiting for something to happen but not knowing exactly what will happen. Well, that’s what a good horror film should be. In my eyes. It’s funny. I don’t actually get scared when watching horror films. I very, very rarely jump. Things have to engross me a heck of a lot to get a jump out of me. And yet, I just get some sort of kick out of horror films.
For me it’s all about films like The Shining, Scream, The Blair Witch Project, The Devil’s Backbone, An American Werewolf in London, Event Horizon, The Thing, Alien, Jaws, The Orphanage, [REC], The Cabin in the Woods, Final Destination.
Sadly, the horror genre’s not exactly got a good reputation. Things can get real schlocky and way over the top gory. As what happened with the Saw genre. Or just plain boring, as with the Paranormal Activity series. Or just tired and predictable – Sinister, I’m looking at you.
Thankfully, my faith in the genre’s been put at ease with two films. One new. One fairly old. Let’s start with the old.
The Descent
The Descent has been on my to-watch list for a while. I just kept putting me off. I think I was holding some sort of stigma against it being a Brit horror film. Doesn’t make sense. I know that. But I put my issues aside and sat down to watch it.
Instantly I’m given a group of characters I couldn’t really give a crap about. Oh dear, was my initial thought. Seriously. Who are these women that I do not give two shits about? Ohh one of them has had a horrible incident happen in their life. There’s the nuts one and, well, I couldn’t remember the others. Why do characters in horror films have to be so bland or formulaic?
I plodded on. And grateful that I did. Sure the characters aren’t up to scratch, but Jesus Christ, the rest of the film was excellent. As soon as the ‘events’ started kicking off, I knew there was more than a half decent horror film in here.
The feeling of claustrophobia wasn’t something I ever thought would get to me. But boy did it get to me while watching The Descent. The whole feeling of there being no way but forward, but even then, that’s not a guaranteed way out. The tension throughout the film was excellent and it held up right to the end.
The ‘creatures’ reminded me of the Turok Hans from the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I’m not even joking. Look at them!
Now the ending. Well, see I thought that it meant that Sarah and the rest of them never got out of the cave system. That, maybe, they killed each other. Or Sarah went bat shit crazy and killed everyone. But. There’s that sequel. That I’ll not see. But apparently she’s alive. No. She’s not. She’s dead in a cave.
So, in short. The Descent – excellent horror film.
The Conjuring
The Conjuring is a bit of an opposite sort of film. The storyline is fairly generic in terms of horror/ghost stories. But, unlike The Descent, it’s the characters in The Conjuring that made me believe in the film. If I didn’t feel for Lorraine and Ed Warren or the Perron family, it just would have been like any other ghost story.
Sure, the horror aspect of the film is good. For once, we’ve got a horror film that doesn’t rely on loud bangs, quick cuts and cheap tricks to bring about a sense of fear in the viewer. Instead we’ve got a film that has some slow building tension that genuinely makes you wonder what’s going to happen next.
I know this makes zero sense, but I thought the film was inventive without feeling like it needed to reinvent the wheel. Make sense? Nah, didn’t think so.
The story itself is made more interesting with the intertwining of the Lorraine and Ed’s history with the problems that the Perrons are facing. And they’re GOOD people. They’re good people who you want to see through to the end of the film. You care for them and what they do. I certainly didn’t feel like that while watching The Descent. But that film had other merits.
The acting is good too. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are both excellent. Particularly Vera Farmiga. Lorraine is an incredibly strong female character. But it’s not all woman power, RA. It’s about working in partnership with Ed, together, to make things work. Their relationship was one of my favourite things about the film.
Looking forward to seeing the film again. As soon as it rolls around to the TV.
Feels like it might be a while before I can jump up and down about another horror film. Correct me if I’m wrong!
I’m with you on these two stellar horror films, Jaina.
I’ll pretty much agree for the most part here. The Descent was great, one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in a long long time. And while I thought The Conjuring wasn’t all that scary or tense (I was chuckling through a good portion of it, as was most of my theater), it’s a solidly made film, and you’re definitely right that you do truly come to care about these characters, and a lot of that comes from the solid acting. Still, a decent entry in the horror genre, if not the scariest film around. 🙂
Isn’t The Descent a Neil Marshall film, of Dog Soldiers fame? Why would you doubt a British Horror if Dog Soldiers is a way to go? Actually haven’t seen either of these, but the Descent has been on my to watch list for ages.
See, I haven’t seen Dog Soldiers. It’s another one of those I just shrugged off! I should make an effort to see it. Neil Marshall’s directed a few Game of Thrones episodes. If I remember correctly…
Well he certainly directed the Battle of Blackwater Bay episode anyway. You really should see Dog Soldiers though, also stars Liam Cunningham (Ser Davos) and a fantastic Sean Pertwee.
Two excellent horror flicks, indeed. I totally understand what you’re saying about The Conjuring. Seeing as so much of it has kind of been done before, we should feel overwhelmed with “been there done that”… but I never felt that once, because they were doing everything so well! Great flick, I really loved it.
The Descent is great too, of course 😉
I haven’t seen The Conjuring yet, but yeah, The Descent is pretty badass. Probably my favorite horror movie of the 2000s. Glad you were able to finally see it!
Glad your faith in good horror films has not been lost 😉
So awesome you liked both of those! The Descent is one of my fav horror films and The Conjuring is my current number 1 of the year.
Glad we agree on The Descent. Turned out to be the surprise package of my Halloween marathon. I really felt I was trapped in that cave with them.
I’ve been watching a few horror films this summer too. Warm Bodies (2013) was ok, though the female character was a bit of a wannabe Kristen Stewart.
A Field in England (2013) had its moments, but was just too slow- and I didn’t care if the characters lived or died.
If you’re in the mood for more horror, I created this best list, which also links to horror I haven’t seen yet:
http://letterboxd.com/mas365/list/top-15-horror-for-schederzmoviezs-poll/
Cool. I enjoyed the Descent – totally agree with you. Haven’t seen the Conjuring – need to fix that!
I thought The Conjuring was a very solid modern horror film. But I just LOVE The Descent. Great reviews!
I haven’t seen The Descent yet but I’ve heard only good things about it.
The Conjuring is a rarity nowadays. It didn’t scare me but it was entertaining and I enjoyed it.
Great reviews. I’ve just got into your blog.
Hi Cristi! Thanks for stopping by and commenting 🙂
Definitely give The Descent a watch when you can. An intense film.
Can’t wait to see The Conjuring. Missed it at cinema but must make sure I catch it on DVD! I think James Wan is a very exciting director (sometimes)!
I have finally seen The Descent and it was amazing. It was so entertaining. The characters were better than the usual horror movie victims. The whole idea of it is terrifying. And surprisingly it scared me a lot. It was a shock. I loved the ending. I read what happens in the sequel and realized it’s not worth it. Still, it was surprising how good this film was.
I read what the sequel was about too and totally put me off from seeing it. Why on earth do they feel the need to create weak sequels?