The Descent   Let's get one thing clear: The Descent is no Dog
Soldiers. Yes, it's directed by Neil Marshall. Yes, it shares
many of the same technicians. And yes, it's about six people
fighting a terrible foe in a vast, unforgiving wilderness. But
that's where the comparisons end.  Dog Soldiers is a blast, a
ball, a riot, a fratpack horror-comedy to watch through the
bottom of your pint glass. The Descent plays it straight, a
concentrate-horror to watch through your fingers. It's a better
movie, more confident and a good deal more crafted - the work of
a director who's beginning to master the genre. It also sees
Marshall join a growing band of filmmakers who are reacting to
Hollywood's plastification of horror. Like Cabin Fever,
Chainsaw, Switchblade Romance and the upcoming Wolf Creek, The
Descent is a welcome return to the survival fear-flicks of the
'70s, brutal and pure.  It opens with a superbly executed
shock... and nothing happens till nearly an hour after that.
Nothing that screams "horror movie" tha