The Descent

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Year:	2005
Country of origin:	UK
Director:	Neil Marshall
Genre:	Subterranean terror
Starring:	Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Jackson Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring, Nora-Jane Noone
Rating:	4/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435625/
Tagline:	Scream your last breath.
Favourite line:	"We're in the wrong fucking cave!"

The Cave's older, wiser, better looking brother.
Neil 'Dog Soldiers' Marshall directs this claustrophobic shocker with some style.

The plot:
An all female team of pot-holers are intent on exploring a region of subterranean caves in the US, more to aid the rehabilitation of one of their number who suffered a severe trauma one year ago than seeking genuine thrills. Two of the girls in the team decide that the caves they are planning on looking at are too dull so, unbeknownst to the others, set them off exploring previously uncharted regions. As they delve deeper, behind them a rock fall occurs, meaning that their only means of escape is forward and, shock horror, the path leads them into the domain of strange subterranean beasties with a hunger for human flesh.

Yes, it's that hoary old chestnut, Richard Laymon's favorite theme, but it's handled with aplomb.
Tension is cranked through the fucking roof by the direction, all tight angles and close-ups, really drawing you in to the narrow confines the girls are trapped within.
The monsters are pretty cool too, coming across as the more disgusting cousins of the Orcs from Lord of the Rings.
The only real complaint I could find was that, due to the underground setting, at times the constant darkness made it difficult to see precisely what was going on, especially during the monster moments, which was a little frustrating on occasion. To counter this flaw, though, there's plenty of gore on offer, the old fashioned, gruelly gore too - always a hit in this household - as well as a neat script and enough jumpy moments to keep the heart rate elevated.
A good film.