The opening sequence begins with titles introducing the production company. This text is displayed using a wipe effect against a dark background and flashes of lights are seen occasionally. This sets the tone of the whole movie, where the girls are eventually stuck in the dark in a cave, have slight glimmer of hopes, but can’t seem to find an escape route and encounter dangerous situations. It is accompanied with quite creepy music, which seems to show an approaching disaster.
The film begins with a family and their friends on a trip doing white water rafting. There is screaming and laughter, but the audience still seems to get a feeling that an accident and tragedy will take place now. This is down to the camera techniques used, for example the hand-held, jerky movements of close-ups in the boat. There is also a use of wider shots to set the scene.
As we are introduced to the characters, we are also shown that the man and little girl standing on the rock are related to one of the women, as the little girl shouts “mummy!” at 0:36. They are shown again at 1:15 clapping and waving. This shows that the women in the boat are out of danger, for now, as the audience are unaware as to what will happen next, but are relieved for the moment.
The use of slow motion at 1:02 builds tension as it shows they are falling clearly and keeps the audience, as well as the occupants of the boat anxious. This also shows that they are heading for disaster.
The next few seconds of conversation and laughter shows the strong bond between the people, but as it reaches 2 minutes, the audience are made aware that something is not quite right, and possibly, one of the friends likes the other’s husband or is having an affair with him, this is shown at 1:55, 2:01, 2:10 and 2:17. The third friend notices this at 2:12, but as the man returns to his family at 2:14, the disappointment is shown on the woman’s face. This all begins to show the breakdown of friendships that will occur as a main theme throughout the film, due to the situation that they find themselves in.
At 2:33 the scene changes to the family returning home in their car. There is no music, just the background sound of the car and conversation between them. The conversation between the mother and daughter portrays happy family life, but this soon changes as the woman turns to her husband who replies quite bluntly and seems distant. This is to be their last words, as the man isn’t watching the road, we hear the breaks of a car and there is a car accident, where the poles go through the car killing the man and daughter. There is then a crane shot which moves out to show the disaster of the accident and the shot fades to black. This portrays the death of the characters.
The next scene then enters the dream of the woman, who is currently in hospital. The music used is very eerie; the shot begins out of focus, showing just the candles on the birthday cake of the daughter. This again symbolises the darkness they will enter. As the camera tracks in towards the cake, it becomes in focus and we are able to read the writing ‘Happy Birthday Jessica’ on the cake and are made aware that it would have been her fifth birthday. We then hear the little girl blowing out the candles, and this sound is enhanced and exaggerated, making the shot seem unnatural, and therefore a dream. It then cuts to the woman lying in the hospital bed who is shown to be disturbed at this memory, but the audience are made aware that it is still part of her dream due to the use of low key lighting that doesn’t look very natural. It is then cut back to the little girl who is shown fully in this shot and all the candles are blown out, moving straight to a black shot, again signifying the darkness that surrounds the woman at the moment, and what she is going to encounter in the future.
At 3:43, it cuts back to the woman at a medium close-up, who we believe is beginning to wake up, as she looks around the hospital room. The audience hears the sound of hospital the machine beeping, which becomes a consistent sound as the woman removes the wires and we feel the sense of her urgency.
At 4:11, it cuts to a deserted and dark hospital corridor, as the character moves into the shot at a medium shot and calls for her daughter. It then cuts to an extreme long shot, and we are shown just how isolated the woman is. This signifies the people she has lost (her family) and how she now feels alone. The corridor frames the shot as a tunnel, and in the distance, we see darkness approaching and closing in on her as each light goes out. As she turns and realises this, it cuts to a medium close-up at 4:22 and we see the character’s expression of shock and horror. This shot is quite strange as the camera doesn’t seem to move, but the background seems to be moving, this gives the effect that escape is further away.
At 4:25 it cuts to the woman looking back into darkness and realising that she has to run to avoid this darkness. As she runs and passes under each light, they turn off and it turns black, giving the feeling that she can’t escape the darkness and it feels very claustrophobic. It seems the faster she runs, the faster it closes in on her.
At 4:38 however, it cuts to the back of her and begins to give a bit of hope. The camera stays in the darkness, but shows the woman heading for light. However the darkness catches up and the screen goes pitch black again.
At 4:45 it then cuts to the woman running into the arms of her friend and the audience are made aware that it was a dream. This next scene is very emotional, as the woman grieves for her lost loved ones. She completely breaks down in tears and falls to the floor. The camera then circles her, showing that she is in this nightmare that never seems to end. This is shown when the film ends in a cliff-hanger, and she is still stuck in the cave.
At 5:07, it then cuts to a close-up of her friend also crying, this really conveys the emotion felt by the characters. At 5:09, it then cuts back to the woman crying on the floor and reverse tracks. This shows the same corridor as before, one of the friends leaving, and the woman distraught on the floor with her friend.
It then fades to black and at 5:20, it introduces the title of the film ‘The Descent.’ This is in white font, but is wiped off the screen, leaving the screen black again. This again conveys the darkness, and we see a torch light effect again as before with the credits, signifying the whole theme of the film.
At 5:29, it cuts to a helicopter shot of a forest, which sets the scene and the audience is told that is in the mountains in the USA. The music hear is eerie again, which alerts us that another disaster might strike. We are also told that it is one year later, therefore we know time has passed since the accident. The area is shown to be deserted, emphasising their isolation when they are alone in the cave, or so they believed.
We then see the car they are travelling in, as the music changes to a slightly happier tone from the radio, and the woman talking. Then they turn off the radio and we are shown bullet holes through a road sign. The music changes back to the eerie type and we are shown their destination, ‘Chatooga National Park.’ However the fact that this sign has bullet holes through it, already signifies the danger they are entering.
As they approach the house they are staying in, the music changes to more adventurous music, to seem as if they are going on a journey. The rest of the scenes are just of the women meeting again and having conversations, seeming in a good mood, but unaware of what is going to happen.
The feelings sensed in the opening sequence are also conveyed in the trailer, as it states
Claustrophobia, Disorientation, Hallucination and Fear.
The Trailer:
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