50 Greatest Horror Movies Of The 21st Century
45. The Descent
Plot: An all-female team of cave explorers become trapped in an American cave system and are soon pursued by man-eating creatures.
Although The Descent has always been a bit overrated - some aspects, namely the moronic behavior of its characters and the rather silly villains don't hold up too well today - it is still a very good horror film, and compared to most 2000s flicks, it sure as hell seems like a masterpiece.
A blisteringly tense and excruciatingly claustrophobic horror film, The Descent will be nigh-on unwatchable for anyone who's got a problem with tight spaces and it's one hell of an anxiety-inducing experience. This is partly because of Neil Marshall's superb direction and the film's gnarly set-pieces, but perhaps the biggest factor in this is that these horrible events happen to a well-rounded group of characters who we really care about.
Flaws and all, The Descent stands as one of the best British horror films since 2000. A perfectly decent sequel followed in 2009.