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Decent poster, crummy-looking movie. It basically looks like they took The Cave from last year and swapped out the cast with hot chicks but left everything else the same.

I agree that it's a good poster, but that pull quote at the top kind of makes me roll my eyes.

Three guys I know and trust saw it and loved it. But they're horror movie buffs, so...

Fantastic movie.

Ridiculous poster.

weird but interesting poster. It does look like genuine art. As for the movie, I've seen it and it's fantastice.

Scott Mendelson

Folks, this a homage/ripoff of a rather well known B&W photo from the 20's or 30's with naked women forming a skull image.

That DP wasn't aware of it is rather surprising.

Really, fantastic? Please elaborate (if DP can get us talking about MV early, why not this?

I believe he means this.

That's one bizarre image, I must say. It looks like they're playing human jump rope in front of a fire.

yes, very famous photo of nude women in the same positions as in the 'descent' poster. poster is a copy of this photo - i saw a side by side comparison done in a write up of the movie.

forget all pertinent info - sorry. photo famous artwork - poster is a rip-off (or homage if you prefer)

nah, I liked the one-sheet for Pulse better...as others mentioned, this is kinda derivative. I hope this movie's halfway decent because I"m seeing it tomorrow night.

In Voluptas Mors, 1951, photo by Philippe Halsman - after a drawing by dali

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Dal%C3%AD

Sorry Dave. Bzzzt. Wrong. Worst Horror Poster Ever. This is not just my jaded opinion but virtually every graphic designer and horror fan I have forwarded it to in the past 2mths. Once again when it comes to horror you're dog paddling in the big boys pool and slowly sinking. Click on my name to see where this 100% rip off design came from. SAW wasn't a good design either.. effective and revolting but not a great design.

I saw going to ask someone to kindly post a link, but I found it..so the rest of you can just search for it yourselves.

Just kidding.

http://www.afterimagegallery.com/halsmanskull.htm

Dammit, looks like Dr. Feelgood beat me to it anyway.

I'll also add that the film I feel is the best english language horror film released in the past five years. Must be seen on a large screen and cranked to 11 on the amp.

Like I asked, what's so good about it? The trailer makes it look like your typical more-of-the-same/chicks-in-danger thriller.

Oh yeah, I guess I agree with JBD. Striking poster, but more in a 'that's weird' way, not so much in the kind of way that actually sells the movie.

Actually this is a British horror movie that was made before The Cave. It was released here ages ago. It is from the same director who did Dog Soldiers, and this is far FAR superior to The Cave in every way. Its actually terrifying, has some great acting and is one of the most claustrophobic movies I have ever seen. Its far better than movies like Saw, Hostel etc

You just sold me, Dog Soldiers is a lot of fun.

It's already out on DVD here in Thailand. It is truly scary and the characters' actions and responses felt so real. I'm quite amazed it's not been shown in the US yet. Way better than Saw because the characters are up against something much, much worse than the Saw guy.

The girls in the posters are friends and they go caving in Virginia (but they're British). Once in the cave, things go horribly wrong when something collapses and blocks the entrance. I don't think there's much to spoil for the movie. Anyway, just to be safe, warning possible SPOILERs ahead.

--Spoilers--

I've warned you.

As the girls push forward into the cave, they meet scary creatures. The creatures (called Crawlers) are ok-looking, not so scary (sort of like Gollum), but the darkness and the claustophobic cave make the overall feeling so creepy. It leaves a lot to the imagination, which I think is the best way to scare audiences.

If anyone is interested, there's a lot of discussion on it at its page in IMDB.

Jeff DOG SOLDIERS was a pretty tepid warm up for THE DESCENT, if I hadn't had known, I would never have picked it from the same director, such is the gigantic leap in directorial assurance.

After the literally eye poppin' slammin' opening (a homage to Jan De Bonts 2nd unit work on NIGHT WARNING) there's a routine setup of characters (all women) and a hint of their forthcoming predicament. From the 30m mark things kick into high gear, and the film barrels along like an out of control coaster - and features several absolutely harrowing sequences and virtually guarantees itself as a B movie masterpiece. Do not watch the Lions Gate trailer - those schmucks apart from designing the worst poster, altering the ending, they spoil the biggest jump scare in the film. And when I say jump scare I fucking mean JUMP scare.. and this is coming from someone who detests cheap scares. Don't ask anything else Jeff, just go see it and I guarantee you'll enjoy the hell out of it.

The Silence of the Lambs poster also had the Dali image. The image of the skull on the moth, if you look closely, was actually four women.

http://www.posterwire.com/archives/2005/04/30/silence-of-the-lambs/

DP has once again proven that he has *zero* grasp on horror. The Descent poster has got to be one of the lamest posters that has come down the line in a while. Sure, it's "clever" (an that's debatable) but does anyone really think this is going to put butts in seats? The poster makes it look like a film about a haunted yoga class.

I saw The Descent at a film festival last years and I thought it was one of the best horror films I've seen recently.

I was gonna say that apparently The Descent is really great (I haven't seen it) but others beat me to it. And yes, it was made much more The Cave but distributers are the most detestable people on the planet (er, after all the typical rapists, paeodophiles, etc :P) and refused to release it or some bull like that, just cause it's British.

"This is not just my jaded opinion but virtually every graphic designer and horror fan I have forwarded it to in the past 2mths."

lol, what exactly is so offensive to your lofty standards? It's not the genius poster David makes it out to be, but it's better than any number of countless floating head posters.

Haunted yoga class is right. This would've so much better if they had ditched the gym wear.

The Descent exploits the fear of claustrophobia better than just about any film I've seen. I monsters were scary but some of the most effective scenes for me were of the ladies crawling through tight dark spaces.

The Cave was absolute crap.

Lionsgate could use a hit. Anyone think this could do Hostel like numbers or better? I think the release date is the first weekend in August. I'm not sure of the history of horror movies in the summer. The release slate slows considerably by then so in theory this film could have clear saiing with its target audience although it is up against Talledga Nights that first weekend.

I too saw the trailer and thought it looked like a bunch of junk. But if it's done by the director of DOG SOLDIERS, I might give it a whirl. Just another example of studios hurting themselves at the box office by NOT mentioning a director or actor whose presence might turn a nay into a yea.

I'm still trying to account for the middle set of sneakers. I guess they're supposed to be attached to the screaming woman who's facing us, but considering the angle of her body, she must have some damn long legs (and a couple of extra joints.) And two of the spelunking beauties appear to be kneeling on a hole.

Okay, I think we've picked on Dave enough. The poster made did him look, which is what it's designed to do. The movie sounds worth a look despite the pedestrian plot. It's the execution that matters, particularly in this genre.

I kind of knew I was going to get attacked for this... but I beg to differ.

I don't know what you guys think a one-sheet is there to do, but I would say that it is there to get your attention. And this poster does. More importantly, it is clealry designed to be of interest to girls, who actually have driven every major horror hit in recent years except for Saw.

As for the "zero understanding of horror" stuff, what is the standard we are using? I assume it is your personal preferences.

So tell me, oh insightful ones, what great horror one-sheets understand horror better? And please, explain why.

Dog Soldiers sucked, this director is a major hack, and the poster is a direct rip of a similar scene in Pitch Black (fluorescent ropes in that case).

Dog Soldiers sucked, this director is a major hack, and the poster is a direct rip of a similar scene in Pitch Black (fluorescent ropes in that case).

I would argue that a poster has two purposes: 1) to get your attention, and 2) to make the movie look good enough to spend $10 on a ticket to it. Just having number one doesn't cut it and I really think this poster fails number two.

Maybe you're right about the female issue although I don't see girls having much interest in a cave-dwelling flick regardless of the poster.

Have you seen the film?

I agree with Dave. The poster is unique and eye catching. But I bow down to the Horror-Jedi on these threads. I could never get into Horror as a genre. Horror and disaster movies, are my least favorite genres. In fact, I go out of my way to avoid disaster movies.

The poster is eye-catching, but I can't imagine that its design holds any special appeal to girls - since when do women like to see the female anatomy contorted into odd designs?
Without remembering a lot of designs, I would say that The Blair Witch Project had a good, simple one-sheet. Also the original Scream. But like the movies themselves, it's easy to just repeat cliches in poster design, a la the boring one-sheets for Cursed, Wrong Turn, House of Wax, When a Stranger Calls, etc.

Martin, what are you talking about re: fluorescent ropes?

(seems to be some problems with TypeKey today)

I also have to say I have DP's back on this: it is a very arresting image, albeit one that is completely based on someone else's clever idea (homage/ripoff label is up to dear reader).

It's always amusing to read attacks on someone else's appraisal of art, which reveals so much about the poster's understanding of the concept. Or misunderstanding in this case. As with the MONSTER HOUSE poster that he praised last week (which I did not think warranted such praise, but that is just MY opinion), he clearly stated why he appreciated the design.

I suspect some posters feelings about the actual film have creeped into their appraisal of the poster.

I think it's a neat poster, but it borders on parody. It is reminiscent of the Scary Movie 4 poster with the three grim fingers making up the numeral 4. I think it they had simply made the girls' clothing less recognizable (or more nude), then it would be creepier/sexier and more effective.

Palmtree's right re: nudity. As it is now this design looks like an uncomfortable balance between art and exploitation, not quite settling into being either one.

Sorry for the confusing use of the word "poster" which is meant to denote someone responding to the thread.

I would have used "one sheet" to denote the actual "poster" for the movie.

Nothing really to contribute regarding the poster design other than it reminds me of an old Def Leppard CD cover, but I must join the chorus praising the film itself which looks to be one of the few bright spots in this lousy summer.

Saw the film at the premiere at Sundance and this absolutely one of the funnest horror films I've seen in a long time. Sort of plays like Deliverance with cute Irish women for about 45 minutes and then turns into... something else. The trailer, while effective, gives away way, way too much including, as someone pointed out, the best jump scare in the film (although there are others that are almost as effective). I've never heard an entire audience scream before (and certainly didn't expect for a jaded festival audience to be the one to do it) but this thing plays really, really well with a crowd. Nothing you haven't seen a dozen times before (the film is pretty blatant in referencing its influences) but the execution is brutally effective.

In short, everyone off the fence and into the theaters.

Well it's not the usual, not bad. At lest it isn't a severed limb of a muppet or an ugly severed head.

I don't think this grabbed me at all in the way it in the way it would intend to, I guess, having seen it before, not just in movie but also in art.

At first I thought it was a fiery episode of skydiving with severed limbs (the two middle "teeth" are feet/legs oriented in the switched position(R is L and L is R)--not possible to be at the same "length" unless limbs are severed or one is a ballerina. Or the two gals in the middle are holding the individual severed limbs or several people. Their hands are not visible on the inner arms. At the top, the screaming broad's depth of field/perspective is completely wrong. medical illustration says so.

Then i backed away...oh...it's a skull. Seen it before but not in those colors.

What struck me the most is that anyone would decide to put on a poster a statement that equates the experience with a classic horror/sci fi movie. No matter who said it. That turns me off one sheets/DVDs when I see superlative comparisons. I think that might turn viewers off who are over 30 and saw Alien on TV/cable when it was "shocking". But then again, they aren;t the target audience are they.

Unless a horror movie is as good as Bubba Ho-Tep (or Alien) or is incredibly original (rarely happens) I don;t want to see it.

I think they would have been better off having only the picture and ZERO text except the release date. Then closer to the time only add the name of the movie. Then after release full text silly one sheet.

Jeff, you thought the one-sheet for House of Wax was BAD? I thought it was generally considered one of the better designs lately? It was nominated for design awards and I remember reading a lot of positive comments from industry types. The others you mentioned were indeed very boring.

My favourite horror movie one sheet (and favourite one sheet in general) of the last couple of years was the Australian Wolf Creek one. You guys got some ridiculous collage type of thing of a girl screaming, whereas we got just an image of an actress from the film (kestie morassi) slumped on a the side of a road covered in blood, surrounded by absolutely nothing. It was one of the finest image-from-a-film posters I've ever seen. It perfectly showed you what to expect. Horror in the outback, and that's what we got (whether you liked it or not).

I do not generally go to horror movies. Period. But I will be seeing this one. I do like the sone-sheet but the description of the film is what grabbed me.
On a negative note, if I saw only this image and nothing else, I'm not sure I'd realize that the film is about a caving trip.
On the postive side, I like the fact that the women in the image have on althletic wear. It gives me a sense (rightly or wrongly) that they won't be passive pushovers for whatever they encounter.

Er, please ignore the typos on my previous post. FYI, I blame the wine.

I don't think the House of Wax one-sheet is bad, just that it's nothing special, but that may also be the qualities of the movie itself leaking into my analysis.

I think it is jeff. At the least the House of Wax one-sheet is better than the movie.

Someone said that Lionsgate is changing the ending? Can anyone tell me what was changed? One of the best things about the movie is its ending. anyway, what's wrong with a not-feel-good ending??

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