I rated these two movies 7 and 6 stars respectively, but I also own the novel of the same name by Jeff Long, published in 1999 (hardback) and 2001 (paperback). That book is so good, I went searching for a movie by that name, and sure enough there are now at least 3: the 2 "Descents," and "The Cave". All came out way after the publication of the book.

The book is, as is mostly, but not always the case, better than movies based on it. (See and read "The Green Mile" by Stephen King).

The second movie, DP2, uses the more humanoid vicious cave creatures based on the Hadal characters created by Jeff Long. I guess the movie makers thought they got away with it the first time, so why not just blatantly rip off the characters too with no credit?

Anyhoo, both Descent movies are well worth watching if you're a horror fan, but if you're also a reader please pick up Jeff Long's novel as well. Much more character development, suspense, and it is quite the page turner. Don't get started on a work night like I did!

The novel also involves enslavement of humans by the underground mutant Hadals, physical mutilation, mind manipulation; just deeply, deeply disturbing.

I took a point off DP2 for too many jump scares. I'm not a real fan of those with the exception of the one near the end of the original "Carrie" 1976 when the hand comes out of the grave when Carrie's repentant classmate is placing flowers, which to me, is quintessential. Gets me to this day!

Does anyone know why Jeff Long gets no credit? Perhaps I'm ignorant of a previous work about underground mutants victimizing humans, but when I read his work a decade or so ago, I thought it was pretty original. Sadly, the two links on the Wikipedia article about this work are dead (account disabled). I hope it is not because he cannot afford it because others have ripped him off so badly.

This film picks up where the first one left off. Flashbacks come later in a discovered camera. Sarah has survived but has amnesia. The idea is to jog her memory by taking her back to the cave with blind mutant orcs so they can make the same film over again with some different characters. And BTW Juno is still alive.

I enjoyed this one as much as the first. I thought the characters were slightly better.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity. Note: Do not ride in an elevator that has been dormant for years. It needs to be inspected and certified per OSHA 1917.116

An experienced rescue team composed by Dan (Douglas Hodge), Greg (Joshua Dallas) and Cath (Anna Skellern) is trying to locate the six women in the caves of the Appalachian Mountains. Meanwhile Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) is found wounded, covered with blood, in shock and amnesic by a truck driver and brought to the Hyett County Hospital. Sheriff Vaines (Gavan O'Herlihy) suspects that Sarah has killed her friends and forces her to return to the Boreham Caves together with his Deputy Rios (Krysten Cummings) and the rescue team. They search deeper and deeper in the caves but when Sarah recovers her memory, she panics and Sheriff Vaines shoots, provoking a cave-in. The trapped group sooner faces the hunger and savage breed of predators while trying to find a way out.

"The Descent" is a scary, claustrophobic, tense and gore story, and a psychological study of the characters under a huge condition of stress, deteriorating the relationship among them. Unfortunately "The Descent: Part 2" is a stupid sequel of a good story that could have worked. However, Sheriff Vaines is an imbecile character and his stupid attitudes, taking Sarah that is wounded and in shock to return to the underground, shooting in the cave and cuffing Sarah in a tense moment, are so absurd that ruin the plot. The terrible conclusion with the intention to give a hook to a sequel (or prequel, since the creatures might be relatives of the old man and other families of miners) is awful. The best line is the moment when Sarah tells Rios that "it is just the mind playing tricks on you". My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Abismo do Medo 2" ("Abyss of the Fear 2")