Marshall’s masterful manipulation of light, shadow, texture and sound creates a truly frightening atmosphere, while the close proximity of the sheer rock walls and narrow tunnels make the sense of enclosed oppression almost palpable. To reveal more about the nature of the horror lurking deep beneath the Appalachians would do disservice to those who would want to experience this entertainingly petrifying film for themselves – suffice to say that what transpires truly is the stuff of nightmares, especially for claustrophobics. Worse yet, someone – or something – seems to be down there with them.

However, a few wrong turns and a freak accident later, the friends find themselves trapped deep in an underground cave system with no obvious way out. The group – which includes her best friend Beth (Alex Reid), team leader Juno (Natalie Mendoza), and adrenaline junkie Holly (Nora-Jane Noone) – head off into the hills and, at first everything goes to plan. After the death of her husband and daughter in a freak car accident a year previously, one-time thrill seeker Sarah (Shauna MacDonald) agrees to visit a gang of her old friends on holiday in the Appalachian mountains for a pot-holing expedition, hoping that rekindling the camaraderie will shake her out of her post-traumatic funk. Following on from his hugely popular debut Dog Soldiers, The Descent is a gut-wrenching, viscerally terrifying, white-knuckle rollercoaster of a movie which manages to terrify its audience despite its deceptively simple plot.

One of the best received and acclaimed British horror movies in many years, The Descent is the sophomore effort of young British director Neil Marshall, who looks set to become a hot cinematic property in years to come if his first two movies are anything to go by.

The descent 3 full movie