Forget about that piece of crap "The Cave". The Descent is the definitive "spelunking crew gets terrorized by monsters living in uncharted underground caverns" flick. This British import is a breath of fresh air to those who think the horror genre is dead. This is a true monster movie in every sense of the word, and it's the most fun I've had being scared at the movies in a long time (yes, I loved Hostel, but that's an entirely different kind of horror).

Director Neil Marshall (who made the creative werewolf picture Dog Soldiers) has fashioned an extremely claustrophobic thriller that pays homage to the likes of Alien, the George Romero "Dead" series, Carrie, and the lesser known gem Dead Calm. What's more, the heroes in this film are women. Tough, beautiful women. And when they get into the nastiest of subterranean scrapes, they do a convincing job of fighting for their lives.

As The Descent opens, we are introduced to our heroines, a pack of adrenaline junkies who meet each year to sate their adventure jones. Following a white water rafting trip, a violent tragedy destroys the emotional stability of one of these woman, and as a pick me up, her buddies decide to take her on another adventure a year later so that she might get back on the horse, as it were, and hopefully be able to move on with her life.

This year's adventure? Cave diving. Only this isn't your average cave. This underground cavern has the virtue of never having been explored and in the world of horror, that can't possibly be a good thing.

As these women battle against nature's harshest elements, they come face to face with something far more deadly than they ever could have imagined. Now, the cave itself is the least of their worries. If they're going to make it out alive, they must contend tooth and nail with the residents of this cavern, a strange orcine-like species of carnivorous creatures whom are as quick as they are savage. Oh, and did I mention that they crave human flesh?

Neil Marshall seldom gives the audience a chance to catch their breath in this roller coaster thriller. These woman are put through the ringer and I was never quite sure if or how they might get out of this situation alive. Credit Marshall for his unlimited energy and for knowing the rules of the game.

My gripes with The Descent are minimal. I had an issue with choices made by a couple of characters in the final act of the movie and I could have done without the horrid, nonsensical sudden shock ending (Neil Marshall promises further explanation when the film finds it's way to DVD), but overall, this simplistic thriller is incredibly atmospheric and more importantly, it moves like a bullet train. The Descent generates real terror and I was immensely entertained by it.