Review of The Descent: Part 2

As with nearly every horror sequel "The Descent part 2" lacks the magic of the original. And to be sure, the original really was movie-making magic in its finest form-- the kind that takes you back to a sense of child-like wonderment asking yourself, "How did they do that?!" all the while being thrilled and entertained. Admittedly following up one of the freshest major-release horror titles to hit the screen in ages is a tall order and I can't blame director Neil Marshall for passing on the torch to a new-comer for a project that seemed doomed to failure from the off-set. But this film retained enough elements from the first, (albeit slightly watered-down) that I couldn't help but ask myself "What if..." Higher on gore and lower on scares, part 2 lacks the character development to engage audiences as strongly as the First, but fortunately enough groundwork had already been laid with the returning characters and the continuation of their story-line is genuine enough that I remained interested. All in all part 2 is a surprisingly worthy follow-up and I'm actually more excited than ever for part 3, especially since my bet is that Neil Marshall will return to direct what could be a stunning conclusion.