Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.
Pathe

A cult classic horror gets even creepier thanks to an unsettling new theory

Spelunking down a horrific rabbit hole.

Neil Marshall’s The Descent is one of the horror director’s best-loved movies. He may have risen to fame with his soldiers vs. werewolves horror actioner, Dog Soldiers, but this claustrophobic horror etched his name in rock. 

Recommended Videos

The Descent is a superbly directed subterranean slasher that still captures the imagination as it approaches its 20th birthday. Fans are still poring over the cult movie’s narrative, which leaves the door open for a few theories, including a particularly unsettling one that recently popped up to turn the film on its head. 

Here’s a quick and spoiler-packed refresher if you haven’t seen The Descent in a while. 

A year after losing her husband and daughter in a car accident, Sarah joins her thrill-seeking friends for a spelunking adventure in the Appalachian Mountains. As the friends confront the recent tragedy and damaged friendships, a rockfall traps them in what is quickly revealed to be an unknown cave system. Hopes of healing and repairing relationships in the group struggle as they realize that some kind of vicious humanoid species, which they dub crawlers, are in the dark caves with them. A frantic escape sees Sarah survive as a memorable Final Girl.

No wonder it’s a modern classic, and despite a poorly-regarded follow-up, interest in further sequels won’t go away. But what if we’ve been reading it wrong all this time?

The well-thought-out theory on the /r/FanTheories subreddit suggests that Sarah was the danger all along. Alongside some fascinating evidence to back up the plot readings, it’s notable that Sarah enters the caves with five friends and has to kill five crawlers to survive. 

The idea won plaudits for being a top-tier fan theory.

Comment
byu/aiai92 from discussion
inFanTheories

It also prompted early warnings that even if someone returned to test the theory, they’d have to buckle up for the “terrifying” film. 

Comment
byu/aiai92 from discussion
inFanTheories

Although, some were quick to point out that a chilling, lesser-seen end to the movie already exists. An extended ending for The Descent was released in the U.K. but chopped from the U.S. release for fears it was too depressing. Well… it does reveal the escape to have been a hallucination, with Sarah imagining her torchlight as a birthday candle. As the illusion disappears, Sarah is left in the darkness with the sound of approaching crawlers.

Comment
byu/aiai92 from discussion
inFanTheories

The extended ending at most hints at Sarah’s feelings towards her friends, whereas this theory jumps right down the rabbit hole.

Comment
byu/aiai92 from discussion
inFanTheories

The extended ending and this theory build on the dual meaning of the movie’s title — a descent into madness. In every cut of the film, parts of the plot depended on Sarah hallucinating, including her appearing to wake in an abandoned hospital after the early tragic accident. 

Comment
byu/aiai92 from discussion
inFanTheories

In the version where she’s a Final Girl, Sarah must become as savage as the crawlers and unlock her inner killer, to survive. Clearly, the more Sarah’s to blame, the more horror fans seem to like it. It’s a neat work around one of the major complaints — that for all its horror thrills, it’s essentially a creature feature. For some, the movie falls down a canyon as soon as the monsters appear. So maybe a more psychological and sinister reading will increase its popularity even more. 


We Got This Covered is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of Matt Goddard
Matt Goddard
Matt enjoys casting Jack Kirby color, Zack Snyder slow-mo, and J.J. Abrams lens flare on every facet of pop culture. Since graduating with a degree in English from the University of York, his writing on film, TV, games, and more has appeared on WGTC, Mirror Online and the Guardian.