Director Neil Marshall's 2006 survival horror hit The Descent wowed audiences, but it actually comes complete with more than one ending. It really can't be overstated just how impressive The Descent proved to be, standing as arguably one of the best horror films of its decade, and achieving both critical and commercial success. A British production, The Descent, despite its fantastic locations and striking cinematography, was made for only £3.5 million, and grossed nearly $60 million worldwide, a terrific return on investment.
The Descent follows a group of six female friends as they head into a labyrinthine cave system, only for things to go horribly wrong, and leave the adventurers in an unexpected battle for their lives. It seems these caves are home to a previously unknown breed of humanoid creature dubbed Crawlers, which can't see but hunt based on sound. With no help coming and time running out, relations between the women become almost as ugly as their bloody encounters with the monsters.
The Descent was a smash both stateside and in its native UK, but viewers in those two places actually experienced the film differently, at least in theaters. The Descent has two endings, one of which accompanied the US release, while the UK release had a different conclusion.
Unlike many cases of movies having an alternate ending, one of The Descent's two conclusions is actually an extension of the other, instead of something entirely different. However, this extension serves to drastically alter how fans will interpret the climax of the film. The US ending, an alteration of the original final scene, sees lead character Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) escape from the cave system, reach her vehicle, and drive off. She's then shocked by a vision of the now dead character Juno in the passenger seat, leading to the credits.
In the UK Descent ending, which is director Neil Marshall's original and preferred conclusion, the vision of Juno shocks Sarah back into reality, a reality in which she's still trapped in the cave and had never managed to escape. Sarah has clearly lost her mind, and sees a vision of her dead daughter in the cave with her, as the Crawlers look to be closing in. It's a short extension, but it's the difference between Sarah living and dying.
As for why The Descent's ending was changed for its American release, that was a decision by distributor Lionsgate. US test audiences found the original ending too bleak and hopeless, so the studio worked with Marshall to come up with a compromise. For his part, the director later argued that the US ending really isn't much happier, as Sarah has still been horrifically traumatized by her experiences, and is also seemingly hallucinating her dead friends. Thankfully, most home video releases of The Descent offer both endings as an option.
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