list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around The Descent on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/The_Descent/262134/default.aspx Title: The Descent
Year: 2006
Director: Neil Marshall
Plot: A group of close female friends on a yearly adventure vacation find themselves trapped and hunted in a series of caves by an unknown force that lurks in the shadows in The Descent, the second horror feature from Dog Soldiers writer/director Neil Marshall. After suffering a devastating car crash one year before, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) is lured to the States with her friend Beth (Alex Reid) to a special spelunking trip by the fearless Juno (Natalie Mendoza), who abruptly fled from the U.K. after Sarah's accident. Along with two old friends and a new acquaintance of Juno's, the group embark on a cave expedition that takes a turn for the worse after a rock fall leaves them stranded in an uncharted cave with no map and only a handful of supplies to last them the rest of the trip. As tensions arise in the group, they are faced with another danger -- one whose love of the dark is as strong as its lust for blood. Opening to rave reviews in the U.K. in July of 2005, the creature-feature went on to show at the Venice Film Festival and garnered the top prize for Euro feature at Sweden's Fantastic Film Festival. The Descent was picked up for future U.S. distribution by Lion's Gate, whose work was cut out for them considering the tame opening of the similarly-themed stateside production of The Cave in late-August of the same year. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 27
Number of Lists: 44
Number of blog posts: 6
Number of discussion threads: 23
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:47:56 GMTThe Descent2006Neil MarshallA group of close female friends on a yearly adventure vacation find themselves trapped and hunted in a series of caves by an unknown force that lurks in the shadows in The Descent, the second horror feature from <a href=/films/208768/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Dog Soldiers</a> writer/director <a href="/players/P___310790/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Neil Marshall</a>. After suffering a devastating car crash one year before, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) is lured to the States with her friend Beth (Alex Reid) to a special spelunking trip by the fearless Juno (Natalie Mendoza), who abruptly fled from the U.K. after Sarah's accident. Along with two old friends and a new acquaintance of Juno's, the group embark on a cave expedition that takes a turn for the worse after a rock fall leaves them stranded in an uncharted cave with no map and only a handful of supplies to last them the rest of the trip. As tensions arise in the group, they are faced with another danger -- one whose love of the dark is as strong as its lust for blood. Opening to rave reviews in the U.K. in July of 2005, the creature-feature went on to show at the Venice Film Festival and garnered the top prize for Euro feature at Sweden's Fantastic Film Festival. The Descent was picked up for future U.S. distribution by Lion's Gate, whose work was cut out for them considering the tame opening of the similarly-themed stateside production of <a href=/films/257344/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>The Cave</a> in late-August of the same year. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide27Tag Target (>10)446233http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t91651ug9rb.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/The_Descent/262134/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_May_11_Camping/625/42276/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 5/14/2009 5:06:15 PM
Body: Some really good, and really awful, horror movies involve camping. Friday the 13th was already mentioned. I thought Campire Tales might have been good after seeing that James Marsden, Ron Livingston and Christine Taylor were it in, but alas, it wasn't. The updated House of Wax had its moments: Paris Hilton fit her part in the film perfectly and the creepy town that was constructed was exactly that, but overall it's nothing special. I'm not a fan of Cabin Fever but I will forever remember the disturbing little Kung Fu kid at the end of the film that ran around screaming "Pancakes!" and biting people. The Tripper also had some pretty hilarious moments and was an interesting idea, but was ultimately a let down. Courtney Cox as a PETA Hippie was a nice little cameo. Shrooms was probably worse then having a bad drug experience. I'm a huge fan of The Descent. I'm not however looking forward to the sequel. And the film that many Spout members have filled many a discussion posts over, The Blair Witch Project. I will rehash the tagline that was used during the promotion of the film: it did for the woods and camping what Jaws did for the ocean. I've watched it countless times and still get that anxious feeling of fear and dread each time.
]]>Thu, 14 May 2009 21:06:15 GMTmercurialWeekly Theme5/14/2009 5:06:15 PMSome really good, and really awful, horror movies involve camping. Friday the 13th was already mentioned. I thought Campire Tales might have been good after seeing that James Marsden, Ron Livingston and Christine Taylor were it in, but alas, it wasn't. The updated House of Wax had its moments: Paris Hilton fit her part in the film perfectly and the creepy town that was constructed was exactly that, but overall it's nothing special. I'm not a fan of Cabin Fever but I will forever remember the disturbing little Kung Fu kid at the end of the film that ran around screaming "Pancakes!" and biting people. The Tripper also had some pretty hilarious moments and was an interesting idea, but was ultimately a let down. Courtney Cox as a PETA Hippie was a nice little cameo. Shrooms was probably worse then having a bad drug experience. I'm a huge fan of The Descent. I'm not however looking forward to the sequel. And the film that many Spout members have filled many a discussion posts over, The Blair Witch Project. I will rehash the tagline that was used during the promotion of the film: it did for the woods and camping what Jaws did for the ocean. I've watched it countless times and still get that anxious feeling of fear and dread each time. http://www.spout.com/groups/HORROR_MOVIES_101/Re_FilmCouch_105_My_Bloody_Valentine_3D_why_3D/222/41168/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: divinemsjunebug
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 3/22/2009 12:06:45 AM
Body: You know, it's so funny because I had forgotten a lot of the parts about the creatures but the scariest for me was the claustrophobia and falling off the cliff, not finding a way out. I did like the idea that there was something down there with them that was tracking them, I also liked the ending. I always like the "fool you" ending. But I agree those creatures were a little "over the top" - I did find myself holding my breath through a lot of the movie. I enjoy 3D movies just for the FUN effect but it ticks me off because sometimes they take a perfectly good movie (although there really haven't been any good 3D movies) but they throw so many stupid things at the camera, it's ridiculous, from pitch forks thrust to the audience, to eyeballs popping out, to sharks swimming out to get you and biting you. It's very cheesy - but it's also a lot of fun with friends and a few drinks. Good for laughs. [quote user="seely"] [quote user="joem18b"] I read some decent reviews of The Descent,and queued it up for my spouse and myself. She seemed to enjoy it - the women in distress, the claustrophobic situation, the injuries - until the creatures showed up. The viewing ended there, labelled "stupid." [/quote] Your review is a lot like others I've read, and echoes what Kevin and Adam said in their podcast. They had an excellent point that The Descent was a great film with a great story before the creatures even showed up to provide the "horror". Take away the horror of the film, and you'd still be left with a decent script, good plot and great acting. I haven't seen it yet either, but its going on ye olde Netflix que post-haste! [/quote]
]]>Sun, 22 Mar 2009 04:06:45 GMTdivinemsjunebugHORROR MOVIES 1013/22/2009 12:06:45 AMYou know, it's so funny because I had forgotten a lot of the parts about the creatures but the scariest for me was the claustrophobia and falling off the cliff, not finding a way out. I did like the idea that there was something down there with them that was tracking them, I also liked the ending. I always like the "fool you" ending. But I agree those creatures were a little "over the top" - I did find myself holding my breath through a lot of the movie. I enjoy 3D movies just for the FUN effect but it ticks me off because sometimes they take a perfectly good movie (although there really haven't been any good 3D movies) but they throw so many stupid things at the camera, it's ridiculous, from pitch forks thrust to the audience, to eyeballs popping out, to sharks swimming out to get you and biting you. It's very cheesy - but it's also a lot of fun with friends and a few drinks. Good for laughs. [quote user="seely"] [quote user="joem18b"] I read some decent reviews of The Descent,and queued it up for my spouse and myself. She seemed to enjoy it - the women in distress, the claustrophobic situation, the injuries - until the creatures showed up. The viewing ended there, labelled "stupid." [/quote] Your review is a lot like others I've read, and echoes what Kevin and Adam said in their podcast. They had an excellent point that The Descent was a great film with a great story before the creatures even showed up to provide the "horror". Take away the horror of the film, and you'd still be left with a decent script, good plot and great acting. I haven't seen it yet either, but its going on ye olde Netflix que post-haste! [/quote] http://www.spout.com/groups/HORROR_MOVIES_101/Re_FilmCouch_105_My_Bloody_Valentine_3D_why_3D/222/40018/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: seely
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 1/28/2009 9:54:34 AM
Body: [quote user="joem18b"] I read some decent reviews of The Descent,and queued it up for my spouse and myself. She seemed to enjoy it - the women in distress, the claustrophobic situation, the injuries - until the creatures showed up. The viewing ended there, labelled "stupid." [/quote] Your review is a lot like others I've read, and echoes what Kevin and Adam said in their podcast. They had an excellent point that The Descent was a great film with a great story before the creatures even showed up to provide the "horror". Take away the horror of the film, and you'd still be left with a decent script, good plot and great acting. I haven't seen it yet either, but its going on ye olde Netflix que post-haste!
]]>Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:54:34 GMTseelyHORROR MOVIES 1011/28/2009 9:54:34 AM[quote user="joem18b"] I read some decent reviews of The Descent,and queued it up for my spouse and myself. She seemed to enjoy it - the women in distress, the claustrophobic situation, the injuries - until the creatures showed up. The viewing ended there, labelled "stupid." [/quote] Your review is a lot like others I've read, and echoes what Kevin and Adam said in their podcast. They had an excellent point that The Descent was a great film with a great story before the creatures even showed up to provide the "horror". Take away the horror of the film, and you'd still be left with a decent script, good plot and great acting. I haven't seen it yet either, but its going on ye olde Netflix que post-haste! http://www.spout.com/groups/HORROR_MOVIES_101/Re_FilmCouch_105_My_Bloody_Valentine_3D_why_3D/222/40005/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: divinemsjunebug
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 1/27/2009 11:33:50 PM
Body: Good topic Seely. I have to say that the only reason I liked this last My Bloody Valentine was because it was in 3D, I just thought it was fun. BUT actually the story was kind of boring and the characters just weren't as rich as the original. In other words, if it wasn't for the "gimmick" it would have been so/so. That is so true, for people like most of us on here, we have seen thousands of horror movies, it really takes a LOT to impress me. Of course I love to watch all horror, even the bad movies, but as for being impressed...NOW The Orphanage and The Descent were excellent movies. They are up on the top of my favorites now. The Descent scared me to death, also I'm a little claustrophobic so it really got to me. I think what made them so great were the story lines, the darkness, the suspense, the surprise factor, the creepiness, the intensity...whew. [quote user="seely"] Anyone check out this week's FilmCouch podcast? Kevin and Adam talk about My Bloody Valentine 3D, which leads into what I thought was a great discussion about what truly makes a horror film great, and how gimmicks don't necessarily equal great filmmaking (though directors often seem to think they do--see our other discussion here). Bonus: they give a great quick history of 3D film--including the highest grossing 3D film ever, a crappy 70's soft-core porn. Kevin and Adam brought up The Descent and The Orphanage as great examples of what a horror film *can* be. I really liked their perspective on horror films and the horror genre, and the direction filmmaking seems to have taken towards gimmicks. "How do you get through to somebody who's seen a hundred horror movies? And yours has nothing to offer them." -FilmCouch #105 What do you guys think? [/quote]
]]>Wed, 28 Jan 2009 04:33:50 GMTdivinemsjunebugHORROR MOVIES 1011/27/2009 11:33:50 PMGood topic Seely. I have to say that the only reason I liked this last My Bloody Valentine was because it was in 3D, I just thought it was fun. BUT actually the story was kind of boring and the characters just weren't as rich as the original. In other words, if it wasn't for the "gimmick" it would have been so/so. That is so true, for people like most of us on here, we have seen thousands of horror movies, it really takes a LOT to impress me. Of course I love to watch all horror, even the bad movies, but as for being impressed...NOW The Orphanage and The Descent were excellent movies. They are up on the top of my favorites now. The Descent scared me to death, also I'm a little claustrophobic so it really got to me. I think what made them so great were the story lines, the darkness, the suspense, the surprise factor, the creepiness, the intensity...whew. [quote user="seely"] Anyone check out this week's FilmCouch podcast? Kevin and Adam talk about My Bloody Valentine 3D, which leads into what I thought was a great discussion about what truly makes a horror film great, and how gimmicks don't necessarily equal great filmmaking (though directors often seem to think they do--see our other discussion here). Bonus: they give a great quick history of 3D film--including the highest grossing 3D film ever, a crappy 70's soft-core porn. Kevin and Adam brought up The Descent and The Orphanage as great examples of what a horror film *can* be. I really liked their perspective on horror films and the horror genre, and the direction filmmaking seems to have taken towards gimmicks. "How do you get through to somebody who's seen a hundred horror movies? And yours has nothing to offer them." -FilmCouch #105 What do you guys think? [/quote] http://www.spout.com/groups/HORROR_MOVIES_101/FilmCouch_105_My_Bloody_Valentine_3D_why_3D_suc/222/39955/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: seely
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 1/27/2009 10:50:19 AM
Body: Anyone check out this week's FilmCouch podcast? Kevin and Adam talk about My Bloody Valentine 3D, which leads into what I thought was a great discussion about what truly makes a horror film great, and how gimmicks don't necessarily equal great filmmaking (though directors often seem to think they do--see our other discussion here). Bonus: they give a great quick history of 3D film--including the highest grossing 3D film ever, a crappy 70's soft-core porn. Kevin and Adam brought up The Descent and The Orphanage as great examples of what a horror film *can* be. I really liked their perspective on horror films and the horror genre, and the direction filmmaking seems to have taken towards gimmicks. "How do you get through to somebody who's seen a hundred horror movies? And yours has nothing to offer them." -FilmCouch #105 What do you guys think?
]]>Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:50:19 GMTseelyHORROR MOVIES 1011/27/2009 10:50:19 AMAnyone check out this week's FilmCouch podcast? Kevin and Adam talk about My Bloody Valentine 3D, which leads into what I thought was a great discussion about what truly makes a horror film great, and how gimmicks don't necessarily equal great filmmaking (though directors often seem to think they do--see our other discussion here). Bonus: they give a great quick history of 3D film--including the highest grossing 3D film ever, a crappy 70's soft-core porn. Kevin and Adam brought up The Descent and The Orphanage as great examples of what a horror film *can* be. I really liked their perspective on horror films and the horror genre, and the direction filmmaking seems to have taken towards gimmicks. "How do you get through to somebody who's seen a hundred horror movies? And yours has nothing to offer them." -FilmCouch #105 What do you guys think? http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2009/1/23/39818.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 1/23/2009 10:00:35 AM
Body: My Bloody Valentine 3D isn’t worth watching in one dimension, let alone three. But it does serve to spark some good conversation. What other gimmicks have boosted the box office of sub-par films? What does good contemporary horror look like? Neil Marshall’s The Descent offers a refreshing palette cleanser. Also, what do horror and porn have in common, besides cheap nudity? Karina checks in from Park City with some hits and misses from this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Moon, Hump Day, and The September Issue were worth writing home about, while Paper Hearts and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men will quietly fall into obscurity (we hope). Listen to FilmCouch and win free stuff! Send us an e-mail telling us the most absurd piece of merchandise you’ve seen branded with an image of Che Guevara, and you can win a program from the Che roadshow signed by Steven Soderbergh, a copy of Che’s Diaries, and the soundtrack to the film. Send e-mails to filmcouch (at) spout (dot) com. (Subscribe to FilmCouch–Spout’s weekly movie podcast–in the iTunes store or to our RSS feed and an episode will download each Friday) 0:00 - Intro 3:22 - Psychoanalyzing a listener based on his favorite films 8:15 - My Bloody Valentine 3D, gimmicks throughout movie history 16:22 - Humanizing horror vs. porn with blood 31:12 - Sundance filmcouch-105 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Fri, 23 Jan 2009 15:00:35 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com1/23/2009 10:00:35 AM My Bloody Valentine 3D isn’t worth watching in one dimension, let alone three. But it does serve to spark some good conversation. What other gimmicks have boosted the box office of sub-par films? What does good contemporary horror look like? Neil Marshall’s The Descent offers a refreshing palette cleanser. Also, what do horror and porn have in common, besides cheap nudity? Karina checks in from Park City with some hits and misses from this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Moon, Hump Day, and The September Issue were worth writing home about, while Paper Hearts and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men will quietly fall into obscurity (we hope). Listen to FilmCouch and win free stuff! Send us an e-mail telling us the most absurd piece of merchandise you’ve seen branded with an image of Che Guevara, and you can win a program from the Che roadshow signed by Steven Soderbergh, a copy of Che’s Diaries, and the soundtrack to the film. Send e-mails to filmcouch (at) spout (dot) com. (Subscribe to FilmCouch–Spout’s weekly movie podcast–in the iTunes store or to our RSS feed and an episode will download each Friday) 0:00 - Intro 3:22 - Psychoanalyzing a listener based on his favorite films 8:15 - My Bloody Valentine 3D, gimmicks throughout movie history 16:22 - Humanizing horror vs. porn with blood 31:12 - Sundance filmcouch-105 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/groups/HORROR_MOVIES_101/Re_Top_25_Horror_Films_of_the_Modern_Era/222/38834/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: divinemsjunebug
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 12/24/2008 10:37:51 PM
Body: I think it's a pretty good modern movie list overall, I'd move some around. I definately think The Descent is a good choice for #1 - that movie was great. I don't think Blair Witch Project should be #2 either but I would keep it in the top 10. I can't believe Eyes Wide Shut is on the list. There are a few others I am questioning too, but for the most part, most of them are my favorite Modern movies. [quote user="rjsprague"] What do you folks think of this list? 1. The Descent (2005) dir: Neil Marshall2. The Blair Witch Project (1999) dir: Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez3. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) dir: Jonathan Demme4. The Ring (2002) dir: Gore Verbinski5. Scream (1996) dir: Wes Craven6. The Mist (2007) dir: Frank Darabont7. 28 Days Later (2002) dir: Danny Boyle8. Braindead (Dead Alive) (1992) dir: Peter Jackson9. Inside (2007) dir: Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury10. Shaun of the Dead (2004) dir: Edgar Wright11. Saw (2004) dir: James Wan12. [REC] (2007) dir: Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza13. Audition (1999) dir: Takashi Miike14. Ginger Snaps (2000) dir: John Fawcett15. American Psycho (2000) dir: Mary Harron16. Session 9 (2001) dir: Brad Anderson17. Dawn of the Dead (2004) dir: Zack Snyder18. Army of Darkness (1993) dir: Sam Raimi19. Dog Soldiers (2002) dir: Neil Marshall20. Cabin Fever (2002) dir: Eli Roth21. Let the Right One In (2008) dir: Tomas Alfredson22. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) dir: Francis Ford Coppola23. Eyes Wide Shut (1999) dir: Stanley Kubrick24. Halloween: 20 Years Later (1998) dir: Steve Miner25. Dellamorte Dellamore (Cemetery Man) (1994) dir: Michele Soavi (from thevaultofhorror.blogspot.com) Personally I'd probably remove the Blair Witch project, but I'm a horror noob. :) [/quote]
]]>Thu, 25 Dec 2008 03:37:51 GMTdivinemsjunebugHORROR MOVIES 10112/24/2008 10:37:51 PMI think it's a pretty good modern movie list overall, I'd move some around. I definately think The Descent is a good choice for #1 - that movie was great. I don't think Blair Witch Project should be #2 either but I would keep it in the top 10. I can't believe Eyes Wide Shut is on the list. There are a few others I am questioning too, but for the most part, most of them are my favorite Modern movies. [quote user="rjsprague"] What do you folks think of this list? 1. The Descent (2005) dir: Neil Marshall2. The Blair Witch Project (1999) dir: Daniel Myrick &amp; Eduardo Sanchez3. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) dir: Jonathan Demme4. The Ring (2002) dir: Gore Verbinski5. Scream (1996) dir: Wes Craven6. The Mist (2007) dir: Frank Darabont7. 28 Days Later (2002) dir: Danny Boyle8. Braindead (Dead Alive) (1992) dir: Peter Jackson9. Inside (2007) dir: Alexandre Bustillo &amp; Julien Maury10. Shaun of the Dead (2004) dir: Edgar Wright11. Saw (2004) dir: James Wan12. [REC] (2007) dir: Jaume Balaguero &amp; Paco Plaza13. Audition (1999) dir: Takashi Miike14. Ginger Snaps (2000) dir: John Fawcett15. American Psycho (2000) dir: Mary Harron16. Session 9 (2001) dir: Brad Anderson17. Dawn of the Dead (2004) dir: Zack Snyder18. Army of Darkness (1993) dir: Sam Raimi19. Dog Soldiers (2002) dir: Neil Marshall20. Cabin Fever (2002) dir: Eli Roth21. Let the Right One In (2008) dir: Tomas Alfredson22. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) dir: Francis Ford Coppola23. Eyes Wide Shut (1999) dir: Stanley Kubrick24. Halloween: 20 Years Later (1998) dir: Steve Miner25. Dellamorte Dellamore (Cemetery Man) (1994) dir: Michele Soavi (from thevaultofhorror.blogspot.com) Personally I'd probably remove the Blair Witch project, but I'm a horror noob. :) [/quote] http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/12/9/38148.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 12/9/2008 6:01:19 PM
Body: Last week, Roger Ebert finally got around to destroying reviewing Ben Stein’s anti-evolution film, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Ebert’s rant is as cerebral as it is merciless, and it’s worth a read even if you haven’t seen the film. He makes some good points about how the film completely misunderstands the concepts of probability and selection, forming flashy but ultimately useless argument. Ebert’s rage is thinly veiled. He’s obviously upset that clear logical fallacies can go unnoticed by so many people. Sure, misreading Darwin while attempting to refute him is a lame move when engaging in scientific debate, but the practice is quite common when it comes to filmmaking. When movies deal with evolution, there’s an unspoken understanding that they can completely distort the theory beyond recognition. It’s kind of like calling someone a pedophile during a Friar’s Club Roast, everyone knows it isn’t true, and it’s all in good fun. When you look at it in this way, Expelled is just the latest in a long line of films that distort the theory of evolution to make a buck. Here are 5 more that are guilty of crimes against the origin of humanity: Evolution This 2001 sci-fi/horror/comedy, directed by Ivan Reitman (of Ghostbusters fame), makes one of the most common errors in depicting evolution on film: the process happens much too quickly. It’s the result of an understandable dilemma. Evolution is cool and scary because species can transform into other species and become more advanced, but it takes too long! In the film, a meteor strikes the Earth and deposits a pile of primordial goo. The goo starts evolving like crazy, so that it’s a serious threat to the world in like, a week. While it’s true that simple life forms, left to there own devices, can evolve into something more advanced, it takes soooooo much longer than that. I know it’s a comedy and everything, but still, the real process is mind-numbingly slow. Planet of the Apes At first glance, Planet of the Apes seems to jive with Darwin’s theory pretty well. Not so fast, there are several problems. In case you haven’t seen it, Chuck Heston and friends have spent 2,006 years frozen on a space mission when they crash-land on a planet inhabited by intelligent apes and savage humans. (Spoiler alert) The planet is Earth, humans lost their superiority due to some calamity, allowing other primates to evolve into an advanced intelligence. There are two big problems here. One, there is no reason why the humans who survived the apocalypse would devolve. Sure, their society was destroyed, but that wouldn’t cause natural selection to reverse. If anything, the tough conditions would speed human evolution by eliminating the weak. The second problem is speed issue again. Heston and his pals were only gone for about one hundred human/ape generations, not nearly enough time to account for the changes to either species. The Descent This killer British horror film features an all-female cast of cave explorers who are attacked by pale humanoids known as “crawlers.” Writer/director Neil Marshall described the crawlers as cavemen who stayed in the caves, adapting perfectly to that environment. Sounds pretty good, except that there were never any cavemen in the Appalachian Mountains, where the film takes place. Humans first sprang up in Africa, and spread out from there, fully capable of dwelling on the surface of the Earth. While the nomads who came to North America probably did duck in caves to avoid rain, there would be no logical reason to stay there, because all the good food was outside. Waiting for wayward spelunkers to eat just isn’t a viable survival tactic in the long term. Jurassic Park The problems with Spielberg’s classic CGI dinosaur romp have more to do with cloning than evolution, but because both rely heavily on a proper understanding of genetics, it still counts. First of all, harvesting dinosaur DNA from mosquitoes lodged in amber would be extremely difficult. The film (and book) accounts for this by stating that missing chunks of the genome are replaced by genes from frogs and reptiles and such. Even if this could work, the resulting animals would not be dinosaurs, they would be part dinosaur and part frog, which sounds cool, but the organism would probably just die right away. Even if they could create a viable dinosaur cell nucleus, they wouldn’t have a dinosaur host cell, or oocyte, to put it into, which you need to make a clone. If that weren’t enough, most of the dinosaurs in the film aren’t from the Jurassic period, but the Cretaceous period. Creature from the Black Lagoon In this classic monster movie, a team of scientists hunt for fossils in the Amazon in hopes of finding a complete skeleton to match a webbed humanoid hand discovered on a previous mission. The hand is said to be a link between land and sea animals, which is total bullshit. If a crafty amphibious humanoid were the link between land a sea animals, the evolution of life would have to be caught in some weird time loop, connecting and overlapping species across hundreds of millions of years (which would actually be pretty cool). If such a creature existed it wouldn’t be a link at all, but a completely separate strand of evolution tracing back to a distant common ancestor, something like a fish with a taste for land-dwelling insects. Despite the obvious differences these separate evolutionary paths would create between the Gill-Man and humans, the monster in the film is sexually attracted to female humans, which makes no sense. Also, he seems to have evolved as an individual, which is impossible. Where was the Gill-Man’s family? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:01:19 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com12/9/2008 6:01:19 PM Last week, Roger Ebert finally got around to destroying reviewing Ben Stein’s anti-evolution film, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Ebert’s rant is as cerebral as it is merciless, and it’s worth a read even if you haven’t seen the film. He makes some good points about how the film completely misunderstands the concepts of probability and selection, forming flashy but ultimately useless argument. Ebert’s rage is thinly veiled. He’s obviously upset that clear logical fallacies can go unnoticed by so many people. Sure, misreading Darwin while attempting to refute him is a lame move when engaging in scientific debate, but the practice is quite common when it comes to filmmaking. When movies deal with evolution, there’s an unspoken understanding that they can completely distort the theory beyond recognition. It’s kind of like calling someone a pedophile during a Friar’s Club Roast, everyone knows it isn’t true, and it’s all in good fun. When you look at it in this way, Expelled is just the latest in a long line of films that distort the theory of evolution to make a buck. Here are 5 more that are guilty of crimes against the origin of humanity: Evolution This 2001 sci-fi/horror/comedy, directed by Ivan Reitman (of Ghostbusters fame), makes one of the most common errors in depicting evolution on film: the process happens much too quickly. It’s the result of an understandable dilemma. Evolution is cool and scary because species can transform into other species and become more advanced, but it takes too long! In the film, a meteor strikes the Earth and deposits a pile of primordial goo. The goo starts evolving like crazy, so that it’s a serious threat to the world in like, a week. While it’s true that simple life forms, left to there own devices, can evolve into something more advanced, it takes soooooo much longer than that. I know it’s a comedy and everything, but still, the real process is mind-numbingly slow. Planet of the Apes At first glance, Planet of the Apes seems to jive with Darwin’s theory pretty well. Not so fast, there are several problems. In case you haven’t seen it, Chuck Heston and friends have spent 2,006 years frozen on a space mission when they crash-land on a planet inhabited by intelligent apes and savage humans. (Spoiler alert) The planet is Earth, humans lost their superiority due to some calamity, allowing other primates to evolve into an advanced intelligence. There are two big problems here. One, there is no reason why the humans who survived the apocalypse would devolve. Sure, their society was destroyed, but that wouldn’t cause natural selection to reverse. If anything, the tough conditions would speed human evolution by eliminating the weak. The second problem is speed issue again. Heston and his pals were only gone for about one hundred human/ape generations, not nearly enough time to account for the changes to either species. The Descent This killer British horror film features an all-female cast of cave explorers who are attacked by pale humanoids known as “crawlers.” Writer/director Neil Marshall described the crawlers as cavemen who stayed in the caves, adapting perfectly to that environment. Sounds pretty good, except that there were never any cavemen in the Appalachian Mountains, where the film takes place. Humans first sprang up in Africa, and spread out from there, fully capable of dwelling on the surface of the Earth. While the nomads who came to North America probably did duck in caves to avoid rain, there would be no logical reason to stay there, because all the good food was outside. Waiting for wayward spelunkers to eat just isn’t a viable survival tactic in the long term. Jurassic Park The problems with Spielberg’s classic CGI dinosaur romp have more to do with cloning than evolution, but because both rely heavily on a proper understanding of genetics, it still counts. First of all, harvesting dinosaur DNA from mosquitoes lodged in amber would be extremely difficult. The film (and book) accounts for this by stating that missing chunks of the genome are replaced by genes from frogs and reptiles and such. Even if this could work, the resulting animals would not be dinosaurs, they would be part dinosaur and part frog, which sounds cool, but the organism would probably just die right away. Even if they could create a viable dinosaur cell nucleus, they wouldn’t have a dinosaur host cell, or oocyte, to put it into, which you need to make a clone. If that weren’t enough, most of the dinosaurs in the film aren’t from the Jurassic period, but the Cretaceous period. Creature from the Black Lagoon In this classic monster movie, a team of scientists hunt for fossils in the Amazon in hopes of finding a complete skeleton to match a webbed humanoid hand discovered on a previous mission. The hand is said to be a link between land and sea animals, which is total bullshit. If a crafty amphibious humanoid were the link between land a sea animals, the evolution of life would have to be caught in some weird time loop, connecting and overlapping species across hundreds of millions of years (which would actually be pretty cool). If such a creature existed it wouldn’t be a link at all, but a completely separate strand of evolution tracing back to a distant common ancestor, something like a fish with a taste for land-dwelling insects. Despite the obvious differences these separate evolutionary paths would create between the Gill-Man and humans, the monster in the film is sexually attracted to female humans, which makes no sense. Also, he seems to have evolved as an individual, which is impossible. Where was the Gill-Man’s family? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/groups/Spout_Customer_Care/Re_Film_Content/420/34464/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: csprague
Post To: Spout Customer Care
Post Date: 8/27/2008 4:01:04 PM
Body: [quote user="leeroy711"] [quote user="csprague"] [quote user="leeroy711"] Neil Marshall directed The Descent but not Descent [/quote] Another brilliant error from the databases at AMG. I don't know how they do content creation over there, but for some reason this mistake happens all the time. I can let them know about it, but the odds of it changing are pretty slim. [/quote] Maybe someone over there should just subscribe to the RSS of this thread. Anyways, I like the effed up symetrical look when you link these two movies> It's like, the bloody chick is saying, "Hey look at my reflection in all this blood. I look just like Rosario Dawson." [/quote] LOL. A surprisingly humorous juxtapositioning.
]]>Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:01:04 GMTcspragueSpout Customer Care8/27/2008 4:01:04 PM[quote user="leeroy711"] [quote user="csprague"] [quote user="leeroy711"] Neil Marshall directed The Descent but not Descent [/quote] Another brilliant error from the databases at AMG. I don't know how they do content creation over there, but for some reason this mistake happens all the time. I can let them know about it, but the odds of it changing are pretty slim. [/quote] Maybe someone over there should just subscribe to the RSS of this thread. Anyways, I like the effed up symetrical look when you link these two movies&gt; It's like, the bloody chick is saying, "Hey look at my reflection in all this blood. I look just like Rosario Dawson." [/quote] LOL. A surprisingly humorous juxtapositioning. http://www.spout.com/groups/Spout_Customer_Care/Re_Film_Content/420/34461/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: leeroy711
Post To: Spout Customer Care
Post Date: 8/27/2008 3:46:12 PM
Body: [quote user="csprague"] [quote user="leeroy711"] Neil Marshall directed The Descent but not Descent [/quote] Another brilliant error from the databases at AMG. I don't know how they do content creation over there, but for some reason this mistake happens all the time. I can let them know about it, but the odds of it changing are pretty slim. [/quote] Maybe someone over there should just subscribe to the RSS of this thread. Anyways, I like the effed up symetrical look when you link these two movies> It's like, the bloody chick is saying, "Hey look at my reflection in all this blood. I look just like Rosario Dawson."
]]>Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:46:12 GMTleeroy711Spout Customer Care8/27/2008 3:46:12 PM[quote user="csprague"] [quote user="leeroy711"] Neil Marshall directed The Descent but not Descent [/quote] Another brilliant error from the databases at AMG. I don't know how they do content creation over there, but for some reason this mistake happens all the time. I can let them know about it, but the odds of it changing are pretty slim. [/quote] Maybe someone over there should just subscribe to the RSS of this thread. Anyways, I like the effed up symetrical look when you link these two movies&gt; It's like, the bloody chick is saying, "Hey look at my reflection in all this blood. I look just like Rosario Dawson." http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/revenge/MemberTagFilms.aspxrevenge
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