What editions are available?
- Theatrical (98 min.)
- Unrated (99 min.)
The British horror film The Descent was released in US theaters with an alternative ending than the one shown in Europe. The DVD and Blu-ray release of the film in the US dubbed the two cuts as theatrical (“US R-Rated Theatrical”) and unrated (“Original UK version”). The reason of the alternative ending is addressed in a special featurette on the US Blu-ray with director Neil Marshall. Without spoiling the ending of the film here is a summary of the featurette:
“The alternative ending was something I kinda toyed with when I was in edit first time around, it was never something I thought of when writing the script. But I knew how it was going to end from the start. We finally got the ending we were happy with and that was released in the UK and the rest of the world. I personally prefer the longer version, the UK ending. So both endings in their own way pay tributes to different 70’s horror movies that inspired me hugely.”
Source: DescENDING – interview with writer/director Neil Marshall
The director’s preferred edition: Unrated (Original UK version)
Comparison of the editions with courtesy of Movie-Censorship.com
