On Set: The Descent 2
Posted by dominie in Films, Games, News, Reviews on August 27th, 2008
ShockTillYouDrop.com recently had a chance to visit the set of director Jon Harris’ The Descent 2. Exclusive from their interview, here are the highlights.
In chatting with writer of The Descent 2, James Watkins who recently directed Eden Lake, we learned that the sequel will introduce new elements from the first film to play on. There will be men this time around, more gore, and really tap into our “deep primal fears.” Gory moments will serve as breathing room in this sequel reveals Watkins as he describes a new sequence he and Harris came up with involving water. They toured the caves in Yorkshire with a cave rescue crew for a first hand experience but didn’t go very deep at all. “It’s pretty dangerous,” expresses Watkins, “The real extreme cavers do the water stuff. Going into the water not knowing where you’re going to come out, I wouldn’t even want to do that on the fantastic set Simon [Bowles] has built.”
More revelations from production designer Simon Bowles: The characters must enter the cave through an old mine this time. The mine has been closed for 80 years with numerous tales about men who have entered and never returned. The thirteen foot bottom portion of the mine was actually built and from there a CGI extension was used. Bowles also accomplished the rolling wall he had been attempting to do on previous films such as Doomsday. The rolling wall he explains, involves turning the set inside out and building the interior using the same scenary.
Star Shuana MacDonald’s first thought the idea of a sequel was a “terrible” idea but eventually came around and became very excited with the story idea. “It’s a lot more physically demanding [than] the last one was… I have three big fights, but it was demanding for me just to get her emotional journey as you’d think she’d never ever go back in that cave ever. Trying to make that truthful was tricky, trying to play out what she does remember, what she doesn’t remember.”
Newcomer Krysten Cummings tells Shock “When I first met Jon, the director, I warned him that I’m a bit performance masochist,and he said, Good, ’cause we are gonna kick your ass.” She categorizes her first experience in filming as “dysfunctional” and laughs.
Producer Christian Colson took some time to explain the lengthy process in putting the second film together. It started with, he quotes executive producer Neil Marshall, “Let’s get the same team together and if we can’t then lets not bother.” So they got a “cracking script” and the whole team back, with each member pushing harder and further than before to top the original. The experience has been great but “[The film] is no good until its done,” he expresses.
Its been three years since the release of the original The Descent and as the shoot days were coming to an end for The Descent 2, it seems to be bittersweet for the family. Stay tuned for more to come.
