Leslie Simpson Movies
Three decades after a major country is quarantined in hopes of containing a lethal and highly contagious virus nicknamed "Reaper," signs that the super-bug has resurfaced in a major city prompt desperate specialists to race back into the infected zone to find a cure in director Neil Marshall's (The Descent) miasmic speculative sci-fi thriller. Few could have foreseen the terror that the microorganism known as "Reaper" would unleash upon the unsuspecting population, and when terrified authorities quarantined the entire country in hopes of saving the human race, the streets immediately descended into chaos. Thirty years later, the inhabitants of planet Earth think that they've seen the last of the merciless killer disease, but they couldn't be more wrong. When "Reaper" reappears more powerful than ever in a major city, an elite group of professionals led by Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra) are forced to travel back into the sealed-off country where the virus first broke out in order to create a cure and save humankind from certain doom. Now, as the rest of the world anxiously awaits word of their ultimate fate, Eden and her brave team are about to find out that there is indeed a hell, and they are about to journey directly into its black, envenomed heart. Also in the cast are Bob Hoskins and Malcolm McDowell, as well as a host of veterans from Marshall's past productions, including Sean Pertwee, MyAnna Buring, Craig Conway, and Nora-Jane Noone. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, (more)
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
- Starring:
- Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza, (more)
British director Neil Marshall's directorial debut Dog Soldiers resurrects and embraces the low-budget horror-comedy. Sergeant Harry Wells (Sean Pertwee) leads a team of British soldiers on a routine expedition to the Scottish Highlands. The six men would rather be at home watching the game, but they are even more dismayed when a carcass lands on their campfire. The next morning, they happen upon a severely injured Captain Richard Ryan (Liam Cunningham) and the bloody remains of his squadron. Soon they are attacked by giant werewolf beasts and chased through the woods, only to be saved by zoologist Megan (Emma Cleasby), who explains some of the truth about the creatures. They all take refuge in an old farmhouse while the threat of the monsters looms increasingly heavy. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, (more)
