Descent
I just thought I'd put up this Descent one-sheet and ask for interpretations. It's obviously meant to look like a kind of Rorschach ink blot by way of Heironymus Bosch. It seems just as obvious to me that the artist who created this poster had his/her head in Vulvaland. It looks like some kind of mad Dali-esque scene from a Ken Russell movie. The message is either "beware those who would enter this chamber" or that some kind of satori consciousness awaits.
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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 4, 2006 at 9:57 AM
comment #1
RDL says ...
They stole this from an existing piece of art. Give it a couple of hours and I'll bet someone identifies it.
Posted by RDL at August 4, 2006 11:04 AM
comment #2
Joel says ...
I dunno, Jeff, it looks like a skull to me. Maybe your head is stuck in Vulvaland (which sounds like a wonderful vacation destination).
Posted by Joel at August 4, 2006 11:04 AM
comment #3
Anonymous says ...
It's a Dali ripoff, look up Dali skull and you'll find it
Posted by Anonymous at August 4, 2006 11:05 AM
comment #4
Dixon Steele says ...
It's obviously a skull, Jeff (see the teeth?).
Get your head out of the vulva!
Posted by Dixon Steele at August 4, 2006 11:08 AM
comment #5
ArchiveGuy says ...
Stole is a harsh word. Let's say "appropriate":
http://www.afterimagegallery.com/halsmanskull.htm
Posted by ArchiveGuy at August 4, 2006 11:09 AM
comment #6
T.H. Ung says ...
I think it looks like a face to face yin-yangy he/she mash up between Sascha & Sasha Cohen.
Posted by T.H. Ung at August 4, 2006 11:20 AM
comment #7
Dave at Garfield Ridge says ...
Yup, looks just like the Silence of the Lambs poster.
Posted by Dave at Garfield Ridge at August 4, 2006 11:24 AM
comment #8
L.B. says ...
It's also the same concept they used to create the skull on the moth in the SILENCE OF THE LAMBS poster, so it's not even the first to appropriate the image.
Now I gotta go get my head stuck in Vulvaland.
Posted by L.B. at August 4, 2006 11:25 AM
comment #9
Anonymous says ...
http://www.indiewire.com/people/2006/08/indiewire_inter_15.html
Here's a little interview with the editor cum director.
Posted by Anonymous at August 4, 2006 11:27 AM
comment #10
Wrecktum says ...
Huh. Wells, like Poland, didn't recognize one of the most famous surrealist photos from one of the most famous photographers of the 20th century. Time to get out more often!!
Posted by Wrecktum at August 4, 2006 11:28 AM
comment #11
Anonymous says ...
Why's that girl screaming if it ain't the vulva?
Posted by Anonymous at August 4, 2006 11:29 AM
comment #12
Thung says ...
I think it looks like a cheerleading formation.
Posted by Thung at August 4, 2006 11:32 AM
comment #13
Nicol D says ...
There is something compelling, cheesy yet arousing about this poster all at the same time.
Maybe I'm in Vulvaland too.
Posted by Nicol D at August 4, 2006 11:34 AM
comment #14
Anonymous says ...
Yeah, all you guys are thinking with your big heads, but you're just ending up taking out your little heads to see who's bigger.
Posted by Anonymous at August 4, 2006 11:42 AM
comment #15
Thung says ...
I'm the official conversation killer!
Posted by Thung at August 4, 2006 11:51 AM
comment #16
clarkman says ...
This is one of the most stunning film posters i've seen all year long.
Shame on ya for not knowing the original inspiration, or as has been pointed out, its earlier appropriation for THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS' poster.
Posted by clarkman at August 4, 2006 11:57 AM
comment #17
Anonymous says ...
Yeah, shame on you Jeff for his outburst and being so f'ed up this early in the day. Man, you need to get out of your rent-stabilized Beverly Hills-adjacent cave more often.
Posted by Anonymous at August 4, 2006 12:06 PM
comment #18
Anonymous says ...
I never noticed that image on the SOTL poster, very subtle
Posted by Anonymous at August 4, 2006 12:08 PM
comment #19
T.H. Ung says ...
Jeff's too busy reading that long, rather boring L.A. Times apologist piece. I think AT's got it right about that tape recording in Mel's head, but don't discount what other thoughts said same tape has inspired in sMell's infamous work.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-gibson4aug04,1,1409910.story?coll=la-headlines-entnews
Posted by T.H. Ung at August 4, 2006 12:19 PM
comment #20
Anonymous says ...
Just watched The Descent on my computer. I rented a RC DVD @ Cinefile here in Los Angeles. Competently directed, some creepy moments, lots of squirting. But I'm getting tired of the same rhythms. One, Two, Three, BOO! One, Two, Three BOO! Very cheap. We're in the dark; how hard is it to scare us when we know at any moment a Hillbilly Albino is going to pop into the frame? All the theoretical posturing about what this movie is REALLY about is unwarranted. Vaginas, menstruation, birthing rituals. Chum for the Tenure Trackers. The only thing on Marshall's mind seems to be Deliverance if directed by John Carpenter minus the humor with a dash of James Cameron's She-Male fetishizing. I guess it's worth a night out at the movies. And I would bet dollars to donuts that Marshall is going to be the next blockbuster hack. There are no directorial idiosyncracies to be found at all and no original p.o.v. Marshall is just another talented DJ, mixing and matching bits and pieces from other movies until he finds the right combination. Nothing wrong with that. But this movie is hardly fresh. More monsters. More blood. More final girls. You know exactly who's going to die first based on behaviorial tics. Same old same old.
Posted by Anonymous at August 4, 2006 12:24 PM
comment #21
Thung says ...
Angry Female, have no fear, Man-oh-la likes it.
Because this happens to be one of my favourite movie blogs(not a Gossip blog,that david poland really needs a piece of my mind),I'm going to express here my anger at the way the horror classic "The descent" was received by a certain movie critic.rarely do we get to see a horror film with such depht ,intelligence that's genuinely scary.Neil Marshall has just become my personal hero.Do you know how rare it is to find a horror movie where the all female cast avoids being the plastic dolls sluts passing for talent in hollywood.these are genuine women who are strong and resourceful and human and this film is a ode to feminist cinema without being an anti-male fest(natalie Mendoza has true star status written all over her.she's like Lucy Liu,but with talent).This film is so good that I just don't undertsand the negative reviews.Michael Wilmington(possibly due to old age) did'nt like
it but even he managed to say the film was filled with truly suspenseful moments.My issue is with movie critic and douchebag Scott Foundas from the LA Weekly.He did'nt like it.Fine but his review was so moronically insulting that I was seething with anger.It's not enough that he hated the film but to compare the acting as equivalent to porno was insulting and sexist.Did he really see the film or did he watch "The cave".Because Mr Meathead Foundas really needs to appreciate the fact that to get a movie like this when it's rare to find films without cardboard characters and artitificiality in cinema(Now,"Stay Alive".that's a bad movie).I just don't get it and i'm really hoping that Jeffrey wells will mention this amazing horror flick.
Posted by: Angry Female at August 3, 2006 02:51 AM
Posted by Thung at August 4, 2006 12:36 PM
comment #22
Rob says ...
Glad you brought up this poster, Jeffrey, because something else about it has really been bothering me when I see it daily on Sunset Boulevard. Where does that extra pair of feet that make up the skull's teeth come from? I guess they have to belong to that girl on at the top who is screaming. Is she screaming because her legs have been grotesquely elongated? Is she screaming because her feet are on the other side of interdimensional vortex and then passed back into our dimension a few feet away?
Posted by Rob at August 4, 2006 1:19 PM
comment #23
MagillaOrangutang says ...
I love the flume in Vulvaland.
Posted by MagillaOrangutang at August 4, 2006 1:23 PM
comment #24
Anonymous says ...
That interdimensional vortex you see is a body cavity.
Posted by Anonymous at August 4, 2006 1:32 PM
comment #25
Jojo says ...
If this poster is the invitation to Vulvaland; I will, as always, continue to steer clear.
Posted by Jojo at August 4, 2006 1:51 PM
comment #26
Anonymous says ...
I agree with with you angry female I just came out to my parents also this movie expresses exactly how I'm feeling Scott Foundas is a pig I agree with you angry female men are pigs all they want is a warm hole to use as a toilet women have to stick together angry female so no matter what anyone says I'm on your side I bet Scott Foundas was upset because the women in the descent are not bimbos and that's what he wanted them to be he's just mad at neil marshall because neil marshall has respect for women and scott foundas thinks women are meat bags
Posted by Anonymous at August 4, 2006 2:16 PM
comment #27
T.H. Ung says ...
Oh, I get it you can't sign the post, because you just came out to your parents. For the record, I am not now, nor have I ever been, Angry Female.
Posted by T.H. Ung at August 4, 2006 2:26 PM
comment #28
gh says ...
Jim Emerson over at RogerEbert.com gave Descent 4/4 stars.
Posted by gh at August 4, 2006 2:57 PM
comment #29
Steve C says ...
This sure is "Chucking Stones in the Glass House" week on the ol' HE.
First, there's the retread of that "old" CHUD interview with Brett Ratner. Now, HE finally notices the one sheets for THE DESCENT might look like vulvas (?????!!!).
Talk about being behind the curve.
If this was a write up in the Toronto Star or Miami Herald, HE would be all over it as being out-of-date (and/or touch).
Just saying...
Posted by Steve C at August 4, 2006 3:05 PM
comment #30
Steve C. says ...
Sorry, forgot to add that the MCN blog page did the DESCENT poster, including all the Dali references, like 3 weeks ago.
Posted by Steve C. at August 4, 2006 3:07 PM
comment #31
T.H. Ung says ...
It just goes to show that Jeff hasn't read Poland in like three weeks. I'm glad because when the blogs read each other, it end up like dogs in a circle sniffing each other's butts.
Posted by T.H. Ung at August 4, 2006 3:20 PM
comment #32
craptastic says ...
Jeff, post the Silence of the Lambs poster alongside. You'll see that its the same thing as the head of the moth.
RIP OFF!
Posted by craptastic at August 4, 2006 4:37 PM
comment #33
Anonymous says ...
The Descent Sold out all showings a a local popular AMC in SAN DIEGO, I am a big fan of this film and have owned it on DVD for about 6 months...had lots of after hours alcohol fueled descent parties...BUT SEEING IT ON THE BIG SCREEN with a screaming audience! WOW, I was a bit freaked out, even though I knew what was coming, this is the most intense experience I have had in a theatre since Mariah Carey's Glitter! I suggest anyone out there who reads this and feels tired from all the summer bullshit flicks and are jonesing for a real cinematic THRILL SCARY EXPERIENCE, rush out and see the DESCENT on the biggest screen with a packed audience...wow! SLEEPER HIT OF THE SUMMER!
Posted by Anonymous at August 5, 2006 1:59 AM