‘The mutated cave-things, the Crawlers, are the stuff of nightmares; toadstool-white and strange, but what really got to me about The Descent were all those tight places and the feel of being buried alive. I am a long-time claustrophobe, and that movie really drilled down on that fear.’
Stephen King
Six women go exploring in an uncharted cave system, and what they discover deep underground is something they never expected. Soon the women are all fighting for their lives against numerous sub-human ‘crawlers’ who eat whatever ventures into their domain …
The Descent was written and directed by Neil Marshall, and released in the UK on 8 July 2005. It is considered one of the most scary and effective British horror films ever made, combining realistic character work, with a claustrophobic fear of caves and tunnels, and, of course, a great and dangerous threat that lurks below ground.
In The Making of The Descent, author Janine Pipe and director Neil Marshall present the definitive book of the film. Containing extensive interviews with cast and crew, and unprecidented access to the film‘s photographic archive, along with Marshall’s own scripts, notes, designs and memories, this is a profusely illustrated look at one of the greatest horror films of all time.
Come with us as we return once more to the dark and dangerous caves in the Appalachian Mountains to discover what creeps and crawls in the darkness …
‘I think it has become a classic. Not just a cult classic – a bona fide top-tier horror film.’
Guillermo Del Toro
‘Quite the stunner – full page full colour stills and photographs and as much background information as you could want. For those of my age imagine a Cinefantastique special issue devoted to the movie but one that’s nearly 200 pages long. Excellent stuff.’ John Llewellyn Probert
‘A coffee-table size book that is first and foremost, filled with an incredible array of photos, both from the film but a ton of behind-the-scenes ones … No matter how many times you’ve might have seen it, after reading through this volume, you’ll have even more insight, and most likely even more of an appreciation for it, as well as all those involved.’ Jon Kitley, Kitley’s Krypt (https://kitleyskrypt.com/2025/08/09/book-review-making-of-the-descent/)
Cover by Neil Fraser
184pp. 11×8.5 hardback. Contains over 350 photographs and illustrations
ISBN: 978-1-84583-243-8
Published 21 August 2025
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Janine Pipe is a lifelong horror and action fan and over the recent years has used that passion to write several works of fiction and non-fiction, including her best-seller, Sausages: The Making of Dog Soldiers. Her directorial debut was HER, followed by the shorts Footsteps and Charlie Foxtrot. She is now in development with an action feature Indigo which is slated to go into production in 2026. She is also writing, directing and producing a segment for the horror anthology Hell’s Close in 2025. Janine is the owner of Pipe Screams Productions (horror) and Delta Charlie Productions (action).
Born in Newcastle Upon Tyne in the North of England, Neil Marshall has been working successfully in both feature films and television since his feature debut Dog Soldiers in 2001. His second feature as both writer and director,The Descent 2005 was an even bigger critical and commercial hit, winning several awards including the BIFA for Best Director, and the Empire award for Best Horror. He followed this success with the post-apocalyptic action movie Doomsday 2008 for Universal and historical adventure Centurion in 2010. In 2012 Neil made his debut in the world of high-end television with Game of Thrones S2 Ep9 ‘Blackwater’, and followed that up with S4 Ep9 ‘The Watchers on the Wall’ for which he received an Emmy Nomination for Best Director.
Marshall continued to work in the network, cable and streaming arenas directing projects such as the pilot episodes of Black Sails for Starz, DC’s Constantine and Timeless both for NBC. Marshall also directed notable episodes of Hannibal for Showtime and Westworld for HBO. In 2017 Neil developed, produced and directed the Netflix reboot of classic sci-fi series Lost in Space, quickly followed the same year by the feature film reboot of Hellboy released in 2018.
In 2020 Marshall made his return to independent film and the horror genre with the multi-award winning witch-hunt saga The Reckoning which was the opening movie at Fantasia festival in Canada that year. Marshall’s next movie The Lair, an all action-creature-feature set in Afghanistan, was the opening night presentation at Frightfest 2022 in London and also played Sitges in Spain before being released on Shudder in Feb 2023.
Marshall switched genres yet again for the violent gangster revenge movie Duchess, released in September 2024. Most recently Marshall directed the erotic giallo thriller Compulsion (2024) and is developing several projects including WW2 alien invasion thriller Invaders, tense action thriller Dead Stop and land speed record drama Mach One.
Jon Kitley –
‘A coffee-table size book that is first and foremost, filled with an incredible array of photos, both from the film but a ton of behind-the-scenes ones … No matter how many times you’ve might have seen it, after reading through this volume, you’ll have even more insight, and most likely even more of an appreciation for it, as well as all those involved.’ Jon Kitley, Kitley’s Krypt