Ever wanted to scare the crap out of someone but didn’t know which horror movie would be the best? When it comes to horror, many different aspects of the genre can create fear and tension in viewers. Sometimes it’s supernatural, sometimes it’s cheesy horror, or maybe it’s a cheap jump scare. These are always a tried and true staple. But when it comes to really scaring the audience, really unsettling them, one film stands out: lineage.
Released in 2005, lineage It tells the story of a group of friends who go on a cave expedition, and a year later, tragedy strikes one of them. Inside, however, they find more than a mesmerizing cave system, and they soon find themselves in a life-and-death battle with the cave’s monstrous inhabitants. The movie is like a slow burn for the first hour or so of its run, really building up the suspense until the first creeper (as the monster is supposed to be) shows up. These creepers are extremely filthy, pale, and vampire-like in appearance, with humanoid builds but inhuman tendencies. They are bloodthirsty, chasing and killing every woman one by one, lingering in the dark, ready to pounce at any time.But it’s not just crawlers lineage Such a great horror movie, in fact, it might not even be the reason for it in the first place.what makes lineage It works because it taps into very real and common fears and creates a deeply personal film that is bound to leave viewers squirming.
What is “Arrival” about?
The movie starts by introducing us to some of the characters we’ll be following throughout the movie. There is Sarah (Shauna Macdonald), Juno (Natalie Mendoza) and Beth (alex reed). The friends are all thrill seekers fresh off a white water rafting trip. They were greeted by Sarah’s husband Paul (oliver milburn) and their daughter Jessica (Molly Kyle). On the way home, Sarah noticed Paul was quiet and asked him what was wrong. He tells her it’s nothing, and we (and Sarah) can tell it’s a lie, but before she can press their car, she’s suddenly hit by another car. The accident claimed the lives of Paul and Jessica, leaving Sarah as the sole survivor, feeling unimaginable pain and guilt over the loss.
As unavoidable as it is, the fear of losing a loved one is a very real and daunting thought. lineage Taking that dread and letting it kick off the movie creates a dull and depressing tone that only gets worse as the movie goes on. After all, the rest of the film takes place a year after the accident, which means it’s still a very fresh wound. Throughout the film, Sarah often hears the laughter of a child, or has visions of her daughter in a cave. So not only is Sarah fighting for her life, but she also faces insurmountable grief as she falls into a seemingly hopeless situation. Her best friend Beth even said as much, encouraging Sarah to get through it when she was trapped in the cave, saying, “The worst thing that can happen to you has already happened.” is true, but that doesn’t stop the film from doubling down on Sarah’s trauma.
‘Arrival’ sets hopeless situations
As mentioned earlier, reptiles may be the selling point of movie horror, but real horror predates reptiles on screen. The aforementioned group of friends (and some newcomers) gathered at a cabin in the Appalachian Mountains, where they planned to embark on a spelunking expedition. A group climbs a mountain, reaches a cave entrance, and descends. Generally speaking, caving is a pretty scary activity, even if you’re doing it with trained professionals in caves that have been explored hundreds of thousands of times. As a result, it can feel pretty daunting when the team has to move through small passages–and even more so when the passage behind them collapses and traps them. But unlike a guided caving expedition, these women did it all by themselves, unaware that Juno had taken them to a cave that had never been explored before. They have no map, they have lost a bag of supplies due to a cave-in tunnel, and the hope of any kind of help and rescue soon begins to fade. They continued to explore the cave, thinking that if they continued to push, they must find an exit somewhere. But the cave system is proving increasingly treacherous, full of holes, caverns and impassable passages.
Claustrophobia is one of the most common fears humans have – it’s the fear of small or enclosed spaces. lineage It’s basically “Claustrophobia: The Movie,” and while we obviously know the caves in the movie are just sets, they feel all too real. The result is a suffocating, horrifying, hopeless ride of horror that never seems to stop. Even without cave monsters on screen, we still have to watch our heroine navigate seemingly hopeless circumstances. They still have to somehow find the exit while balancing on fragile cliffs and wriggling in the tiniest of spaces.
But claustrophobia isn’t the only thing adding to the horror vibe. There’s also the fact that the team worked in minimal light conditions, making the already unknown cave all the more daunting. Each of them has a headlamp, and sometimes they use flares to light up the cave. But the most prominent use is the glow stick, which paints most of the scene an eerie green that feels like it was shot in night vision. Speaking of which, there are also some great through-camera shots that make for an excellent jump scare when the first creeper emerges from the crowd. The dark is another common fear that we all have as children and some of us as adults. But the darkness mixed with the small enclosed spaces of the Unknown Cave? This is the perfect recipe to literally send tingles down your spine.
“The Neverending Nightmare of The Descendants”
It’s worth mentioning that what makes this movie so scary is how it ties into the delusions and hysteria someone faces in this situation. Sarah is kind of like the audience self-inserting. She’s the protagonist, she’s someone we empathize with, and we root for her to live. So we’ll be happy when she sees a ray of light in the distance; she’ll make it, and she’ll be fine. She climbed a hill of skulls and bones and poked her head out of the hole for fresh air and sunshine. Or at least, that’s how the film’s American release ended.
The British original has a grim ending, and it intensifies the sense of desperation we feel throughout the film. In this ending, everything is exactly the same as the American ending, but it turns out that it was all an illusion. She never escapes the cave, and we see her hallucinate her daughter blowing out the candles on her birthday cake. It’s just that it’s an illusion, too; her daughter isn’t there, and the candle in question is actually her torch. When the camera zooms out, we see only the darkness around Sarah and hear the approaching sounds of the cave dwellers.
lineage Truly an incredible master of mind and senses. It’s capable of digging deep under your skin without relying on monsters. Sure, they’re scary and grotesque, but the real horror comes from the personal aspects of real life. That’s what makes this movie so effective, and why its horror factor never wanes on rewatching.that’s why lineage is one of the greatest horror films of recent years.
