Jon Harris Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Right off the bat, it should be noted: Neil Marshall did not direct the sequel. That's not to say anything nasty or negative about The Descent: Part 2, but if you're looking for a reason to whine about how "It'll never be as good as the first one," then there you go.

Beyond that, however, my anticipation of this sequel just got elevated by this brand-new trailer clip the new trailer clip that Lionsgate just yanked from YouTube, darnit, although this site seems to still have it posted. The director is first-timer Jon Harris, who worked as editor on several films (including the very well-cut Eden Lake), and one can't help but feel for the guy. His first big feature and everyone's already whining about the absence of Neil Marshall. Also, one of the credited screenwriters is James Watkins, he of the underrated My Little Eye and (also) Eden Lake.

Usually when an original creator walks away from a sequel, it is a good sign that maybe a sequel isn't the best idea to begin with. Well, that's exactly what happened with the follow-up to Neil Marshall's 2005 horror-hit, The Descent. But it is not all bad news because Shock Till You Drop got the chance for a set-visit, and by the sounds of things it's looking pretty good for our group of traumatized spelunkers. (You can read the about the full visit over at Shock.)

The sequel picks up where the first film left off (that is if you are following the events of the North American release of the original film). The story follows the return of a mute and unbalanced Sarah as she heads back down to the caves with a rescue party to locate the rest of her group. Of course, this being the ricketiest cave on earth, the group is soon trapped and left to deal with the nasties down below.

During the visit, Shock spoke with writer James Watkins (My Little Eye) as well as the production designer Simon Bowles. Watkins told Shock that they went to Marshall to "get his feedback and discuss which direction he wanted the story to go, what he thought was good, how we should develop the characters" -- not to mention there was the promise of plenty of more gore this time around, and in the end isn't that what we're paying for? Scott told us back in 2007 that Marshall hadn't completely washed his hands of the whole thing, and would still produce the flick. Well, I guess he's a little more hands-on than expected -- which is probably a very good thing, don't you think?

The Descent 2 will arrive in theaters in 2009.

Warning: This post contains some spoilers for the original Descent.

It's been a while since we've heard anything about the promised sequel to Neil Marshall's The Descent, and fans of the film who rolled their eyes at the initial announcement may have gotten their hopes up. But no: the sequel is still going forward with Descent editor Jon Harris making his directorial debut, and James Watkins (My Little Eye), who had nothing to do with the first film, writing the screenplay. The new info is that Shauna McDonald and Natalie Mendoza, who played protagonists Sarah and Juno, will reprise their roles in the sequel. The cast will also have some Y chromosomes this time around, in the form of Gavan O'Herlihy, Joshua Dallas and Douglas Hodge.

The plot will involve "the survivor" -- that would be Sarah -- "forced back into the system of caves she battled her way out of in the first film, in a bid to locate the rest of her group." Shockingly, this probably means that the sequel will take the American "Lionsgate ending" (in which Sarah gets out) as canon, rather than the original ending, where Sarah's escape is a dream sequence and the final shot shows her remaining in the cave. I suppose this could be explained to overseas viewers (who were, after all, responsible for more than half of the first film's $57 million box-office) by claiming that she got out later, in some other way. But it'll be tough.

When I say "that sequel to The Descent is still going to happen," you first reaction might be an audible groan and an eye-roll. (Or perhaps you just don't care.) But there's some promising news on the horizon regarding the "babes in a cave" follow-up: No, Neil Marshall won't be returning to direct the sequel -- but he will be on board as a writer / producer. Plus he's just given a big stamp of approval on the director for The Descent 2.

According to Fangoria, film editor Jon Harris will make his directorial debut on the slimy spelunking sequel. Here's what the director of Dog Soldiers (and the impending Doomsday) told Fango: "I will not be directing The Descent 2 ... But I will be overseeing every aspect of the production. There's nothing to oversee yet, though, as the script is currently being written. My Descent editor Jon Harris will make his feature directing debut with the sequel, and I can't think of a better man for the job."

So far so good, right? Best of luck to Mr. Harris on the promotion. He's got a tough act to follow with this sequel. (In addition to The Descent, Harris cut films such as Snatch, Layer Cake, Ripley's Game and Stardust.)

[ Thanks to DreadCentral.com for the tip. ]