Descent (2007)

Director:

Talia Lugacy

Writers:

Talia Lugacy (writer)
Brian Priest (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A college co-ed is brutally raped and struggles alone to rebuild her life.

Plot Keywords:

Male Full Frontal Nudity | Male Frontal Nudity | Homophobic | Rape | Fancy Restaurant

Cast

Rosario Dawson	...	Maya
Chad Faust	...	Jared
Marcus Patrick	...	Adrian
Christopher DeBlasio	...	Frat Brother
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sergia Louise Anderson	...	Christie
Chuck Ardezzone	...	Gruff Man
Scott Bailey	...	Alex
Tomm Bauer	...	Student
Aran Bertetto	...	Student / College Grad
Peter Bongiorno	...	Coach
Jon Budinoff	...	Friendly Guy
Melaena Cadiz	...	Student
Kevin Cannon	...	Gruff Hood
Anthony Chiochi	...	Anthony
Tim Curcio	...	Student
Isabel Dawson	...	Bartender
Jacqueline Duprey	...	Celeste
Tate Ellington	...	George
Vanessa Ferlito	...	Latina Girl
Abigail Forman	...	Ashleigh
Connor Fox	...	Steve
Melissa Fumero	...	Dorm Girl #2 (as Melissa Gallo)
Alexie Gilmore	...	Seline
Spencer Grammer	...	Stephanie
Tommy Guiffre	...	Danny
Robert Haley	...	Gruff Man #2
Nigel Harvey
Wilson Jermaine Heredia	...	Diego
Charlie Hewson	...	Usher
Aisleagh Jackson	...	Volunteer Girl
Colombe Jacobsen-Derstine	...	Nadia
Suzy Kaye	...	Cafeteria girl
Dennis Leeflang	...	Club goer
Robert Lehrer	...	Speaker
Jasmine Lobe	...	Dorm Girl #3
Brooke Sunny Moriber	...	Dorm Girl #1
Adam Mucci	...	Football Guy
James O'Toole	...	Craig
Marshal Pailet	...	Sammy
Rosalie Perez	...	Rosalie
Cosmo Pfeil	...	Brock
Scott Porter	...	Brooks
Ashleigh Prather	...	Mandy
Kristen Ruhlin	...	Maya's Friend from High School
Paul Sado	...	Josh
Alissa Salvatore	...	Stand In
Christen Satchelle	...	College Kid / Club Goer
Jonathan Neil Schneider	...	Archeology Professor
Jennifer Sciole	...	Mary
Steve Sirkis	...	Frat Boy
George Spielvogel III	...	Mathew
Aaron Staton	...	Campus Guy
James A. Stephens	...	Professor Byron
Lynne Marie Stetson	...	Pneumonia Girl
Phoebe Strole	...	Innocent Girl
Francie Swift	...	Clair
Johnathan Tchaikovsky	...	Tyler
Tracie Thoms	...	Denise
Alysha Umphress	...	Andrea
Lee Van Bradley	...	Harlan
Alicia Van Couvering
Dana Varon	...	Rebecca
Nicole Vicius	...	Melanie
Matthew J. Walters	...	Tim
Brian M. Wixson	...	Gruff Man #4
Chris Wylde	...	Chris
Rachael Leigh Cook	...	Allison (uncredited)
Stany Coppet	...	Clubber (uncredited)

Directed by
Talia Lugacy

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Talia Lugacy		writer
Brian Priest		writer

Produced by
Michael Almog	....	executive producer
Michael Bassick	....	executive producer
Michael Califra	....	executive producer
Isabel Dawson	....	associate producer
Rosario Dawson	....	producer
Danny Fisher	....	executive producer
Jack Fisher	....	executive producer
Joe Fisher	....	executive producer
Gary S. Gumowitz	....	executive producer
Marcus Lansdell	....	co-producer
Morris S. Levy	....	producer
Talia Lugacy	....	producer
Jeff Mazzola	....	co-producer
Phil Michas	....	co-executive producer
John Scaccia	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Alex Moulton		(original music by)

Cinematography by
Christopher LaVasseur

Film Editing by
Frank Reynolds

Casting by
Adrienne Stern

Production Design by
Tristam Steinberg

Art Direction by
Joel Custer

Set Decoration by
Heather Corbett

Costume Design by
Amy Ritchings

Makeup Department
Johanna Gavilanes	....	hair stylist
Johanna Gavilanes	....	makeup artist
Sarit Klein	....	key hair stylist
Sarit Klein	....	makeup department head

Production Management
Alex Foster	....	production supervisor
Jared Goldman	....	production manager: additional photography

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Epstein	....	first assistant director
Vadim Epstein	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Erica Parise	....	assistant property master
Pamela Day Rappaport	....	property master
Jae Song	....	art department

Sound Department
Shaun Brennan	....	foley artist
Tammy Douglas	....	sound mixer
Jeff Formosa	....	dialog editor
Mark Garcia	....	assistant supervising sound editor
Mark Garcia	....	post-production sound
Eric Milano	....	foley editor
Eric Offin	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eric Offin	....	supervising sound editor
Guillermo Pena-Tapia	....	boom operator
Daniel Perlin	....	sound designer
John Sember	....	additional sound mixer

Visual Effects by
Benjamin Murray	....	visual effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Sarah L. Hendrick	....	additional second assistant camera
Jeffrey Kim	....	gaffer
Michael C. Maronna	....	electrician
Greg McMahon	....	second assistant camera
Alex Willson	....	grip

Casting Department
Tammy Porto	....	casting associate
Leah Pracher	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Zairi Malcolm	....	additional wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Tim Hedden	....	dailies colorist
Scot Olive	....	colorist
Nerina Penzhorn	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Haji A.	....	music supervisor: Club Scenes
Stephanie Diaz-Matos	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Jesse Davidson	....	daily location manager
Noel Estrada	....	production assistant
Shawn Langleiben	....	location scout
Jonny Leahan	....	publicist
Collin Longsworth	....	production assistant
Mark McKennon	....	location manager
Andrew Menan	....	production coordinator
Erica Parise	....	location manager
Matthew Reedy	....	set production assistant
R. Zachary Shildwachter	....	key production assistant
Jodie Alexandra Taylor	....	script supervisor

Thanks
Darren E. Johnson	....	special thanks
Mike Scarna	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Descent
• Trybe Films
• City Lights Pictures
• M.E.G.A. Films

Distributors

• City Lights Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• City Lights Pictures (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Delta Pictures (2007) (Italy) (all media)
• Eagle Entertainment (2008) (Australia) (DVD)
• VVS Films (2007) (Canada) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Arclight Films  international sales
• Jolson Creative Image PR  publicity
• PostWorks, The Lab  processing
• Postworks New York  digital intermediate
• Postworks New York  selects transfer
• Tandem Sound  post-production
• Tandem Sound  sound post-production

MPAA:

Rated R for brutal rape, language, some sexual content and drug use. (edited version); Rated NC-17 for a brutal rape. (original theatrical version)

Runtime:

USA:100 min | USA:110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:R (edited version) | Australia:R

Filming Locations:

Fairleigh Dickinson University - 285 Madison Avenue, Madison, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Descent

Movie Connections:

References The Hunt for Red October (1990)

let's stick to the classics!

I saw 'Descent' last night at the Stockholm Film Festival and it was one huge disappointment. Disappointment because the storyline was potentially powerful, the prospect of seeing Rosario Dawson in a smaller intimate movie was exciting and, being a fan (sounds pervy, I'm not!) of 'rape/revenge' flicks of the 70's, I was needless to say very curious to check this movie out. My conclusion: let's stick to the classics! Yes, the storyline has potential but the dialogs are flat, the actors unconvincing. Even Dawson is empty. Some would say that it's a right depiction of the college world in the US, that the emptiness of the characters serve a purpose and all that jazz but it just makes the whole movie unsubstantial. Just like the scene where Dawson gets raped: it seriously lacks intensity! I wasn't expecting anything 'Irreversible'-style but still, aren't we suppose to feel compassion for her? I didn't. Not for a minute, she was so lame all the way ;-) And I read that the photography was impressive. Well, it is good indeed but nothing ground-breaking either. I must admit that the screening at the festival wasn't so good so maybe I missed out something here but at the end of the movie, I couldn't help thinking 'I feel like watching Argento's 'Inferno' again. lol. More seriously, the first scene in the club is beautifully shot and all but I had the bitter sensation of watching a longer and more boring version of the scene in the filthy bar near the American-Canadian border in Lynch's 'Twin Peaks - Fire Walk with Me'... the crude red and blue lighting, the heavy bass music, the general lascivious/decadent atmosphere... No, I just couldn't get into this movie. Too bad.