There may not be any dueling banjos on the soundtrack, but Neil Marshall's horrifically terrific "The Descent" cannily recasts 1972's "Deliverance" as a female-bonding thriller with some "Hills Have Eyes"-style mutant terror tossed in for truly harrowing effect. Definitely one of the year's most satisfying genre pieces, the British import should have jumpy audiences squealing like a pig, just like they did when "The Descent" was released overseas -- it opened in the U.K. 13 months ago -- to considerable critical and financial success. The picture, which hits North American shores with a slightly different ending, should pull in some decent coin for Lionsgate, building nicely on the horror cred established by the likes of the "Hostel" and "Saw" franchises.

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