“THE LAST DESCENT” — 3 stars — Chadwick Hopson, Alexis Johnson, Landon Henneman; PG (thematic elements and a perilous situation); in general release
Most Utah audiences are familiar with the 2009 incident at Nutty Putty Cave in Utah County. In most cases, that kind of familiarity can pose a problem for a director like Isaac Halasima, whose new film “The Last Descent” is a retelling of that event. But given the circumstances, knowing the outcome of the film going in might be a tender mercy for the audience.
Regardless, “The Last Descent” is a bold first feature for Halasima, whose previous work has come in music videos for bands such as The Imagine Dragons. “The Last Descent” is tense and powerful, a signal that the carefree summer blockbuster season is officially over.
The film begins shortly after a medical school student named John Jones (Chadwick Hopson) arrives in Salt Lake City to spend a few days catching up with his family. After a little friendly persuasion from his brother Josh (Jacob Omer), John leaves his wife and daughter behind for a couple of hours of spelunking at the nearby Nutty Putty Cave, which had been recently reopened to the public.
According to Josh, if you get deep enough you’ll encounter a unique geological feature that gives the caves their unique name, but along the way through a narrow section of the cave called The Birth Canal, John gets stuck in an almost inverted position. When Josh’s initial efforts to free his brother prove fruitless, he reluctantly goes for help, and the bulk of “The Last Descent” becomes a claustrophobic interaction between John and a rescuer named Aaron (Landon Henneman) who arrives on scene to act as John’s primary liaison.
The tight circumstances allow Halasima to keep his audience locked in the cave with John, and the resulting tension continues to ratchet as the situation becomes more desperate. Above ground, a doctor named Murdock (Paul Tan) explains to rescuers that John’s awkward position makes his circumstance that much more physiologically threatening.
To give us respite from the close quarters of the cave, Halasima uses John and Aaron’s conversation to interject flashbacks recounting John’s difficult courtship of his wife Emily (Alexis Johnson). When John and Aaron discover they are both returned missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, their conversation takes on a distinctly spiritual tone, and John’s persistent visions of a figure in black add an ominous air to the already tense situation.
Special credit has to be given to Hopson, who spends about two-thirds of his performance inverted and talking into a wall of dirt. Most actors are thrilled to get a key close-up, but “The Last Descent” gives Hopson something else entirely. His chemistry with Henneman also provides a nice anchor for the film.
Halasima’s experience as a music video director comes through in places, but “The Last Descent” never allows its style to distract from its substance. Overall, the director, who also wrote the film’s script, maintains a nice pacing with style and story that meets a difficult challenge.
Halasima’s most difficult task is making a hopeful film out of a local tragedy, and the director’s unique solution should be good fodder for debate. But whether you emerge with hope, most will agree that “The Last Descent” is a skillful and heart-wrenching effort.
“The Last Descent” is rated PG for thematic elements and a perilous situation; running time: 105 minutes.
Joshua Terry is a freelance writer and photographer who appeared weekly on "The KJZZ Movie Show" from 2013 to 2016. He also teaches English for Weber State University. Find him online at facebook.com/joshterryreviews.