The film the descent uses a range of shots, sound, editing and symbolisation to create an ominous atmosphere; in effect this makes the horror aspect in the film really stand out as it leaves the viewer deciding what happens in specific parts of the film, which all ties in with the films ending.
This all makes the film very subjective and leaves much of the opening scenes open to interpretation which is very enticing for a horror movie.

The films opening sequence contains many things which symbolise the events in the movie and starts to define what genre the movie is, because the music is fairly ambient and deep suggesting danger which implies it’s a horror or a thriller movie. When the opening credits appear light effects illuminate the names in a circle like manner, only showing only parts of the credits. The part of the view is cut because it cleverly foreshadows the events to come in the film; the illuminating light implies the flash lights the crew hold and the cut of view of the credits suggest that they wont be able to see everything down in the caves.

The opening shot is a long shot of the trees and the sky to show the isolation as well as being a clear representation of Mise-en-scène because everything in the shot is well thought out and crafted; you can see more things than what the obvious may just suggest, because there is a contrast between light and dark (sky and the trees) which symbolises a barrier between good and bad (binary opposites). The trees also foreshadow the ending of the film where Sarah crawls up the bones to escape as both the pile of bones and the trees have an uncanny resemblance as they both look sharp and pointy; both are on a diagonal slope and are both shot in the same angle and view. This clever piece of cinematography showcases the film and even just being the first, few second shot symbolises already what may be in store