Initially, it might seem like “The Descent 2” would lend credence to the fan theory. The sequel sees Sarah emerge from the cave but with amnesia regarding what transpired down there. To find out what happened to the other women, Sarah, some cave exploring specialists, and Sheriff Vaines (Gavan O’Herlihy) go down to learn the truth, with Vaines suspecting Sarah was the one who killed them all along. Redditor u/aiai92 even calls attention to this in the theory breakdown: “When [they] found the first dead body in part 2, Sarah appeared guilty as [opposed] to shocked.” It could’ve been a fascinating revelation for audiences to have doubts regarding Sarah’s role in her friend’s death. But the sequel also soon confirms that there are actually monsters down in the cave.
At one point, the team stumbles upon the video camera that was used in the first movie, with Sarah hiding nearby as the others watch the recordings. They see various clips of the women being together, and it crescendos to a crawler appearing behind one of them on camera. The explorers react to the sight of the creature, confirming the crawlers are down there.
While there are literal monsters in the cave, the fan theory does strengthen an interesting theme. “The Descent” isn’t just about these women descending into a cave. It’s also about Sarah’s descent into madness. Juno, who could be considered the true villain, has a mad descent of her own, even abandoning her friend Beth (Alex Reid) in the first film. The crawlers may be real, but there’s more than one monster out there in the world.
