There’s nothing quite like a British horror film. The (original) Wicker Man, Dog Soldiers, 28 Days Later, and An American Werewolf In London. All super entertaining. All memorable. However, nothing quite brings a sense of fear and claustrophobia like The Descent. After a spelunking adventure in an unknown cave system goes terribly wrong, six women get trapped deep underground.
While having to contend with the usual problems normally associated with getting trapped in a cave, it turns out that they aren’t alone! As you might expect, things get intense and scary. Obviously, the people at The Village Green Events Co. thought that the film wasn’t scary enough, as they decided to host a screening in the Peak Cavern (lovingly referred to as The Devil’s Arse by us locals) in Castleton! What absolute genius’ the people who host The Village Screen are!
With the goal of creating and delivering exceptional experiences, it’s clear that this company is run by a team of very passionate people. Since first attending a showing of Home Alone a few years ago, my girlfriend and I have been to several other showings, and they’ve all been exceptional. While the main attraction is the massive pop-up cinema screen, there is plenty to keep people busy before the show starts.
A hearty combination of a selection of food vendors and live music is always a solid way to keep people entertained, and it makes a welcome change to the stale popcorn and over-carbonated drinks of mainstream cinema. Thanks to there being no less than six brick-and-mortar cinemas (The Light, Odeon, Showroom, Cineworld, Curzon and Vue) within a relatively small area, Sheffield is definitely not starved for movie entertainment. The Village Screen might not show all the most recent blockbuster films and it might not be as cheap as some of the other venues, but you definitely get your money’s worth thanks to the locations and the overall experience.
The locations are as diverse as the films being shown, and they are always filled to the brim with other people who are really passionate about the particular film that is being shown. There’s something magically alternative about singing passionately along (with many others!) to Hakuna Matata in a barn or lol’ing at the mischievous antics of The Gremlins in an old picture house.
Our experience this time around was fantastic once again. Nestled deep in the Peak District, Castleton is a an impressively historic town and the ideal location to watch a film about being underground as the town boasts a number of caves. There was plenty of parking with two easy-to-access locations nearby, one of which was half filled with the entertainment and food vendors. These included Proove Pizza, Pie Eyed, Fizz and Fromage and Livvy’s Ice Cream. All great choices but sadly we could only have one main and one dessert each!
My girlfriend and I both had pie, mash potato, peas and gravy from Pie Eyed. We’ve both had food from all the aforementioned vendors before so we knew what we were getting from each and just decided to go with Pie Eyed for our main as we knew it would be filling without being overly so, as we both wanted ice cream after! Livvy’s had a great selection on, with my girlfriend going for Raspberry Ripple and I for Chocolate. Overall, very satisfying!
It’s a fair walk between the car park and the Peak Cavern but it’s a very impressive looking one. Steep cliffs hang ominously over the quaint little cottages as you climb higher (and deeper) into the mouth of the cave. Once inside, a mass of slightly uncomfortable plastic chairs await, many with blankets and coats draped across them. As we arrived about an hour before the film was due to start, most of the seats were already taken. Usually we would have come a little earlier but we had house-hold chores to do.
The absolute best advice that I can offer you for attending a Village Screen event is this. Come early, and come with AT LEAST one other person. As one person orders the food, the other can scope out some seats. That’s the absolute best way to prioritise your time, as these events are more often than not sold out.
The atmosphere when the film started was great. There were plenty of scares in the film that got people jumping in their seats, myself included. Every so often a chuckle ran through the crowd after a particularly scary moment or if someone reacted in an over-the-top way. Like I said before, the people who attend these events seem to be more than your average movie-goers so that really heightens the enjoyment factor.
This was also the first +18 Village Screen event that i’ve attended. I don’t knock them for showing mostly family friendly movies to appeal to a wider audience and get more customers but it’s great that they have an adult’s only horror night. I hope they continue this trend in the future! In any case, I would highly recommend a Village Screen event. They really do go all out when it comes to locations and themes. It’s not just a big screen dumped in some random field. A Village Screen event is a place tailor-made to show great films.
Thanks very much for reading this blog post about my experience at The Descent screening event hosted by Village Screen! If you liked it, then please follow this blog for similar updates in the future.
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