Celador Films has concluded principal photography on TheDescent, Neil Marshall's follow up to his 2002 hit, Dog Soldiers.

Pathe Pictures International is to handle worldwide salesand Pathe UK will handle UK distribution.

Shooting began on location in Scotland at the end of lastyear and moved to Pinewood Studios in January where the majority of the action,which is set in an underground network of caves, was filmed.

Celador are fully financing the £3.5m production whichMarshall is directing from his own script. Celador's Paul Smith is executiveproducer and Christian Colson is producing.

The film reunites Marshall with Dog Soldiers DoP SamMcCurdy and production designer Simon Bowles. Film editor Jon Harris (Snatch,Layer Cake) is also on board. Paul Ritchieis co-producer.

The film tells the story of an all female caving expeditionthat goes terrifyingly wrong and stars Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, AlexReid, Saskia Mulder, Nora-Jane Noone and MyAnna Buring.

Marshall describes it as "Deliverance goesunderground". He said, "Many recent horror films - Dog Soldiers included- have to a certain extent parodied the genre. The Descent is going tobe darker, scarier, nastier. There may be one or two nervous laughs but Ibasically want to scare the living daylights out of people with this film."

The Descent will be Celador's third moviefollowing Oscar-nominated Dirty Pretty Things and the forthcoming JulianFellowes film Separate Lives starring Emily Watson, Tom Wilkinson &Rupert Everett which Fox Searchlight will release in 2005.

The company is developing a number of other projects,including The Unequalled Self, Adrian Hodges adaptation of ClaireTomalin's award winning biography of Samuel Pepys; Once More With Feeling,an Ayub Khan Din scripted sex comedy; and Big Deal an adaptation ofAnthony Holden's account of his year on the professional poker circuit.

The company has recently commissioned newcomer Ben Gregor towrite The Principles of Calmness, a comedy about stress.

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