Descent 2 proves fairly decent for straight-to-DVD

The Descent 2 skips a prime opportunity to coin one of those wonderfully awkward sequel titles. How could a straight-to-DVD feature resist the urge to employ a memorable moniker like Descent II: The Re-Descent or Descent Part Deux: Descending Deeper? Or maybe class it up by dropping the digit, as in The Descent: Curse of the Crawlers?

Unexpectedly, The Descent 2 arrives on DVD as more than a chunk of processed cheese. Maybe not much more — perhaps comparable to some fresh mozzarella suitable for a pizza topping. While a mere shadow of the original horror film from 2005, the sequel turns out to be neither an outrageous rip-off nor a waste of time. That may sound like faint praise, but when original DVD genre flicks tend to be dominated by the likes of Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, The Descent 2 stands out like, say, one of its avenging heroines surrounded by cannibal bat boys. Since the first film's altered ending set the stage for the follow-up, spoilers for the original Descent (but not many for the sequel) appear after the cut.