An Interview With Christian Francis

Francis is no stranger to the shadows. His credits include novelizations of Session 9, Maniac Cop, In The Mouth of Madness, The First Power, StrangeLand, Tremors, The Gate, Witchboard, Night of the Comet, and others. But today, the spotlight belongs to The Descent.

I had the chance to put together some questions for Christian about the novelization, the movie’s legacy, and the craft of translating film into fiction.

The Descent is one of the most suffocating horror films ever made. What was your first reaction to revisiting it with the goal of adapting it into prose?

Worry. I mean, it’s The Descent… Known as one of the scariest films of modern times. After I signed the contracts and sat at home, the reality hit me: ‘What the hell have I done?’ That’s a huge bar to reach. The Descent is also incredibly visual, with a flawless sense of creepiness, so the idea of turning that into prose felt like a massive challenge. But then I reminded myself: a novelization isn’t an adaptation of the finished film, it’s an adaptation of the screenplay—just like the film is. Both are drawing from the same source. Remembering that was liberating, and it turned the pressure into more of a fun creative challenge.

How do you approach capturing the claustrophobic dread of those tunnels on the page without the benefit of visuals and sound?

It’s about sensory writing. You don’t have the advantage of the camera or sound design, so you have to really lean into the small details: the feeling of rock against skin, the smells of old stagnant water and rot, the silence that presses down so hard that you can hear your own heartbeat. You have to rely on things that film can’t pick up. The inner thoughts. The feel of things. The actual reality of what the cave would be like to stand in. A reader spends a lot longer in the story than the running time of the film, so you have to make it a more immersive experience.

Did you feel any added pressure knowing The Descent is considered a modern horror classic with a fiercely loyal fanbase?

Of course, but that is the kind of pressure I thrive on. Most of my books have a devout fanbase. In The Mouth of Madness, Tremors, Night of the Comet, Session 9. All are classics with their own expectations… but you know what? I’m the biggest fan of them too! I get to novelize my favourite films… Like The Descent… So I have my own expectations I need to meet.

When you write a novelization, do you treat it like a straight retelling of the screenplay, or do you allow yourself to expand on moments and inner thoughts the film only hints at?

It really depends on what I’m allowed to do. Because I work from the original scripts, the novelizations often differ from the finished films anyway. There can be extra scenes, different dialogue, and so much more. And you get to tell the inner thoughts of characters that films don’t allow.

With The First Power, Robert Resnikoff and I completely changed the ending because he wasn’t happy with what he had in the film. With Beneath Perfection (Tremors), I was able to include scenes from the first draft of the script that were too expensive to shoot. For Wrong Turn, I worked from Alan B. McElroy’s original draft, which is very different, and a much, much better story.

With The Descent, Neil Marshall specifically requested a prologue about the miners who discovered the caves many years ago. So I got to create something new, and it was a privilege to build something original into such an iconic story.

Were there any scenes from The Descent that proved especially difficult, or rewarding, to translate into prose?

The car crash. In the film it’s over in a quick, sharp, terrifying shot… On the page, that wouldn’t hit as hard. So I slowed it down, shifted POVs, and told a whole new story about the driver. Letting the moment really breathe made it scarier in a different way.

Also Sarah’s flashbacks. In the film they are quick, and you don’t need much to get what it means. But in prose it wouldn’t work the same. So I had to do a lot more to them to allow the reader to really get what they are, and why they are there.

The film’s creatures are terrifying partly because of what we don’t see. How did you handle their presence in the book without overexplaining and ruining the mystery?

You just do it the same. You only detail when you need to. And you leave the reveal for when it will make the most impact, which is exactly how Neil so brilliantly did it in the film. When the crawler is seen on the camcorder in night vision… That… That is something I tried to emulate.

I was also determined to not overexplain them, as that ruins the fear factor they bring.

The Descent has multiple endings depending on which cut you’ve seen. How did you approach which version to adapt, or did you incorporate both?

For that I asked Neil, for that was his call…

His reply: I’d like to leave it as ambiguous as the movie. She’s consumed by the darkness, and no explanations are given.

So, I went with that.

My main aim for all my books is to produce something the creators approve of. I wouldn’t have released this if Neil didn’t give his approval.

Character dynamics are just as lethal as the monsters. How did you balance the interpersonal conflict with the horror elements in the novelization?

For me, the human drama is the horror. The creatures are terrifying, sure, but it’s the betrayal, the mistrust, the guilt… that’s what really gets under your skin. Especially in prose. If you care about the characters, then the creature’s actions are more devastating. So I never saw it as a balance; it’s more like two currents feeding the same river.

What research or preparation went into writing about caving and underground environments in such convincing detail?

I did a lot of factual research about caving, watching documentaries, to understand the mechanics of rope work, the way sound behaves underground. Because I know if I got that wrong, someone would be sure to point it out!

But that was only for the actuality… For the fear I relied on my own fear of caving. You don’t need to have crawled through a cave to know what that fear feels like.

You’ve written novelizations of films like Session 9 and In The Mouth of Madness. What makes The Descent unique among the projects you’ve tackled?

It’s funny you mention Session 9 as that shares a lot with The Descent in terms of the novelization. Both stand apart from my other books as the setting for each is one of the scariest things. It’s an evil in itself. Session 9 has the asylum. The Descent has the caves. But The Descent had one thing no others have: claustrophobia that doesn’t let up at all! Now that is a unique part. There are no breaks to elsewhere, of people looking for them or another story. When you are in the caves, you don’t leave.

Neil Marshall’s work has a distinct style. Did his direction influence your writing choices in how you paced or described the story?

You can’t copy film cuts in prose, but you can mimic the feel of them through structure.

For novelizations you have to slow the pace down, (as it would only be a very short book if you didn’t) but you still need to adapt the writing when something is moving faster than normal. Shorter sentences. Less description. Stacked dialogue. It’s all about changing the writing style to match the emotion needed.

If a reader has never seen the film, do you think your novelization works as a standalone horror novel?

I’d sure hope so. The film gives you a complete story, but the novelization adds more depth and tells it in a different way. Of course, knowing the film may enhance the experience, but Neil’s story works so well in prose, that I think readers will still get scared even if they have not seen the film.

Looking back, is there a particular passage or moment in your Descent novelization that you’re most proud of?

Is it weird to say I’m proud of it all? It’s not my story, so I don’t really feel any ownership of scenes etc. But I am proud that I scared myself. You think it can be scary reading about being trapped? Try writing that when it’s one of your fears!

Finally, horror fans love to debate: what’s your personal take on The Descent, is it more terrifying because of the creatures, or being trapped underground?

For me… The creatures are lethal, but not the scariest part. The cavers are in their territory, and the crawlers are acting no different to any other wild animal.

What’s scary to me is the human reaction to that unknown. The trauma. The panic. The fear. It’s that unknown that not only you might not get out, but having zero information of what is down there with you. And having that when you couple it with the primal fear of being trapped… That just adds emotional fuel to the fire.