The Last Descent is a 2016 American biographical survival drama film co-written and directed by Isaac Halasima, and is his first feature-length film.It is based on the 2009 rescue attempt of John Edward Jones in Nutty Putty Cave, west of Utah Lake.The film was produced by Deep Blue Films, Cocollala Pictures, and Dark Rider Productions and distributed by Excel Entertainment Group. It stars Chadwick Hopson, Alexis Johnson, Landon Henneman, Jyllian Petrie and Jacob Omer.
The film had a limited release but received generally positive reviews, with praise for its direction, acting and cinematography but received some criticism for its tone and pacing.
In 2009, John Jones, a 26-year-old medical student and experienced caver, arrives in Utah for the Thanksgiving weekend with his wife Emily and young daughter Lizzie. They are picked up by John's brother Josh, who tells him that the Nutty Putty Cave has been opened after having been closed before. Emily approves because of John's enthusiasm and he and Josh go to explore the cave. After Emily leaves with Josh's car, the two brothers enter the cave. John makes a decision to split up and explore an un-mapped route. As he goes deeper into the cave, he gets stuck in a small passageway. As he tries to go back and free himself, he falls into an even smaller hole and passes out.
John wakes up upside down in an 18-inch wide hole and realizes he is completely stuck. He manages to alert Josh to his location, who then tries to pull John out himself but is unsuccessful. Josh, at John's behest, reluctantly leaves him to go get help. While alone, John passes out again due to his upside down position. Hours later, he is woken by Susie, a rescue worker. She tells him many rescuers are on the scene and are doing their best to get him out. Susie then climbs back up to the entrance where she meets with an expert. The expert states that if John is in the tunnel for extended periods of time, his body will begin to shut down. Soon another rescuer, Aaron, is brought to the scene. He has been involved in past rescues that have ended tragically, and he vows to not leave without rescuing John.
John's condition continues to worsen as the hours go by. Aaron, Susie and other workers plan to pull John out of the hole by drilling pulleys into the walls and hooking the ropes to his feet. Aaron continues to talk to John, occasionally feeding him lemon-lime Gatorade to keep him hydrated. John continues to tell him about his relationship with Emily, and reveals that when he first proposed to her she declined, and his family did not take to it kindly. He still continued to date her, amid rising tensions between her and his family. A radio is lowered into the cave and John is able to speak with Emily, who reveals she is pregnant. Shortly afterwards, he suffers another panic attack and begs Aaron to get him out of the hole. While talking with Aaron again, they each realize they are
