Introduction
Written and directed by Brendan Muldowney, The Cellar is an atmospheric horror film about a family that moves into a strange old house. Replete with many of the tropes of the evil house genre, The Cellar has a more poetic and haunting vibe than many of its predecessors. That’s thanks to the atmosphere, performances, and satisfying storyline of the film.
Synopsis
Keira Woods, played beautifully by Elisha Cuthbert, and her husband Brian, performed by Eion Macken, purchase an old house in the country. This is just as their marketing business is at the brink of taking off. They move in with their two children, Ellie, a morose teenager played by Abby Fitz, and Steven, the younger brother played by Dylan Fitzmaurice Brady.
On the very first night spent in their new home, the power goes out while the parents are away at a poorly timed business meeting. Subsequently, Ellie disappears. Unconvinced that her daughter ran away in angry rebellion as the authorities believe, Keira begins to sleuth out the mysteries of their new home.
Performances
Elisha Cuthbert leads the cast in The Cellar and does a fantastic job. Her character is intelligent and strong, a worthy protagonist. Her performance is spot-on, as is Abby Fitz’s performance as Ellie. There is nothing new to the smart-mouthed teenager juxtaposed with the tolerant, but patience-tested mother relationship.
However, instead of being a cookie-cutter beat, the emotions feel tangible between the actresses. You can really feel Keira struggling to do her best with the difficult stage her daughter is experiencing. And you also empathize with Ellie’s pain at her family moving away from her social circle. The two have great chemistry and really set the stage for the story in the first 20 minutes of the film.
Eion Macken and Dylan Fitzmaurice Brady both turn in solid performances in The Cellar. However, the material that they aren’t given doesn’t convey very powerful roles or any outstanding script pieces.
Artistic Aspects
The sound design in The Cellar is solid, accompanied by a perfectly matched score. Long, deep tones of ominous synthetics introduce the opening credits, and they are adeptly present throughout the film to accent creepy moments. The lighting and set design of the house match the ambiance of the film and frame the story beautifully.
Analysis
The Cellar takes on the family-moves-into-a-creepy house genre with a balanced hand. The filmmakers skip setting a false sense of security at the beginning. If you decide to watch a movie streaming on Shudder, titled The Cellar, you’re not probably not expecting a pleasant vibe. Muldowney acknowledges this smartly and the movie has a strong beginning.
The film gets to work quickly with a tense atmosphere, creating a spine-tingling sense of mystery right off the bat. When coupled with the genuinely established tension between characters, you become absorbed into the story without delay. Basically, the groundwork is laid effectively and quickly. Well done, especially considering how played out this type of film tends to be.
Given the excellent groundwork laid by Keira & Ellie, the lack of impact from Brian’s character stands out. As Keira works hard to uncover clues about the ominous nature of the house, Brian quickly dismisses her beliefs that something odd is afoot. This old plot device should have been left out. Earlier in the movie, we are shown that as a business partner, Keira has incredible instinct, authority, and clout. So why would Brian quickly dismiss her opinion? This turn in the script takes away a lot of the impact in the later acts.
Horror and Emotional Impact
As far as the horror aspects of the film, The Cellar is a supernatural thriller. There is no gore and the creep factor is established through its wonderful atmosphere and sense of mystery. For those who want a dose of the heebie-jeebies but can’t stomach a lot of blood or jump scares, The Cellar is a great choice. It won’t haunt you for days, but it will entertain you rightly for a few hours.
One could argue that this is a fault of The Cellar. The big reveal could have been more horrifying. As it stands it’s not the stuff of intense nightmares. The earlier acts set the film up for a creepier punch at the end. And without giving away any spoilers, the evil “presence” in the house could have been a lot scarier and with more screen time. That isn’t to say the ending is weak, it was pretty good. Maybe it could have just been hashed out a bit more intensely.
In Summary
For those fond of the genre, The Cellar will feel like slipping into the pleasantly familiar trope of the haunted house, with a more metaphysical spin than the typical unrequited ghost story. Brendan Muldowney weaves a decent psychological horror story that keeps the viewer engaged nicely from start to finish.
The Cellar is available to stream on Shudder on April 15th, 2022.
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