The Cellar MOvie 2022 (Review)
What’s wrong with The Cellar? That’s the burning question as a family moves into a ginormous creepy house. The film itself has some excellent motivations. However, I can’t help but wonder why filmmakers insist on creating narratives where the characters inside its story have never thought…” hmmm this house has cryptic messages carved into the walls. There are evil-looking symbols. The house was way below the asking price. Maybe we should investigate before we move.” But in world-building where only one person, the mom, in this case, leans in heavily to some investigative abilities, no one else seems bothered. So here we are in a pre-furnished home complete with ancient insignia. And let’s not forget there is an antique gramophone rumored to have disappeared entire families.
Married parents Elisha Cuthbert (Kiera) and Eoin Macken (Brian) discover their new digs and have a few secrets. When Kiera’s daughter goes missing after a scary trip down to The Cellar, everyone just assumes she has run away. But as the distraught mother looks into their current living arrangements, the less inconspicuous glaringly obvious signs become. While there is definitely plenty of dark and ominous moments in Irish writer-director Brendan Muldowney’s horror movie, there is nothing overly surprising. Even when Kiera visits the previous owner of the house, things are posed so that any eerie penalty is sucked right out.
Counting Backwards to The Cellar
The daughter of a scientist, Rose is tucked away in a remote nursing home. She is mysteriously introduced as someone who barely utters a word anymore. Led to believe something so frightening happened that as Kiera sits down to question her, Rose scrawls a note onto a page. As soon as Kiera acknowledges the demonic name on the paper, Rose suddenly regains her composure. She blurts out her story. A wasted opportunity in the subtleties of less is more, the storyline chooses to make sure the history of the house is well and truly covered.
There is just as much to like about The Cellar as I have to complain about. The monster’s big reveal is expertly brought into the picture. There is some super squirmy imagery that appears behind key cast members. Doors seem to have a mind of their own. And there is an abacus that counts beads all by itself from time to time. In a similar vein the indie horror film The Endless or perhaps even Triangle, The Cellar tries to capture the essence of mystery with a sequence of people who disappear. But where do they go?
Performances in The Cellar are what you would expect of a cast like this. Everyone is excellent and the chemistry is relaxed and effortless where it counts. The runtime never outstays its welcome but I can definitely imagine this might have worked much better as a short film from whence it came. A solid horror film nonetheless, The Cellar is an enjoyable foray into what can happen if you summon a demon with the ability to keep you locked up forever.
The Cellar is rated
3.5 countless forevers out of 5
Where to Watch The Cellar 2022
You can watch The Cellar Shudder in most regions. But for more options on where to see this creepy horror movie, check out the link below for JustWatch.com
The Cellar 2022 Where To Watch:
