Cellar Dweller

Director - John Carl Buechler (Troll)
Starring - Jeffrey Combs (Castle Freak), Debrah Farentino (Eureka), and Yvonne De Carlo (The Munsters)
Release Date - 1988
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "The shape of nightmares to come" and "Down in the pit...there's it"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (VHSPS.com bootleg)
Favorite Quote - "Death is sad"

Rating (out of 5):

     Growing up I remember seeing a poster for this film at the local video store.  I always wanted to rent it but always grabbed something else instead.  As I got older, and that video store went out of business, the desire to watch this film grew.  Due to the rental store no longer being there, I had to resort to purchasing the film online.  The VHS copies are not cheap when you do find one and no company has released it on DVD yet.  I decided to wait it out until a company finally released it on DVD and Bluray, and that does not look like it will be anytime soon.  After doing a little searching online I came across the VHS Preservation Society, or VHSPS.com.  This company specializes in transferring movies on VHS, that have yet to be released on DVD, on to DVD bootlegs.  I was able to grab this and Fright Night II for $20.  Not a bad deal when considering the out of print DVD for Fright Night II is almost $80.  After some requests to review it, I decided to throw it in and give it a watch.

     The film opens with a comic book artist in the 1950's as he draws the panels for his comic book, Cellar Dweller.  The artist has been using an ancient book of spells and curses as his inspiration behind the series.  While putting the finishing touches on his new comic panels the scene comes to life and the Cellar Dweller is killing a girl right in front of him.  He leaves the room in a panic and after gathering his thoughts he grabs an axe and heads back in.  The Cellar Dweller knocks it from his hand, and his book in a trunk, and stands limbering over him.  The artist burns his panels and does not notice this his paint thinner has been knocked over.  The room goes up in flame and so does the Cellar Dweller.  Knowing he can not escape the inferno, the artist excepts his demise and remains in the center of the room.  The film fast forwards 30 years and the building is now turned in to an art school and a young lady, Whitney (Farentino), has just been accepted to attend.  She is a big fan of the deceased artist and collected the Cellar Dweller comics.  When the chance arose to study in the same building he lived in she jumped on it.  The school is ran by Mrs. Briggs (De Carlo) and she has a strict rule that no one should steal another students work.  Also attending the school is Amanda, who attended college before with Whitney and the two did not get along.  The basement of the building is the room the artist used when he would work on his comic series and is now blocked off.  One night Whitney sneaks down in to the basement and discovers the trunk with the ancient book but is caught by Mrs. Briggs.  After some convincing Whitney is able to talk Mrs. Briggs in to letting her turn the basement in to her room.  However, Amanda does not want her there and teams up with Mrs. Briggs to record a video that makes her look like she has stolen another student's work.  Whitney catches Amanda in her room and runs her out.  To release her frustration she draws Cellar Dweller killing and eating her.  While she is drawing the grotesque act out on her paper the Cellar Dweller actually kills and eats Amanda.  That morning Mrs. Briggs is looking for her and she is no where to be found.  That evening Whitney starts drawing other residents of the building being mutilated by the Cellar Dweller.  The next two to die are Mrs. Briggs and an older improve actor.  When drawing a new panel Cellar Dweller appears.  Whitney has to kill the Cellar Dweller without killing herself.

     A side from a few friends of mine that really dig horror like I do, this movie has a bad rap.  I can see where it is not on the list of great horror films like The Evil Dead but it should still be considered a great flick.  When it comes to the story, I really liked it, but I think I watched an episode on a horror anthology television show when I was little that had a similar plot.  The main character would write a name down in an ancient book and they would be haunted by a ghost and eventually kill themselves.  The anime and manga, Death Note, also borrows from this same premise where the character would write the name down and they would die.  Anyway, I really like that aspect of the story.  The effects in the film are top notch.  The director is also known for his special effects skills and this film definitely demonstrates that.  I love the way the creature looks.  The creature is also a joke among horror fans due to the way it resembles Spike the gremlin from Gremlins.  This, once again, shows how far practical effects go when compared to CGI.  Now for the things I did not like about the film.  The first thing I did not like was the characters.  The comic book artist and Whitney are the only two characters you really grow to like.  The rest of the characters in the film have no depth to them.  Out of all the movies I have watched, this one has the flattest characters I have ever seen.  This one spent no time building the characters up for the viewer.  I also really disliked the ending.  It left a lot of questions unanswered.  I was really wanted to know what ancient civilization the book and the Cellar Dweller was from, but I never got an answer to that.  Also, this is a spoiler but I don't care, those that have been murdered return to life after she destroys Cellar Dweller.  The dead should remain dead and I hate horror movies when those that have been murdered return to life so we can get that happy ending.  It's stupid and shouldn't be done in a horror film.  Overall, this is another great 80's movie that is often overlooked.  If you ever have the chance to watch this then you should.