The Cellar

Director - Kevin Tenney (Night of the Demons, Witchboard)

Starring - Patrick Kilpatrick (The Stand, Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus), Chris Miller (Shrek, The Boss Baby), and Suzanne Savoy (Better Call Saul, Alien from the Darkness)

Release Date - 1989

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "It's your worst nightmare and its in...The Cellar"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Several months ago director Kevin Tenney released images of himself dropping off cannisters of film to Vinegar Syndrome to get restored and remastered.  Many began guessing as to what movies of Tenney's was getting released by Vin Syn.  Many suspected that it was his 1990 action flick Peacemaker was getting released as part of their VSA line.  Though, I admit that this would have been a cool release, I was hoping for his 1989 horror film The Cellar.  Back in my high school years I was a huge fan of Tenney's Night of the Demons and from looking over his filmography I found myself extremely interested in The Cellar and I'm glad Vin Syn decided to give this film a proper release.  I also want to take a moment to thank them for sending this one my way to review.  

     The film follows a young boy who is visiting his dad and step-mom after they move into a new house in the desert.  The home is sitting on the site of where an evil creature that was created by the Native Americans to kill the encroaching white man was created and is locked away in the cellar when it started killing Native Americans as well.  The boy's father doesn't believe in the legend and opens the cellar door freeing the beast forcing the young boy to team up with a local Native American and the realtor responsible for selling his parents the home to stop the creature from killing his family.

     I had heard a lot about this one prior to watching it.  A few close friends of mine had mentioned how this was one of their favorite films growing up.  I enjoyed it and had a lot of fun with it but I didn't care for it as much as I did some of Tenny's other films.  The acting in this one is great.  Patrick Kilpatrick is amazing as the boy's father who purchasing the home with the creature in the cellar.  He's a stereotypical father figure but he does a fantastic job in the role.  Chris Miller is great as the young boy who is trying to protect his family while no one believes him.  His age does not dictate his performance here and he does an amazing job carrying this film on his back.  The supporting cast is just as entertaining and we even get a small role from Lou Perryman who many of you may recognize as L.G. in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.  The story for this one feels like a late 80's episode of Goosebumps or Are You Afraid of the Dark?  We follow a kid trying to protect his family from an ancient evil but most of the adults don't believe him.  This was the basis for so many of the horror themed kid's shows I watched growing up and I would be surprised if they didn't draw some sort of inspiration from this film.  With that being said, the movie does drag it's feet at times.  The story is very inconsistent and struggles to find it's own footing.  We have a fairly smooth opening and a great ending but the mid-film hump is very uneventful.  Finally, the film has a fun creature design that may not be nightmare inspiring but it looks fun for a late 80s horror production. I really enjoyed the look of the creature.  If you are looking for blood you will find a small amount here but don't expect a bloodbath with lots of gore.  Overall, The Cellar is not Night of the Demons or Witchboard but it is a great late night creature feature that works.  The blu release from Vin Syn looks great and deserves to be seen to truly appreciate.  I highly recommend this one.