Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Cellar’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the motion picture, ‘The Cellar’.
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There are few moments in this life that we fear more, than losing a loved one… in any capacity. For the people that are closest to us, through blood no less, are so engrained in the fiber of our being that we know their departure from this plane will wound us deeply and that we will never properly recover from said wound. Which is why we see people at their lowest when that dark day comes. Because they simply struggle with that loss and the waves of pain that come with it, until they finally feel ready to move forward in life with the memory of their loved one in their hearts.
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But what we don’t talk about enough in this life, is how long that healing process can actually take and how destructive it can become when a support network for the person suffering from grief doesn’t exist, or if they’re expected to just suck it up and move forward without closure. But we need to discuss that more, since it can create great damage to a person’s psyche and hurt those, they love around them when the fury of being robbed of a loved one boils over. If anything, one could say that grief can serve as one’s own personal hell and that notion and the destructive nature of grief in general is top of mind today, because they serve as the central focus of the brand-new horror feature, The Cellar.

Now in this particular film, we are introduced to Woods family as they prepare to move into their brand-new mansion. One that they bought for pennies on the dollar at an auction and where they hope their family can come together. For Brian and Keira are so career oriented that they don’t spend enough time with their children, Steven and Ellie. But the hope in their minds is that having a gorgeous home in the countryside will change all that, once they of course… handle the big account in front of them. But alas, before they can settle in and rebuild, young Ellie goes missing one night during a storm in a manner that eats at Keira, and that motivates her to begin her own investigation into her daughter’s disappearance and what she finds… will prove troublesome. For this old house is harboring some supernatural secrets, the kind that will torment the family in ways so unsettling, that their worst nightmares would serve as a comfort.

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Which at first glance, is a plot that seems to focus instead on cliché. Because time and time again, we’ve seen this kind of story. Wherein a family must fight a great evil in a new home and well, starting off this film in a familiar manner, is quite frankly… a stroke of genius. Simply because it makes the viewer comfortable and relaxed and that allows for the real horrors hiding within the walls of this place to unsettle and terrify the viewer when they grow in power. Which in turn allows for this motion picture to more or less become something of a waking nightmare as it progresses, since the scares just amplify and are impactful and unsettling, and it also doesn’t hurt that there are some serious homages to Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond to be found here as well.
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But all horror elements and surprises aside, that still doesn’t speak to how this movie truly explores the dangers of grief and it how can consume us and put us in our own private hell and well, it’s the little things in this motion picture that bring that about. Such as how this satanic house was forged in evil by a scientist that couldn’t reconcile the death of a family member, and how the evil is reawakened by a mother that cannot reconcile the fate of her daughter. And her desperate desire to see her and rescue her at any cost, allows for the evil in this house and the ending of this film, to serve as the grand allegory for the theme in question. Since we bear witness to the downward spiral grief creates and the doom that comes with it. Allowing for a powerful and brilliant story to play out, one that stays with you for some time after it ends.

In part because the ending is so shocking and so dynamic that you need a minute to reflect upon what you’ve just seen, but more so because… this is no holds barred approach at exploring the power of grief. For it really does consume and destroy Keira and she is genuinely on her own in this story and unable to reconcile her emotions and that hammers home to the audience, to be there for those in a time of need, especially those grieving. Because that could be the turning point in their fight against the darkness, we all fear and well, in the end, this is absolute must-see of a horror film. Because this one really has it all. For there is quality commentary, solid scares and great performances as well, with Elisha Cuthbert stealing the show as Keira and well… if we’ve done enough to pique your interest in this story, the good news is you can swing by your local multiplex or Shudder right now, to check this magnificent gem out.

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