Launched theatrically within the states and in all places on Shudder on the fifteenth of April, The Cellar is written and directed by Brendan Muldowney (Pilgrimage) and stars Elisha Cuthbert (The Woman Subsequent Door), Eoin Macken (The Forest) and Abby Fitz (Redemption).
Brian and Keira Woods (Macken and Cuthbert) transfer right into a suspiciously low cost nation home in the midst of nowhere with their surly teenage daughter Ellie (Fitz). With an enormous promoting deal on the road, advertising bods Brian and Keira go away Ellie alone on the primary night time. When the facility goes out, Ellie goes down into the cellar to flip the circuit breakers and vanishes.
With the police completely hopeless, Keira begins investigating. Up till now issues have been pretty commonplace haunted home. Don’t get me unsuitable, the suspense set items are rather well carried out, with Ellie’s disappearance whereas on the telephone to her mum and summoning the braveness to go down the cellar stairs a specific standout, however it’s creaky floorboards and doorways, and creepy information of a creepy scientist performed on a creepy gramophone – effectively carried out and spooky however nothing we’re not used to – however it’s the procedural factor to The Cellar that makes it particular.
The suspiciously low cost nation home seems to be ‘Kaos Home’ and beforehand owned by a mad alchemist who scratched all method of runes, sigils and glyphs above the doorways and into the steps. Deciphering this residential alchemy method is the important thing to getting Ellie again. The placing collectively of this puzzle and its eventual reveal is extraordinarily entertaining and Muldowney paces it simply in addition to he does his suspense and scares.
All that is elevated by a observe excellent rating from Stephen McKeon (The Gap within the Floor) and tense and manipulative all the perfect and proper methods sound design by Jeroen Truijens (Mandy).
It’s going to make a few of us really feel very previous seeing Elisha Cuthbert now being solid in a mum position, however she is a superb lead. A decided detective with the charisma and display screen presence to have the ability to draw you into the thriller she is fixing and make doing analysis and in search of clues fringe of the seat stuff.
‘Surly teen’ in a horror film could be a poisoned chalice and make for an annoying character we’re not unhappy to see vanish, however Abby Fitz strikes a great steadiness between moody and susceptible, making us bear in mind what it was prefer to be that age, however nonetheless empathise together with her – not roll our eyes at her.
It is just a small half (THERE ARE NO SMALL PARTS) however Aaron Monaghan (Murderer’s Creed) because the mathematician Keira visits for assist shines in simply his one scene. A standard man who may barely multiply till an accident left him a numerical genius that may visualise equations, his Dr. Fournet is a kind of characters you’ll kill to see extra of, and if there’s a follow-up he needs to be first on the casting sheet.
A regular scarer hoisted a star and a half by an unique and intriguing mathemagical thriller, THE CELLAR will likely be in Theaters and can stream on Shudder April 15.
