THE CELLAR (1988)
I know Kevin Tenney to be a talented director with a keen eye for style. It's unfortunate that he wasn't allowed to utilize much of that talent on the set of The Cellar. Apparently, he was roped in just days after someone else was relieved of the position. Unable to reshoot thorny footage, he was able to make the best of a bad situation. Watching the film over thirty years later, you can tell that it was a flustered production, but if you go in with the right mindset (and a fistful of edibles...I'm kidding?), most of the punches connect. The premise borrows from the very well of Native American folklore that so many other budget-minded fright flicks have despoiled. A Comanche tribe jams a spear into the ground in an effort to contain a profound evil. As it happens, this evil is a ratty, brutish warthog demon...thing.
Cut to modern day Arizona. The spear is unaccounted for, and as such, our bestial gallybagger is free to roam in the cellar of a dwelling peopled by an innocuous family. The Cellar doesn't come right out and say it, but the monster seems to have a Shining-esque effect on Mance, the father of the household. He stops just short of becoming an axe-wielding maniac. An honorable mention goes out to Chris Miller. He plays the prepubescent protagonist, and miraculously, he didn't grate my nerves. As for the creature, I'll be charitable and say that the prosthetic is restrictive. We're limited to tight shots of trunk, tooth, and claw. Hey, I'll take what I can get. The Cellar wrapped in the same calendar year as Night of the Demons. That's a pretty sweet double feature from where I'm sitting. Recommended to fans of basements and The Basement. Don't forget Crawlspace!
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