An "evil house" film that is occasionally Lovecraft-adjacent, Cellar's story has good bones but little meat, and I was more than once reminded of Mitchell & Webb's "Lazy Writers."
Add to that constant attempts at suspense that fall short because there aren't any stakes. The overbearing score, always letting you know to Be Really Scared Now Okay! Doesn't help. The first two thirds of the film felt like padding, like B-roll repurposed into something usable after the budget ran out.
But when we finally get there, it's actually a pretty good ending! And the acting is adequate, and the production values are good. They just should have left half of this on the cutting room floor.
Okay for a movie you watch with friends, fully intending to talk over half of it.
Add to that constant attempts at suspense that fall short because there aren't any stakes. The overbearing score, always letting you know to Be Really Scared Now Okay! Doesn't help. The first two thirds of the film felt like padding, like B-roll repurposed into something usable after the budget ran out.
But when we finally get there, it's actually a pretty good ending! And the acting is adequate, and the production values are good. They just should have left half of this on the cutting room floor.
Okay for a movie you watch with friends, fully intending to talk over half of it.