The Cellar Door is
Intensely Scary and Incredibly Smart.
The Cellar Door
is what psychological captivity horror is all about,
regardless of
budget. This is one of the best horror films of 2007.
Written
by The Horror Czar (BHM Editor Don
Sumner) December 25, 2007
Release:
June 1, 2007 Directed by: Matt Zettell Written by: Christopher Nelson
Starring:
James DuMont as Herman Michelle Tomlinson as Rudy
Horror movies focused on captivity and torture are a recent
phenomenon in American cinema. The concept itself is not entirely new
of course (I Spit on your Grave, 1978)
but the mass acceptance of blatant torture, kidnapping and the state of
captivity did not gain modern momentum until the release of Saw in
2004. Since this cutting-edge film’s release the market has
been saturated with other titles hoping to capitalize on the new-found
love of kidnapping and graphic torture, including popular movies such
as Hostel
and Hostel 2
as well as a host of less popular flicks including Broken, Turistas
and Captivity.
In most cases the psychology of captive and the captor takes a minor
role in lieu of the shock-value of graphic gore. The Cellar Door
breaks this trend.
The Cellar Door begins with an escape in progress that
sheds much light on the background of the villain, Herman (James
DuMont). The escapee is a bloodied, bound and panicked woman who fights
her way out of a normal looking house and tries to find some help
before being recaptured by Herman and killed. Herman then returns to
his house and fortifies his prison by making sure that his last
victim’s means of escape is cut off to any future
“guest”. Enter Rudy (Michelle Tomlinson).
We meet Rudy going about her normal life, not knowing that a deranged
Herman is watching her every move. Armed with ether, Herman lets
himself into Rudy’s apartment and whisks her off to his
“love nest”, a small box in his cellar reinforced
with lumber and wire. Rudy is now a prisoner and must use her wits to
find a means of escape before she meets the same end that several women
before her have faced – a tortured death.
The Cellar Door is
scary because of the transparency into the situation. Rudy is not being
held captive by a nameless psychopath but rather by a disturbed man who
is clearly on the edge of a manic breakdown at any moment. The
script is smart and humanizes the captor making him that rude guy you
saw at the supermarket or the nerdy guy who you catch looking
at you while stopped at a traffic light. Herman could be any weird guy
that can’t get a date, but in this particular case he is much
more terrifying – a sociopathic killer that is convinced that
he hurts people because they give him no choice.
The production quality this low budget independent film is incredible.
Both the cinematography and the editing work elevate this film
beyond typical “made for DVD” fare. The
performances by James DuMont and Michelle Tomlinson are excellent as
well, giving depth and reality to both captor and captive. Much of this
is due to the inherent talents of the lead actors, but I give
props to the direction of Matt Zettell most of all. The writer creates
the story, but the director interprets it – and Matt
Zettell’s interpretation of the relationship that could
develop between a sociopathic killer and his love interest has
believability and honesty.
The Cellar Door had only limited theatrical release before
going to DVD in April of 2008. This is a shame. I think of Captivity, which
had major promotion and wide release in theaters, and I can’t
help but draw the conclusion that The
Cellar Door is what Captivity
could have been if it were done well. As it stands The Cellar Door may
just remain one of the best horror movies that nobody knows about. Do
yourself a favor and add this one to your collection of the best horror
to come out of the last couple of years, where it surely deserves a
place. Questions
or comments about The
Cellar Door? Contact us!
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