Underground Werewolf

One can do worse than this if they're partial to the cheese horror of the 1980s, a decade when the genre really came to life. Not that it's anything special at all, but it IS reasonably amusing and thankfully pretty short in duration (78 minutes all told). A production of Charles Bands' Empire Pictures, it's got a cool, gnarly monster, a decent cast, some gore and some suspense, and lots of impressive horror themed comic book art. It even comes up with some twists along the way. It's one of the directorial efforts of makeup effects expert John Carl Buechler, who'd previously helmed "Troll" for Empire.

Debrah Farentino, acting here under her maiden name Mullowney, stars as Whitney, an aspiring comic book artist whose inspiration was the reclusive Colin Childress (played by Jeffrey Combs in a regrettably brief cameo appearance). In the opening prologue, Colins' creations manage to come to life and commit murder. 30 years later, his house is an art academy, and Whitney is the latest student. She finds that when her imagination is fired, the panels in her strips likewise take on life. So now she and others at the school are in big trouble.

The conclusion isn't altogether satisfying, but getting there, one can still have an agreeable enough time. There are some fun moments, and some hoots to be had. Brian Robbins ('Head of the Class', "C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud") is likable as a fellow student, as is Miranda Wilson as Lisa. Pamela Bellwood ('Dynasty') is effectively bitchy as Whitney's rival. Veterans Vince Edwards ("Return to Horror High") and Yvonne De Carlo ("The Silent Scream") are enjoyable to watch. Robbins's father, actor Floyd Levine, has a bit as a cabbie, and experienced monster performer Michael Deak plays the titular Cellar Dweller.

In the end, "Cellar Dweller" is forgettable but worth a viewing for genre devotees who want to see as much from this decade as possible.

Six out of 10.

I sat down here in 2023 to watch the 1987 movie "Cellar Dweller", which actually made it the second time that I have seen the movie. I had, however, forgotten about the storyline, and thus I opted to watch it again.

Even more impressively, then I had also forgotten that Jeffrey Combs was in the movie. Sure, it was in a minor role and not all that long on the screen, but he was there, and that was a nice addition to the movie. And even more so, it was funny to see that there was a poster from the movie "Re-Animator" hanging in the room of Whitney Taylor.

"Cellar Dweller", from writer Don Mancini and director John Carl Buechler, is an archetypical 1980s cheese-fest. And I mean that in a good way, because you know what you are getting into here, provided that you have watched late 1980s horror movies, which I have in an abundance.

The storyline in "Cellar Dweller" proves entertaining enough. It isn't a horror cinema masterpiece, but it is definitely watchable for what it turned out to be. And actually I will say that "Cellar Dweller" is among one of the more prominent of late 1980s horror movies or creature features, if you will.

The acting performances in the movie were good, and they had a good cast ensemble together for bringing the different characters to life on the screen. Just a shame that Jeffrey Combs wasn't given more on-screen time.

The creature effects in "Cellar Dweller" were fairly good, and still are passable when you sit down and watch it today, whereas many other late 1980s creature features had far inferior effects. And that makes "Cellar Dweller" all the more watchable.

If you enjoy some late 1980s cheesy horror, then "Cellar Dweller" is well-worth watching. I was adequately entertained by director John Carl Buechler's 1987 movie.

My rating of "Cellar Dweller" lands on a five out of ten stars.

Cheap and trashy, this film didn't scare but thrilled me with its sense of camp. Yvonne De Carlo is such an underrated actress and is always worth taking a look at. The film is low budget and apart from De Carlo doesn't have any other well known names. The story is very simple a man writes a story about a scary monster. The monster comes to life and kills him but of course that is not the end of the monster. It waits round for more victims... This film may turn up late at night on TV, if it does turn off the lights curl up on the couch and enjoy the next hour or so. The plot cant be taken seriously so just enjoy the absurdities of it. I saw this film on VCR several years ago and cant wait for it to be released on DVD. Yvonne has made several low budget shockers over the years and this has got to be one of the best.

Cellar Dweller is quite an original horror offering as well as my first Jeffrey Comb's flick. Of course I didn't know it was a Jeffrey Combs movie back then, I didn't even know who Jeffrey Combs was. But, being the huge Tales From the Crypt (if you see the movie you'll know what I'm babbling about) fan that I am, the movie had an impact on me. Cellar Dweller is a very loving tribute to the EC comics that are cherished by many a horror fan. It's also a John Carl Buechler film and he created the Ghoulies. That explains why the Cellar Dweller is simply an oversized Ghoulie (some people even say that he's cute). I spent quite some time looking for this movie and gave up. It's one of those movies you see when you're a kid watching Showtime after midnight and you never expect to see it again (especially since you don't remember the title). Then you run across it in a ghetto Blockbuster years later and you realize that this is the movie you've been looking for, and, indeed, one of your heroes is in it. Great gore effects, gratuitous chewing, and Lily Munster (Yvonne De Carlo) make Cellar Dweller a classic in my book, no matter how many people disagree. "Whenever there is imagination, I will dwell."

Note for genre buffs: Look for a Troll and a Ghost Town poster on the walls of the colony. John Carl Buechler did the effects for both of those films.

John Carl Buechler in my opinion is one of the best special effects artist.

John is the original creator of Harry Potter.

Check out the cult classic Troll.

I first saw this in the late 80s on a rented vhs.

Revisited it recently.

Found it to be a good horror/creature flick then.

The movie is very cheesy n in no way bearable by today's standards.

Most of the blame here should go to the bad script, which has no consistency or logic.

It has a good decapitation scene n has a bit of nudity.

The writer is Don Mancini of Child's Play fame n there is Jeffrey Combs in a tiny role.

A big goof - Amanda does the reaction of slipping n says ooh before her foot lands on the banana peel.