Cellar Door

Following a loss young couple Sera and John decide to move out of the city. They find a town they like but every house they like is well out of their price range. They are just about to give up when they are shown another house. It is large, beautiful and over a hundred years old; the owner invites them to spend the night. When they wake up he has departed leaving a letter stating that they can have the house for nothing... the only condition is that they must never open the cellar door. If they do they lose the house. They agree to the terms and make themselves at home but it isn't long before the subject of what is behind the cellar door is raised, and just how would anybody know if they looked. Tensions rise further when a woman John had an affair with starts harassment proceedings against him at work.

This film turned out to be very different from what I expected. Instead of a horror it is a psychological thriller. Tensions rise nicely as John tries to keep his secrets from Sera and she is firm that they must not break the rule concerning the cellar door... just what can be down there that could demand it remains locked? Jordana Brewster and Scott Speedman are solid as Sera and John and Laurence Fishburne stands out as Emmett, the man giving them the house. The setting; both the house and surroundings give the film a good atmosphere. I can understand why many viewers are disappointed that one obvious question isn't answered but I quite liked that; it leaves the viewers free to have their own ideas. Overall I'd not call this a must see but if the like psychological thrillers it is worth a watch.

In the beginning I thought that the premise was something psychological or allegoric and the pitch was something in the lines of, Adam and Eve meet Alex Forrest, for those of you that don't know who she is, it is the character of Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, by the end I realized that I was wrong, that there wasn't a metaphor and that the twists and turns were so forced that what could have been great idea didn't go anywhere.

Personally I hate open endings and I find them disrespectful to the audience and frustrating.

Two hours is too much time to invest in a movie without a conclusion or a clear ending.

John and Sera are looking for a fresh start after Sera miscarries. The pair struggle to find a house in their price range, but their luck changes when they're told to visit Emmett, a wealthy man in a beautiful house. Emmett offers the couple the house, on condition that they never go into the basement.

I thought this started off pretty well, I enjoyed the first half an hour or so, I loved the suspense and intrigue, that whole question of what's in the basement, unfortunately it tails off badly.

The second half of the film is poor, it just didn't fit, it went from being an intriguing thriller into a bizarre and clunky slog, I could almost believe the story of the cellar, the Alissa storyline....never in a million years.

What is going on with Laurence Fishburne, he seems to be signing up for the most random films, films that let's be honest, aren't quite at his level.

Jordana Brewster and Scott Speedman were both pretty good, they made a cute couple, they worked well together.

A decent start, shocking second half.

5/10.

I enjoyed this film; well acted and not a horror, more a mystery who dunnit. It is a relatively slow burn, but I was intrigued by the characters and invested in them. The characters, though few in number, were all fleshed out with their own unique quirks and motivations, adding depth and complexity to the story. A score of 7 may be a little high, but so many reviewers giving this a 3 or 4, in my opinion, is rather mean. It contains some blood and a little violence, which is nothing you won't have seen on a BBC production; it is well crafted and unexpected. I don't think anyone who is a Who Dunnit fan or enjoys a good mystery will believe their time was wasted by watching this. Look elsewhere if you are after blood, gore, and supernatural happenings.

Cellar Door just failed to deliver in my opinion. Even though there's a non-predictable twist it's still not good enough to stand out from the rest in the thriller genre. Director Vaughn Stein must be an avid television watcher as his movie is nothing more than a mediocre tv-movie copy. If you want to make a good movie you firstly need a good soundtrack, certainly not that typical tv-movie piano soundtrack. Just that alone makes your movie look cheap. Add to that some average acting and you have the perfect recipe for a movie that nobody will remember. I have no clue why Lawrence Fishburne would even think in participating even if he has a very small role. He's probably just a poster filler, a name that attracks an audience. I wouldn't waste your time with this one unless you like forgettable Sunday afternoon tv-movies.