Cellar Dweller

Cellar Dweller is a nice surprise for horror fans because it has a mixture of winning elements. The only thing it lacked for me was gore - but it does have a funny severed head scene. The storyline is quite interesting and keeps you watching, and the acting is decent enough to carry it. I quite liked Yvonne De Carlo, but then I've been a fan of her since watching American Gothic.

I do however feel it lacked a little "something" to make it a great b-movie, and that something is gore. The severed head scene is good, but not enough. I also felt that the ending wasn't a good enough conclusion, and this is because the producers obviously wanted to leave room for a sequel.

Overall, Cellar Dweller is an above average b-movie that is not perfect but definitely worth a watch.

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.

An Interesting film, beginning in the 1950's. A Cartoonist (Colin Childress) finds inspiration from a book of magic spells. Whilst creating his latest comic he accidentally unleashes a creature of pure evil created by his own imagination. Luckily the creature is slain but only at the cost of its creator.

30 years later a fan of the cartoonist (and his series Cellar Dweller) arrives at her idols cottage in the woods, to become part of a remote art community. She soon sets up a room in the basement. Later finding the same book Colin drew inspiration from, only to release the creature for the second time.

An awe-inspiring movie that can drag at times, most would lose interest. But at the end it does make one think. Ok graphics for the time and a wonderful performance enacted by Jeffrey Combs.

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.

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.