[THE ARCHIVE] ‘Cellar Dweller’ is fun, but underdeveloped

Cellar Dweller (1988) is director John Carl Buechler’s and horror legend Don Mancini’s hidden gem that reveals the demons that exist within our thoughts. It’s a comic book inspired slaughter where the deadliest creature is inside your pen; there’s no limitation to the beast in your imagination.

Whitney Taylor is a comic book artist enrolled in an art institute that used to be the home of her favorite artist, Colin Childress. She roots around the cellar where he mysteriously died. The inspiration she finds in his boxes unleashes a creature that craves the flesh of creatives.

The focus of the movie is the evil of our intrusive thoughts. The line at the beginning, “To contemplate evil is to ask evil for home,” expresses this. These types of thoughts not only summon the beast, but make other characters plot against one another. 

Amanda can’t stand Whitney’s success, making Whitney’s life miserable in art school because of any attention that she thought she deserved. This time she’ll ruin her by framing her as a plagiarist. Mrs. Briggs doesn’t care about the type of art Whitney does or the interest it could bring to the institute, referring to her as a cartoonist. It’s why she has Amanda film Whitney secretly. These two, with their vindictive plots to get rid of Whitney, draw them to the path of the beast. Their malice makes for a perfect threat besides the satanic influence at play.

This movie is inspired by EC Comics like Tales from the Crypt. It splices comic panels in between FX-heavy carnage. It’s ambitious to have these two mediums flow into one another. It primed me for the slaughter the beast had for the art institute’s occupants.

The art was done by Frank Brunner, a 70s artist from Marvel well known for his colored work on Doctor Strange. It’s detailed masterfully. The terror and composition of his work carries the same dread on screen.

The Cellar Dweller is a vicious and brutal creature. It’s perfect for the pulpy tale the film is telling. The beast is played by creature actor Michael Deak. This was his first time doing a suit performance and it looked stunning. They were able to sculpt the suit with perfect detail from his body form from Troll (1986). He is menacing and towers over the cast. The close-ups on his face eating look aggressive and moist. The make-up was done by Bill Butler and Chet Zar. It all comes together to make a memorable creature that is impressive for the time strain the team was under.

The cast has horror alumni that stand out when they appear on-screen. Mrs. Briggs is played by Yvonne De Carlo, famous for her role as Lily Munster in the TV series The Munsters. Her portrayal is spiteful and haughty,  maintaining a sense of authority while serving what is her best interest. It’s an effective portrayal of a teacher abusing their power. Colin Childress is played by Jeffrey Combs, best known for his role as Herbert West in Re-Animator (1985). He looks the part of a horror comic artist, and when the beast arrives, he treats it like an existential threat. He switches from emotionally obsessed, to panicked, and to steadfast all in the opening. It grabbed my attention and made me curious about the story's direction.

Even though I enjoyed this movie, it felt rushed and underdeveloped. All we know about the beast is that it comes from the imagination, but not exactly what it is or what its limits are. The time we do get with it, it is either being a brute or cackling. Off screen, it’s creating comic panels and taking the form of others. Its power limits are all over the place and make the characters' attempts to beat it futile in an uninteresting way. Character interactions seem off as the film isn’t sure if Whitney and Philip are a couple. Their meeting has Philip staring at her with interest, but afterward he behaves like a younger classmate. It’s as if they changed their character directions at the last minute. These inconsistencies make sense when I found out they shot this movie in 10 days and on a budget of $850,000. Surprisingly, this is Don Mancini’s first screenplay adapted to film. He had his name credited as Kit Du Bois and refers to this movie as, “a piece of shit.”

This movie is campy, chilling, and dark. It’s a blood-soaked page turner splattered on the screen. I recommend it for 80s horror lovers and fans of EC comics. Watch Cellar Dwellar(1988) now on Tubi.

6 burning pages out of 10.