Geraldine
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
slayrrr666
"Cellar Dweller" is a fun, harmless cheesy creature feature.**SPOILERS**Arriving at the isolated Colony, Whitney Taylor, (Debrah Farentino) meets Mrs. Briggs, (Yvonne De Carlo) for an interview to do a relaunch of a famous, favored comic book, Cellar Dweller at the place. Gaining employment, she meets the other cadre of artists there, including Phillip Lemley, (Brian Robbins) Amanda, (Pamela Bellwood) Lisa, (Miranda Wilson) and Norman Meshelski. (Vince Edwards) who all warn her away from the basement. Determined to uncover the truth, despite the story about a horrible murder that occurred there and eventually decides to move there to create the comic series. After a while, they start to notice that the other tenets are disappearing, and eventually realize that her drawings are coming to life, and since her series is of a ravenous creature, they try to stop it before they all disappear.The Good News: This one here does have some good parts to it. The fact that the film contains a rather unique and creative storyline is something to be commended. Taking the literal world of the comic books and turning them into actual scenes is quite nice, making this one feel really clever and creative, and using a rather complicated but still understandable back-story gives it even more flair than expected and really goes a long way towards making this one fun. There's also the fact that this one comes with the complete story with this one and it makes the film feel really good. The film also has a nice amount of cheese, which is really helpful. The creature attacks at the end, with the good one being the one on the victim in the shower meaning that there's the nudity requirement fulfilled nicely, and it ends with a great chase through the house complete with the action also seen through the eyes of the comic scene that it's emulating. It's great fun, and the other attacks in here aren't that bad either, and they do result in some nice gore scenes as well. There's a great decapitation, an upper half of the chest and head ripped completely off, one is ripped to pieces and completely dismembered and another is set on fire, which is quite nice and allows for some really nice gore moments. It isn't all that bloody, but it's gory enough to satisfy, and that's what matters here. The basement where the majority of the film takes place in is pretty creepy, coming with the completely well-done look of disuse and making sure that there's nothing in here that looks recent or could be misconstrued otherwise. It's a great set and helps set off those sequences nicely. The last big plus is the monster in here. It's a fantastically-designed creature, making it an imposing threat while also using it's werewolf-ish look to be both unique and quite threatening. Combined, these here are the film's good points.The Bad News: This one here does have a few flaws to it that are pretty hard to overcome. The cheese, which makes it fun to begin with, also manages to become a detriment as well. The main issue is that there's a unmistakable scent of the 80s, which gives it a cheap feeling and that reduces the cheese levels to greater emphasis. From the ability to find faults in the monster costume to the comic book-like scenes that play out in the middle in substitute for the actual action, it contains enough sequences in this style to make it apparent, and that can be something that few could avoid if not really interested in this sort of film. The creature itself also has a few flaws associated with it. The fact that it's never explained how it manages to get around to deliver it's kills when it's drawing powers from the animation, yet it does so by animating itself going after them instead. This is wholly confusing and doesn't make the least bit of sense, especially since it does them even after it's secret has been revealed. Then a later scene has it completely harmless when it lets a victim come back to rejoice with the heroine, then is talked down to and manages to let them celebrate, despite the evidence drawn in front of them which points elsewhere to other matters. This is all apart of the film's weak ending, which, besides these matters here, also manages to exploit the one thing that would've put an end to everything to begin with and stopped the rampage from even happening. When it happens, it's inevitable to be caught and it doesn't make the film any better for it but sends it off on a weak note. This is the weakest part of the film, and it's most obvious fault. The short running time could also be seen as a weak flaw, barely getting over an hour, but compared to the one before it, it pales in comparison but still manages to knock it down a little.The Final Verdict: A remarkably fun creature feature, featuring enough cheese to make it fun while also having a couple of flaws that are pretty detrimental. Give it a shot if you're into this sort of film or have an urge to satisfy a harmless curiosity, while those that can't handle these would be advised to take caution.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language and Nudity
Backlash007
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.
brandonsites1981
Comic book artist at an art colony accidently unleashes a monster when she recreates a dead artist's creation. The monster goes about the colony ran by Yvonne De Carlo killing off all the students. New World production has a good premise, neat monster, and more gore then usual, but the premise is underdeveloped and the script under plotted. The clever ending is flatly written. Disappointing effort with some good horror stars.
Rated R; Nudity, Graphic Violence, and Profanity.
