Cellar Dweller

The promising career of a horror comic book artist meets a fiery death when he confronts the bloody carnage of his own imagination in his studio. Years later, an ardent devotee of the artist's work becomes a resident in his house, now an art academy, unaware that her imagination has revived the grotesque murderer of the past and she may be the next victim.

To contemplate evil is to ask evil home

At first glance, Cellar Dweller looks like a rather nondescript, neglected B-horror movie, but this film has several things that most of its cinematic peers do not: a cameo by cult icon Jeffrey Combs alongside the casting of Dynasty veteran Pamela Bellwood and Yvonne De Carlo (TV's Lily Munster). This was 1987, of course, so De Carlo had aged and put on some weight, but she definitely adds class and character to the film. Cellar Dweller also features a decent story that distinguishes itself from the crowd and takes a nice little twist at the end that plays wonderfully.

Cellar Dweller was the name of the gruesome horror comic brought to life by Colin Childress (Jeffrey Combs), who died thirty years earlier after reportedly going mad and murdering an innocent young woman. He still has his fans three decades later, including one Whitney Taylor (Debrah Farentino), who has come to the place Colin worked and died (which is now an arts institute) to create a new Cellar Dweller comic of her own. Mrs. Briggs (Yvonne De Carlo), the head of the institute, oversees an interest group of artists: an abstract painter played rather annoyingly by Brian Robbins, a horrible female dancer, an ex-P.I. turned writer, and Amanda (Pamela Bellwood), a video artist who just happens to be Whitney's long-time nemesis. Finally conniving her way into the cellar room that Colin Childress called his own, Whitney finds the dark tome that inspired her idol and sets out to bring the Cellar Dweller back to life. Boy, does she bring him back to life. That's bad news indeed for all of our characters.

The biggest complaint I have with this film is the fact that we witness several murders through the panels of a comic strip rather than up close and personally. At least we are usually party to the Cellar Dweller's post-killing snacks. About that Cellar Dweller, though - he's not the most terrifying monster you'll ever see. Still, after seeing one of his eyes yo-yo up and down out of his mask during one scene (which I suspect is just a happy accident), I couldn't help but love the ugly guy. And no one can say he doesn't do good work.

As I mentioned, there's something of a twist at the end that earns the film extra kudos in my book. I'm really not sure why this film has been allowed to languish over the years, especially considering the way Jeffrey Combs fans flock to anything he's associated with. Cellar Dweller is much harder to find that it should be, but it is definitely worth tracking down. August 25, 2007

Chills

Not your typical horror movie.Should have been 1988 horror picture of the year! Must see movie! I rate this movie (NTBWA) not to be watched alone!Never heard of it!Well now u have ? Someone needs to make this picture on DVD,please? All over you chills.Two thumbs up! January 2, 2006

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