The Cellar (2024)


REVIEWER RATING: 
7/10

DIRECTOR:

CAST:


A young woman named Abigail (wonderfully portrayed by Meghan Adara), arrives late to her church group’s therapy session where a circle of folks struggling with issues from loss to addiction, share their stories of hitting rock bottom and seeking the help they’ve desired for ions.  

Moments later, we find Abigail waking up in a cold dark cell, obviously taken captive for an unknown reason and no idea how she arrived in her new state of hell.

Through some creative and clever skills, Abigail manages to escape her imprisonment using the wire from her bra…and the bra itself. (I need to remember this for future use!)

As she wanders through the very massive and extensive labyrinth of “the cellar”, Abigail stumbles upon several bodies (all identified as part of the therapy clique), several missing persons posters and masked guards, one of which debuts in a similar fashion to Darth Vadar with the signature breathing and a manual choke hold. Is she trapped on the death star?  

The subtle clues begin to expose a very dark and sinister plan for the support group who were seeking advocacy, but Abigail’s main goal is not only focused on bolting this horrific dungeon but also uncovering how and why she was taken in the first place.  

The Cellar is less of a horror film and more of a stylized suspense thriller, serving to ignite creepiness around every corner in Abigail’s path. Through several flashbacks of other members discussing his/her hardships related to drugs or alcohol, this fuels her determination to break free from whatever malicious intentions are behind these human keepsakes which have been gathered in this dwelling beneath a much more lavish home.  

With several supernatural components sprinkled throughout this otherwise muted film (aside from memory recollections of her last meeting before she woke up in an underground prison), there is very little dialogue during Abigail’s  journey towards freedom. We are watching her fight personal demons through a methodical acid trip where she is an observer in her own captivity. Several screams, syringes and cryptic messages still cannot distract you from the fact that this 90-minute film is painstakingly slow paced. But Abigail’s regrettable ending is worth the time.

OVERALL: 
The Cellar may begin on a religious note as Father Gabriel leads the sad healers through the candidness of “sharing is caring”, but there is little connotation between their confinement and the Catholic Church. At least, until the climactic moment when Abigail’s breakdown is desperately soul crushing. One small plea, if met, will allow her peace and redemption which others could not reach. Unfortunately, you can’t always get what you want. At least, that’s what Jagger says.


UHM is an independently owned site that relies solely on ad revenue. We ask that if you like this site and what we do to help support by temporarily disabling ad block (if you're using one). If you'd rather help in other ways you can also send a tip by clicking here (or the button below). Any amount helps and will go towards the costs to maintain the site. Anyone who donates will also be listed in our thanks page.