The intriguing, if unsurprising, psychological drama Cellar Door has great execution and keeps your attention, but it doesn’t totally fulfill expectations.
Scott Speedman plays John, a loving husband to wife Sera (Jordana Brewster), who has recently lost a baby. Wanting to escape the home they expected to build a family together in, they move to the country to try and find a new place to live.
They meet the mysterious Emmett (Laurence Fishburne) there, who shows them his expansive estate. After a long day of getting to know each other, he shockingly offers the expansive home to them – free of charge.
On one condition. They never open the cellar door.
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After some back and forth, the two decide to agree to the deal and move in the the furnished mansion. But curiosity is a killer, and that cellar door remains a temptation, mainly for John. And then Sera gets pregnant. So, the two try to keep their priorities (and agreements) in check. As a result, life seems amazing, but eventually, secrets begin to bubble up and threaten to destroy their marriage, not to mention the crippling temptation as to what could be in the cellar.
The less you know, the better, so the plot summary will end here.
What is important to know is that despite a thriller-esque trailer and the possibility of something supernatural at play, Cellar Door is a psychological drama through and through. The last act isn’t so much a thriller as it is a shocking reveal of plot points that came before it.
So, while it’s not the most “thrilling” or suspenseful film, it does hold a tight grip on your interest and ultimately proves to be satisfying.
Written by Sam Scott and Lori Evans Taylor, the film piles on the mysteries while navigating the unraveling of a relationship. The cellar door itself isn’t so much the main mystery but the catalyst that brings resolution to all the other mysteries around it.
Director Vaughn Stein (Inheritance) crafts an effectively moody piece that always hints at more to come. It’s an effective balance of keeping the drama as its focus while the mysteries still hold a firm grasp.
Speedman and Brewster are both good here, revealing more complex characters than expected. Fishburne is more of a cameo, adding some gravity to the film, but not sticking around for all that long. Addison Timlin effectively adds to the mystery as one of John’s co-workers.
Overall, Cellar Door (supposedly one of the most beautiful phrases in the English language) is a nice throwback to the character-driven mysteries of the 1980s and 90s. While it doesn’t offer anything entirely new, it’s an engaging ride that looks great and has an appealing cast worth traveling to the lower depths for.
There might not be any monsters in this basement, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any outside of it.
Cellar Door is in select theaters, on digital, and VOD starting November 1, 2024.
