SXSW 2022 review: ‘THE CELLAR’ begins with great source material.

THE CELLAR

Filmed on location in Roscommon, Ireland, The Cellar tells the story of Keira Woods (Elisha Cuthbert), whose daughter mysteriously vanishes in the cellar of their new house in the country. Keira soon discovers there is an ancient and powerful entity controlling their home that she will have to face or risk losing her family’s souls forever.


Shudder original The Cellar made its debut at SXSW 2022 in the Midnighter’s section. Elisha Cuthbert helms this haunted house film alongside Eion Macken. As a husband and wife team working on a new Gen X influencer platform, their strangely inexpensive Irish mansion comes with more than some old furniture. With Mom and Dad busy pitching their ideas, kids Ellie and Steven are home alone when the power goes out. As Ellie descends the creepy stairs of the pitch-black basement in search of the fuse, she mysteriously disappears while on the phone with Kiera. 

Writer-director Brendan Muldowney made a short film in 2004 titled The Ten Steps (which you can find online.) The short film is horror perfection. The Cellar is a feature expanded from that story. The Ten Steps captured all the fear in 10 minutes. The Cellar takes a lot of cliches that genre fans will love, and frankly work well, and becomes an overlong and dimly lit film. As a mom, I felt Cuthbert’s sense of urgency was missing. These parents are the least panicked Mother and Father I’ve ever seen. Where are the missing posters? No tears of distress? 

As Kiera investigates the house’s history, we are introduced to everything from Jewish mysticism to quantum physics. I wasn’t expecting math to be a thing, yet here we are. I thought the record player that coaxed the family members into all sorts of trouble was clever. But, not so much the characters googling Latin quotations. It’s a lot. There are fleeting moments of greatness, such as an ancient abacus moving on its own, air blowing from underneath the cellar door as if a creature were heavily breathing. The classic scares worked best for me. The final 20 minutes is where the real action occurs, a clear nod to The Beyond. This is what I was waiting for, and it is genuinely satisfying. The visual change-up was an honest “Hell, Yes” moment, no pun intended. The Cellar is ultimately a film Shudder audiences will dig. So, simply sit back, don’t overthink it, and enjoy the devilish chaos.

 

*Perhaps ignore the fact that it will remind a few of you of Krampus.


Official Selection, SXSW 2022. If you miss its Shudder release, you can catch The Cellar in theaters on April 15 from RLJ Films.


To learn more about SXSW 22 click here!


Review: ‘Eat Wheaties!’ is deliciously charming.

Eat Wheaties!

Sid Straw (Tony Hale) leads a dull life until he accidentally stalks famous college friend, Elizabeth Banks, on social media. With each failed attempt to prove he knows her, he rediscovers more of himself and the true meaning of friendship.

In the new film  EAT WHEATIES!, Sid Straw is the co-worker, family member, or neighbor that means well but always seems to get on someone’s nerves. His well-intentioned messaging to Elizabeth Banks create a downward spiral in his life that goes from silly to devastating. Blow after blow, Sid knows that his authentic self is good enough. This film is deliciously charming. Social media is a monster that can easily swallow its users whole. Sid Straw is misunderstood. He’s smart, thoughtful, quirky, and technologically behind the times.

Tony Hale knocks it out of the park.  EAT WHEATIES! allows him to hit every emotional high and low. You will fall in love with him. We’ve all known those social media newbies. The signing off on posts with their names, the public messages meant to be private, always makes me giggle. This character just captures your heart as he faces an enormous uphill battle against the media. Hale breathes life into a role that could easily become a caricature of a person. Alongside an amazing cast of familiar faces, Hale is a joy to watch as he navigates the complexities and ripple effects of a social media misstep. EAT WHEATIES! will make you laugh, cringe, cry, and then some. It a delight. PS, Stick around for the credits. Trust me.

Directed by Scott Abramovitch, Screen Media will release EAT WHEATIES! in theaters and on-demand on April 30.

Starring Tony Hale, with Paul Walter Hauser, Danielle Brooks, Lamorne Morris, Robbie Amell, David Walton, Sarah Burns, Elisha Cuthbert, Sarah Chalke, Sarah Goldberg, and Alan Tudyk