Shout/Scream Factory continues the onslaught of releasing
classic 80s horror films that were found on mom and pop video stores across the
country with this double feature. Of the pair one is really good while the
other isn’t bad but not spectacular. Still they both come out better than some
of the things being released today.
CELLAR DWELLER starts us off featuring Jeffrey Combs (THE
RE-ANIMATOR) in what amounts to a cameo as comic book artist Colin Childress
who in the 50s is creating a horror comic in the mode of TALES FROM THE CRYPT.
The thing is he’s been using a mysterious book of spells as his inspiration.
While reading from the book the creation he comes up with comes to life and
upon realizing this he lights his studio and drawings on fire capturing the
creature.
Fast forward to the 80s and now the house he once owned is
an art colony headed over by Mrs. Briggs (Yvonne DeCarlo). The latest artist to
arrive is Whitney Taylor (Deborah Farentino), a comic artist who is a fan of
Childress who is well aware of what happened in this building. Mrs. Briggs
doesn’t feel that comic book art deserves to be included in this group but was
forced to take on Whitney due to a scholarship.
Whitney is introduced to her fellow artists. She meets
Phillip (Brian Robbins) a painter, Lisa (Miranda Wilson) a performance artist,
Norman Mishelski (Vince Edwards) a writer of hard-boiled detective stories and
lastly Amanda (Pamela Bellwood), someone Whitney knows only too well. It seems
that at the last school she attended Amanda wasn’t pleased that Whitney’s
abilities drew more attention than her own and she sabotaged her tenure there.
With no love lost between these two it is only a matter of
time before they collide and with Mrs. Briggs egging her on Amanda is sure to
try something.
Whitney enjoys the location but soon decides to venture into
the basement, a forbidden area of the house and the location of Childress’ old
studio. Rather than suffer the wrath of Mrs. Briggs she convinced her to allow
her to use this area for her studio. Soon she begins drawing comics in the same
style as Childress as well as his creation, no doubt inspired by the book
Childress attempted to burn in the start of the film. The bodies soon begin to
pile up as the creature takes out the artists one at a time. Will Whitney be
able to stop him before they all die?
The movie is a fun romp that pays homage to the classic
horror comics of the past while using them as the jumping board for the story
being presented. If it sounds familiar a similar story was used in the TALES
FROM THE CRYPT HBO series but I think this one does it better justice. The
artwork used is creepy enough, the plotline believable enough for a horror film
and the creature, a practical effect with someone in a costume/make up, works
well. This was all before the big leap to CGI and it works here.
The acting is better than most with actors that went on to
much bigger things. That pays off in the end with performances that raise the
bar on a low budget movie like this. Well shot, well directed and well made,
this one is worth watching.
CATACOMBS is the weaker of the two entries here. It’s not a
terrible movie but it does drag a bit for the most part while offering a decent
enough story. At a monastery in the late 1500s a group of monks have captured a
man possessed by a demon. Unable to exorcise the demon, they instead chain him
to the wall of a room in the catacombs beneath the monastery and seal him in
with a blessed seal to keep him inside.
We jump forward to 1988 (when the movie was released) to
find Elizabeth Magrino (Laura Schaefer) coming to the monastery for research
into the catacombs. Most of the brothers of the abbey have no problem with this
save one, Brother Marinus, a by the book monk who feels the presence of a woman
does nothing but invite problems. Overruled he is forced to sulk for most of
the film.
Also visiting the abbey is Father John Durham (Timothy Van
Patten), helping to care for the eldest of the monks and attempting to regain
the faith that has dampened for him over the past few years. He questions his
beliefs and finds comfort among these monks who have dedicated their lives to
God. Before the film ends his convictions will either be renewed or the lack of
them will lead to his downfall.
As the movie progresses it offers more story than scares,
with each of the monks dealing with their daily chores as well as helping
Elizabeth with her research. At the same time strange things begin to happen.
Sand begins to fall from various ceilings and noises plague the monastery.
Unbeknownst to the monks, the seal has broken from the wall and the bricks are
slowly coming loose. The demon is awake and wanting to wreak havoc. Whether it
accomplishes this or not is dealt with before the film closes.
Once more made on a shoestring budget the film achieves
quality through the performances of several key actors in their roles,
recognizable actors by face only but who always turn in great performances.
Among those are Ian Abercrombie as the head monk and Vernon Dobtcheff as the
one monk who can speak enough languages to handle all situations. Both are
faces you will know without knowing where you saw them before.
The story here is deeper than most movies made by Empire
Studios, Charles Band’s studio at the time and where a number of these
Shout/Scream Factory titles are coming from. Having met Band before I can tell
you that while his product isn’t always stupendous his love of movies runs
deep. Having changed from Empire to Full Moon Studios the outflow of product he
has released is hard to believe. Both of these movies offer a decent double
feature that you can enjoy.
Click here to order.
No comments:
Post a Comment