The Cellar Door

A low-budget serial killer flick that focus's on the relationship between captor & captured instead of torture.Almost the entire movie takes place in Captain Psycho's basement,so there isn't much in the way of scenery, just a cage.But it's a nice cage.He "got an A in shop class".A cage where he keeps women.Well one woman at a time, till they die, or try to escape.And during their luxurious stay he collectss pieces of them.(You don't want to know what that means, but it's not what you think)The movie starts off as he loses his last venture,and continues as he finds, stalks, and captures a new obsession (all of this is in the first 5 -10 minutes)The rest of the movie plays out like a less outlandish, infinitely better version of Captivity,No bizarre torture scenes, no high tech surveillance equipment, or twist endings you could see a mile off shore.Just a psycho, an altar, a beautiful woman, and a cage.Not a terrible amount of gore.There's enough though to keep a gorehound's appetite sated, but not enough to be considered overly gory.Like another reviewer here stated; the creator of this flick is someone who deserves a bigger budget to work with.There is a very minimalist approach to this story, but it's one that works.This movie makes a loaf out of a slice of bread.In both the positive (budget) and negative (plot) sense.At the very least it's worth a rental.A purchase if you like torture flicks.MORAL OF THE STORY:If you love something.... lock it your basement.If it stays it'll love you forever,If it dies it was never meant to be.ALSO RECOMMENDED:Broken, Captivity, Gag, Schramm, Otis, Maniac, Live Feed, Hostel, Turistas, Saw 1-5, Borderland, Salo, Martyrs,Last House on the Left, Seed, Family, Frailty, Bloodsucking Freaks, Strangeland, Snuff 102, P2, May, Roman,

What a bore was The Cellar Door (2007). The lead male (James DuMont) and female (Michelle Tomlinson) said in an interview that they were drawn to the script, and in particular, the relationship between the captor and captive was unique compared to other serial killer movies. I disagree. To me, what killed this film WAS the script--dull, unintriguing. The acting was okay, although DuMont's performance had room for improvement; he said his character invited sympathy, but in reality his death didn't come soon enough. Most of the special effects were good. The bloodied wedding dress and the ginormous lesion in DuMont's head that bafflingly didn't bleed were unrealistic in contrast to the overall tone of the film that seemed to take a realsitic approach.I could be wrong, but this movie seemed to borrow some content from Schramm: Into the Mind of a Serial Killer (1993), which is a far better film--far, far. The critical quotes on the DVD case (Monterey Media Inc. version) were nothing more than a marketing scam/scheme that purported The Cellar Door was in the same vein as Saw (2004) and Slither (2006) and "way better than Hostel" (2005)--I'm not a big fan of Hostel, but that claim was really f'd-up bunk. Thank god for the interviews, which were more interesting than the film and made me feel like this investment was somewhat worthwhile.

"The Cellar Door" is a gripping game of cat and mouse. It features amazing performances, a clever script, and first-class direction. This movie didn't get much press initially, but make sure you catch it on DVD. You won't be sorry. Michelle Tomlinson and James Dumont create subtle, nuanced characters in this smart independent thriller where you're never sure what's what. A very smart flick...with a killer ending.

I gave this movie 5 stars. Is it a 5 star movie? For the budget they filmed it with it's good, but if you're expecting a big budget hollywood thriller/horror flick this is not it. Popularity be damned, I never got into saw (other then the first one) and thought Hostel was retarded. This is neither of those films nor tries to be.Mr. Dumont is a solid actor, he's been around on a lot of TV shows over the years and does a respecable role in this, certainly better then Mr. Cage in most of his more recent movies.Very little horror in this one, and scarcely anything to be considered gory, but it's still not for the kids. Practicly no nudity, it's more of a character study then anything. Of course there are a few murders but it's not prolonged. There are quit a few Hermans out there (the dude with the cellar) in the real world, while likely not to the point of keeping hostages in their basement or murdering, just as disturbed.I got my copy at Walmart, had 10 movies on 2 discs for 5 bucks. So yeah, great movie for .50 cents.

This is another movie that the producer or director does not know hold to hold the camera in one place and center it so you can see what you want to see. Please stop bouncing the camera around all the time. The lady is in a cage!!! Not running and jumping all over the place. Even then it is very annoying to watch. I give this movie 2 stars. The story line was pretty good. Kept me interested.

In our opening scene we have a bloody fully clothed woman being hunted down by a man in his pajamas. Herman (James DuMont) is a connoisseur who collects only the finest in female parts. He quickly moves unto the next female, Rudy (Michelle Tomlinson) who must psychologically battle her captor in order to get released, all the while attempting to stay on Herman's good side and battling nightmares.Okay. That's it for 85 minutes.Herman is a balding middle aged man, who is socially inept. Rudy is a party animal lesbian The film is more of a thriller than horror. Once the woman is in the box, it seems like it takes forever for something to happen. Hey! Those clothes are wet!Parental Guide: F-bomb. No sex. Near nudity.

Great pacing and and an edge of your seat kind of film. Great performances by Michelle Tomlinson and James Dumont!

This film starts off with a brutal tour de force where a woman escapes from the cellar she is being held captive and makes a desperate ultimately futile bid for freedom. This an especially stark way for a film to start.The film then shifts focus to her captor as he stalks and traps his next victim. These scenes are especially creepy, and creates quite a feeling on unease.The main bulk of the film focuses on the relationship between prisoner and captor, as psychotic Herman(James DuMont) and terrified Rudy(Michelle Tomlinson) play mind games with eachother. All well and good, but in my opinion the psychological complexities could have been explored further, and I would have liked more of an explanation of how Herman has become such a monster. Still, its a constantly involving, tense struggle of wills and desires, and although its all a little bit grim and grimy, the performances of the two leads hold the film together.The best bit-Herman getting a little bit upset with two bible bashers interrupting his murderous antics.An interesting film if not very original. 3 out of 5

Brilliant film.

Such potential, such a miss. The plot has all sorts of opportunities for the film to excel and they are all missed. The acting is fair, given the direction and the script.

I SPENT THE WHOLE TIME WONDERING WHERE THE CELLAR DOOR, OR WHEN THE CELLAR DOOR WAS GOING TO MAKE ITS ENTRANCE, BECAUSE ALL I COULD SEE WAS A CAGE, BIG ENOUGH TO HOLD A HUMAN BEING- A WOMAN- AND A REALLY WEIRD MAN WHO SCARED HER TO BITS...YOU DID NOT KNOW WHAT HE WAS GOING TO DO NEXT. IT WAS GOOD TO WATCH, WITH A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF SUSPENCE...WONDERING WHEN, OR IF SHE WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO ESCAPE.