TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

dbdumonteil It's a pity to see such an earnest thespian as Flora Robson (who was the unforgettable Dowager Empress in Ray's widely underrated "55 days at Peking" )in such a demeaning ridiculous part.She and Beryl Raid portray two spinsters who hide a terrible secret in their cellar (check the title).The idea was not so bad after all.There are,currently,in some countries,mothers who hide their sons so that they can avoid the draft.That is to say the movie had a real potential.The results are actually very poor and Robson in her uniform is guaranteed to net horselaugh.This is a very special beast:his victims are military men only (and occasionally) their girlfriends .

jamesraeburn2003 In rural Lancashire in the north west of England, two elderly sisters played by Beryl Reid and Flora Robson have kept their younger brother locked up in the cellar for thirty years and as a result he has been driven right out of his mind. He escapes and starts killing soldiers from a nearby army camp in frenzied attacks."The Beast In The Cellar" is a "Tigon" produced shocker that went out as a double bill with the company's own "Blood On Satan's Claw" (Dir: Piers Haggard). Although most critics have condemned it, one called it an "Idiotically boring farrago", it isn't really that bad although there is quite a lot of laughably melodramatic chit chat between the leading ladies and the low budget does show at times. However, the success of this film is through the lighting of Harry Waxman and Desmond Dickinson (one of my favoured cinematographers) who use the rural setting to the full and there is one set up at the end which stands out in the memory long after the movie is over. The sequence in which the beast is seen creeping up a staircase in the middle of the night during a thunderstorm rather recalls the earlier horror movies of the 1930's through it's sinister use of shadow.This transcends the basic story which is by no means bad, but it would of worked much better as a short story segment in a portmanteau horror film.

jplenton The pre-title sequence shows army vehicles on manoeuvres across Lancashire moorland - for a moment I thought I'd taped the wrong film. A Landrover breaks down so the driver has to trod back to base. He does not get there (right film then). His body is discovered the next day with extensive claw wounds and the pathologist's initial prognosis suggests an animal attack, possibly a large cat such as a leopard. The film focuses on two elderly sisters, Joyce and Ellie, who live on a smallholding on the moors. They are both concerned about the murder (and ensuing bodycount rise), perhaps a bit too concerned.The main problem with The Beast In The Cellar is its title. It tells the viewer more than they need to know from the outset and immediately makes you suspicious of the two sisters. A better title would be, say, 'The Beast On The Moors'. It still has the sensationalist promise of a beast but removes any emphasis away from the sisters and their house. Thankfully the fact that the beast is in the cellar is well established in the story about halfway through the film. The questions thus raised are what/who is it, why is it there, why is it killing and what is its connection (if any) with the sisters?A major component of the film is the military and the 'horrors of war'. The beast's victims are all low ranking soldiers from the local army base (as in warfare it is the common soldiers who suffer most). The soldiers all looked as if they had all been sequestered from Jon Pertwee era Doctor Who and their survival rate was certainly comparable (something actress Beryl Reid is familiar with). The two sisters' father was an officer in WWI and they frequently refer to him and seem very proud. The older sister even dresses up in his uniform. Does she have a uniform fetish or is there a more sinister reason?*spoilers*The film could initially be described as having an anti-military pathos. This is surprising since part of the British army helped in making the film. However the ending reveals that there are worse things than being sent to war and the military is overall treated in a friendlier light. The fact that the 'culprits' were acting for what they believed to be the greater good makes the final revelations especially chilling.A handful of final musings: Ellie goes around in a child-like state of denial whilst Joyce, the older of the two, is more responsible and therefore more strained and serious. They obviously have something plaguing them. It is interesting to see who will 'crack' first. As the beast supposedly dug out of the cellar why are its claws/talons so long. Wouldn't they have been blunted and broken from the work. Speaking of work, the amount of slogging about Ellie does for a sixty plus year old is remarkable. There are some neat moments of irony. These include Joyce finally receiving her prescribed medicine and the constant appearance of the young corporal, who must continually remind the sisters of their past.

mpar Rating: 5Good atmosphere - soundtrack, film technique, creepy "not what they appear to be" characters - marred by muddled screenplay. Poor continuity. Opportunities with characterizations missed. Not an original idea, done better elsewhere. Mistitled - alternate titles describe movie better. "Beast in the Cellar" sounds exactly what it tries not to be: a '50s drive-in throwaway. "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" Brit spinster wannabe description is apropos.