Shadows on the Wall | Cellar Door

Cellar Door

dir Vaughn Stein
scr Sam Scott, Lori Evans Taylor
prd John Papsidera, Tom Butterfield, Craig Perry, Sheila Hanahan
with Jordana Brewster, Scott Speedman, Laurence Fishburne, Addison Timlin, Chris Conner, Katie O'Grady, Randy Sean Schulman, Cycerli Ash, Don Adler, Zachary Feiner, Susannah Mars, Kiah Butts
release US 25.Oct.24
24/US 1h37

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Insidious and very silly, this glossy thriller works overtime to crank up suspense, even as it's difficult to take seriously. Overwrought subplots churn around a married couple whose dream home comes with one very odd string attached. Director Vaughn Stein has fun putting these characters through the wringer, even if the script only pretends to dig beneath the surface. At least it has some nice surprises up its sleeve.

Seeking a fresh start after a miscarriage, professor Sera (Brewster) and architect John (Speedman) are out looking at new houses when they receive an unusual offer from mysterious estate agent Emmett (Fishburne): they will be given a fabulously enormous mansion as long as they never open the ominous door to the cellar. Of course, curiosity gets the best of John, who digs up the plans and starts prowling around beneath the floorboards. But Sera discovers what he's up to. And she's about to find out that John is keeping some even bigger secrets from her.

Various plot threads seem added simply to stir up emotions, such as this couple's struggle to conceive a child or John's past relationship with a woman (Timlin) at work, which leads to an allegation of misconduct that he hides from Sera despite pleading innocent. These elements feel undercooked, almost like distractions from the main story about this house and what might be downstairs. Eventually, the script gets back to that story, as John meets the house's previous owner (Conner). But of course the subplots are only waiting to pounce.

Speedman and Brewster are engaging actors who can hold the interest strongly, even when their characters become rather shady. Each is adept at balancing lightness and darkness right through scenes in which the script fails to hold water. So while their characters are thinly defined, and the plot increasingly absurd, we happily go along with them. Other characters don't really register, including Timlin's under-developed interloper.

Emmett's question is whether any house can make you happy. And Sera replies that no, it's the home that does that. This is about as profound as the film gets. Instead, it travels into bonkers erotic thriller territory, with events spiralling out of control simply because everyone is tightly holding their secrets. They argue that they can't trust anyone, or that the truth will only spoil everything. But of course, this is what is causing all of the problems.

themes, language, sexuality 22.Oct.24

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