The Beast in the Cellar

The Beast in the Cellar
Theatrical release poster
Directed by James Kelley
Produced by Tony Tenser
Christopher Neame
Graham Harris
Written by James Kelley
Starring Beryl Reid
Flora Robson
John Hamill
Tessa Wyatt
T. P. McKenna
Vernon Dobtcheff
David Dodimead
Music by Tony Macaulay
Distributed by Tigon British Film Productions (UK)
The Cannon Group Inc. (US)
Cinépix Film Properties (Canada)
Release date
  • 1970 (1970)
Running time
 87 minutes[1]
Country United Kingdom
Language English

The Beast in the Cellar is a 1970 British horror film written and directed by James Kelley. The film was produced by Leander Films and Tigon British Film Productions.

Plot

Soldiers in a rural military base are being brutally murdered. They suspect a wild cat. Two local ladies, Joyce Balentine (Flora Robson) and Ellie (Beryl Reid), suspect it may be their brother, Steven (Dafydd Havard), who has been locked in a basement for thirty years.

Cast


Release

Home media

The film was released in Canada on DVD by Maple Pictures on December 6, 2005. It was later released in the United States by Trinity on February 14, 2006. In 2011, it was released twice by Allegro Corporation on February 1st, and June 7th respectively. The latter release it was part of the "Psycho Killers" 4 Movie Marathon. It was last released by Films Around The World Inc. on November 11, 2015.[2]

Reception

The Beast in the Cellar received mostly negative reviews upon its release. Author and film critic Leonard Maltin gave the film 2/4 stars, stating that Reid's and Robson's performances brought the movie to an average level.[3] TV Guide awarded the film 1/4 stars, stating that "The potentially interesting premise is undone by an extremely chatty script."[4] On his website Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, Dave Sindelar called the film "dull" and criticized the film's flaccid direction, endlessly talky sequences, lack of suspense, over focus on Reid and Robson's characters, and the design of the title monster.[5] Charles Tatum from eFilmCritic gave the film 2/5 stars, offering similar criticism towards the film's overly long dull stretches, and lack of effectiveness during the attack sequences. Tatum did however commend Reid and Robson's performances.[6] Andrew Smith from Popcorn Pictures awarded the film a score of 3/10, writing, "The Beast in the Cellar has an interesting approach to its subject matter with it’s characterisation of the two leads and it’s attempts to humanise them as much as it can. However this is horror after all and what we have is a pretty feeble but traditional British horror flick where you don’t see the monster until the very end and when you do, you realise you’ve been had for the last hour and a half."[7]

References

  1. ↑ BBFC: The Beast in the Cellar
  2. ↑ "The Beast in the Cellar (1970) - James Kelly". Allmovie.com. AllMovie. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  3. ↑ Leonard Maltin (3 September 2013). Leonard Maltin's 2014 Movie Guide. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-101-60955-2.
  4. ↑ "The Beast In The Cellar - Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings". TV Guide.com. TV Guide. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  5. ↑ Sidnelar, Dave. "The Beast in the Cellar (1970)". Fantastic Movie Musings.com. Dave Sindelar. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  6. ↑ Tatum, Charles. "Movie Review - Beast in the Cellar, The - eFilmCritic". eFilmCritic.com. Charles Tatum. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  7. ↑ Smith, Andrew. "Beast in the Cellar, The (1970)". Popcorn Pictures.co.uk. Andrew Smith. Retrieved 15 July 2018.


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