Cellar Door, Co-Starring Laurence Fishburne

If this manor house was in Kansas, John and Sera Winter might need access to the cellar, but since they live outside Portland, the wrought iron fence and the vintage firearm collection that comes with the estate look much more attractive. The terms and conditions of their tenancy are strange, but it is a desperate real estate market. However, their deal takes on Faustian dimensions in Vaughn Stein’s Cellar Door, which opens this Friday in theaters and on VOD.

After losing their unborn baby, the Winters need a change of scenery, but most of the properties in the tony suburb they settle on are beyond the means of riff-raff like them. As a last resort, their realtor refers them to wealthy ascot-wearing Emmett Claymore, who offers them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They can live rent-free in his McMansion as long as they agree to never look inside the padlocked cellar. He also requests they keep the display of artifacts unearthed on the property, including some revolvers, which look like they might still work—but the cellar is the biggie. One peak and their next address will be in eviction-city.

Of course they agree, but as soon as they move in, bad luck starts plaguing the Winters. Awkwardly, his co-worker and former ex, Alyssa Hayes, accuses him of sexual harassment. Too ashamed to explain to his wife, especially since he was having a final fling with Hayes while his wife miscarried, Winter pretends to go to work each day.

The house just seems to have bad mojo, like when a former tenant shows up with a gas can, urging them to burn it down. Pretty soon, old John is practically clawing at the cellar door, whereas newly pregnant Sera is determined to safeguard their luxurious and economical living arrangements.

The truth is Cellar Door really is not much of a horror movie. However, screenwriter Sam Scott tries to build towards an intriguing revelation of what it all means. His concept is surprisingly thoughtful. It would just be better suited as a shorter instalment of an anthology series in the tradition of Tales of the Unexpected. That is not a slight—far from it. Nevertheless, the fact remains the film is conspicuously padded, especially on the front half.

Scott Speedman (playing another cheating husband facing uncanny circumstances, following Teacup) and Jordana Brewster make a rather blandly attractive couple, who are way too vanilla. Fortunately, Laurence Fishburne is quite watchable chewing the scenery as Claymore and Addison Timlin impresses with her unstable stalker vibes as Hayes, even though her character’s subplot is not very credible.

Still, the ending really makes sense, which is definitely saying something. Cellar Door just needed to be tighter and more concentrated, probably to a less than feature-length running-time. Still, for those of us who see a lot of horror and dark suspense, it might be sufficiently interesting to stream when it hit free platforms. In the meantime, Cellar Door opens this Friday (11/2) in New York at the Cinema Village.