Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Spikeopath Two batty old ladies have a secret in their cellar, a secret which may need to be revealed when murders start occurring around the countryside. And why are soldiers being particularly targeted?Two great British actresses in Beryl Reid and Flora Robson rock up for one of Tigon's worst films. It's not that the production is poor, because that side of it is more than decent, it's that it's an utter bore. 99% talking and literary bluffs dominate the picture to the point where when the big finale arrives, it really isn't worth the wait. Not even the introduction of the lovely Tessa Wyatt - in astute male fantasy nurse role - can perk things up. Head of Tigon, Tony Tenser, once said he only made films to make money, it's with films like this where that becomes apparent. It's hard to believe that this is the same company that produced Witchfinder General! 3/10

Mikel3 We had another cold winter day here so I stayed warm and watched a film I've never seen. I viewed 'The Beast in the Cellar' a 1970 British film. It has the look of one of Hammer Studio's lesser efforts. It's not made by them, it just has that Hammer feel and quality to it...almost. I'm not hinting it's bad, on the contrary it was pretty good, especially compared to the stinkers I've seen lately. Here the acting, sets, and the dialog were all very professional. The film deals with two old ladies, spinster sisters. They remind me very much of two similar characters from 'Arsenic and Old Lace'. Like in 'AaOL' they even know a young man they're both very fond of, only this man is a friend, not a relative. These ladies are not killers, still they do have a dark secret. They did something terrible ...a person or thing has been locked in their basement for a very long time. It finally escapes, that's when people start dying, all soldiers from a nearby base. Only soldiers are killed for a reason not revealed till later. What is doing it and why is the mystery. The story does have some slow moving sections that seem like filler more than anything else. The ending is suitable yet comes off a bit abrupt compared to the leisurely way the rest of the plot unfolds. I do recommend this one for fans of light British horror, just don't expect too much from it as far as action. It's about the characters and their pasts catching up with them. I rate it a 5 out of 10.

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.