The Grim Cellar

1987, US, Directed by Kevin S. Tenney

Colour, Running Time: 90 minutes

DVD, Region 1, Anchor Bay, Video: Anamorphic 1.85:1, Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0

Halloween nineteen-eighty-whatever: a group of teens are invited to a night party in an ancient, supposedly haunted house by the college misfit, Angela. Arriving at Hall House in the middle of nowhere the group set about drinking, dancing, and generally trying to mate with each other. After the stereo batteries expire one of them suggests a ‘past life séance’: they have to stare into an old mirror long enough for them to catch a glimpse of what they looked like before reincarnation. This they do, but it’s not their past lives they see but some sort of monstrous being. Awakened from slumber the creature possesses one of the girls and a killing spree begins as each one of them becomes spiritually claimed by the demon. The survivors, however, can no longer find a way off the premises, and may be doomed.

Plot-wise it’s not a million miles away from The Evil Dead, aside from both the group of teens and the house itself being larger. The house is quite a morbid joy to be whisked through with its decrepit state and labyrinth-like structure; apparently a derelict property in LA being used (requiring 24-7 security while they were on set due to the dangerous nature of the area). Even some of the camerawork here apes Evil Dead, with a sweeping move through the corridors to simulate the demon’s arrival. The characters are not the kind of people you’d really like to be friends with (unless you’re obnoxious yourself), but they do provide some amusement. My favourite character is unfortunately barely used - one of the girl’s has a sarcastic little brother who gets to utter some great lines. Linnea Quigley appears as Angela’s friend and predictably removes her clothes as soon as the opportunity arises (on one occasion allowing her to insert a lipstick tube into her nipple; a rather pointless but novel idea). The eighties this is, and there are a few gory moments (though not excessively so) along with demonically possessed creatures verbalising failed humour, teens going off to have sex, etc. The film kind of works as a moderately enjoyable piece primarily because the house itself is amazing, but also due to the hammy acting, which manages to entertain at times. The music during the brilliant animated opening credits is fitting but composer, Dennis Tenney, clearly had little idea about writing film scores - the electronic score gradually becomes incessant, periodically actually resembling the music from the old Capcom arcade game, Ghosts and Goblins. It’s a little bit nostalgic watching material like this, and that probably helps a viewer to cut it some slack and enjoy the movie for what it is.

Released in England back in the late eighties by good old Palace, the VHS was slightly cut and presented fullframe. Anchor Bay US have released this definitive uncut edition (almost identical to the Palace tape for content) by utilising a couple of sources (there is visible shift in quality on several occasions). Mostly it looks very good, but the alternate shots appear to be video-sourced. As this is not particularly frequent it’s not too distracting, and AB are to be congratulated for putting in such effort. Not only that but they roped Tenney in to record a commentary, plus filmed an interview with Ms Quigley herself, looking a bit rougher but having a few interesting tales to tell. The Dolby audio reproduces the original Ultra Stereo track quite nicely, though I needed to boost the bass somewhat. Amelia (AKA Mimi) Kinkade (playing Anglea) returned for two sequels, neither of which I’ve seen. If you like eighties teen comedy/horror trips then this is not a bad viewing experience if expectations aren’t too high, but it’s certainly no groundbreaking masterwork.