The Beast in the Cellar (1971) User Reviews

THE BEAST IN THE CELLAR (James Kelly, 1970) **

[Bunuel1976 · 5/10 · 30 May 2006]

This was the first title from Anchor Bay UK's "Tigon Collection" Box Set that I checked out - being already familiar with the higher-profile titles among them, namely WITCHFINDER GENERAL (1968) and THE BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW (1970). While the film isn't as bad as its reputation would suggest, and is actually well worth watching, it is by no means a classic. The interesting premise classifies it as an anti-war movie but it was deemed to be too talky by executive producer Tony Tenser and, along with some cuts, he ordered the addition of sex and violence inserts to heighten its commercial potential. However, incongruous as they may seem alongside the film's generally deliberate pace, these rapidly-cut scenes of the rampaging 'beast' work quite well!

The film's mainstay, of course, are committed performances by the two elderly female leads - Beryl Reid and Flora Robson - but also T.P. McKenna as the police official investigating the murders. John Hamill and Tessa Wyatt's contribution - intended to provide the requisite romantic interest - is largely negligible, however. Perhaps the best scene in the film is Reid's lengthy account to McKenna of their family's back-story, disclosing the identity of the 'beast' and the reason for its violent behavior. One may notice inconsistencies in the lighting scheme throughout; this is the result of having two separate cameramen - with very different styles - working on the film, albeit both very well regarded exponents of the field (Harry Waxman and Desmond Dickinson). Tony Macaulay's over-emphatic score, however, works against the film's attempt at creating suspense and, ultimately, is what dates it most of all.

THE BEAST IN THE CELLAR was actually released as a double-bill with the far superior THE BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW, which I rewatched later in the week. Director Kelly made only one other film before his untimely death - NIGHT HAIR CHILD (1971) - which, incidentally, I should also be watching fairly soon since I recently got a copy of it! The main supplement on the Anchor Bay UK DVD is the Audio Commentary, which is pretty adequate: Tenser's memory isn't so lucid and is occasionally hard to understand, but associate producer Christopher Neame (son of director Ronald) made up for this by his highly articulate observations and recollections about this particular film.

Interesting Beast

[shandycr · 6/10 · 30 January 2022]

Sometimes a film just captivates your imagination. I first saw The Beast In The Cellar when I recorded it off late-night British TV, in 1992. I've since watched it in it's Odeon DVD incarnation, and it still resonates.

It may not be shocking, surprising or horrific, but I just 'enjoy' this film. The interplay between Beryl Reid, who was only 51 at the time but playing much older, and Flora Robson, represents the ending era of traditional British actresses in traditional British films.

This film has spectacular photography. The credits shot of a crepuscular sunset is unsurpassed, combined with the evocatively non-lyrical theme. It is the best shot of a sunset over British countryside that I have ever seen.

The story is admittedly weak once we find out that the sisters know what they know. However, their resolve to try and keep up their 'secret' is humanistic and done well.

The 'inserts' of gore are very brief and very effectively vivid. I think for once it doesn't harm a film.

The finale of 'the monster' coming up the stairs for the sisters, largely done in 'Nosferatu' style until a last shot, is very creepy.

In short, this isn't a great film, and impatient 'Netflix' viewers will find there's a lot of talk and little 'action'. However, the drama confined to the house between the two sisters is fascinating in itself; uncovering the mystery of the dynamics between them almost becomes the thing to 'solve' rather than the 'Beast' issue.

A film I could watch again and again, albeit leave a few years between each viewing.

"A triumph of lighting over content."

[jamesraeburn2003 · 6/10 · 14 May 2004]

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.

Curious horror flick, very much of its time.

[barnabyrudge · 10 December 2002]

The oddest thing of all about the Beast in the Cellar is that it is actually rather well acted. Beryl Reid and Flora Robson are just fine in their sinister roles, and it makes you wonder how well the film might have turned out if it hadn't been so poorly written.

Possible plot spoiler: the storyline of this flick is odd too. A couple of nosy, simple minded old sisters live in a country house and seem to just drift along in life. Every now and then they hint that something weird is going on in their cellar. As the film develops, it transpires that they have kept their brother locked in there for years - three decades to be precise - and one day he escapes and goes on a killing rampage. Obviously, after thirty years locked in a damp, dark cellar, he looks more than a little like a caveman and has extraordinarily long sharp nails, almost like claws (all the better to mutilate you with!)

With such a strange, unpromising plot, this never had much chance of being a great film. But it has interesting bits, such as the afore-mentioned high quality performances and a couple of nicely edited shock moments. Generally, though, it isn't up to much and belongs very much in its little time capsule as an early 70's cheap-and-cheerful British horror opus.

Not terrible but still lacking....

[crazymikejj · 4/10 · 16 October 2005]

I remember viewing this movie when I was a kid. I recall it terrified me immensely and it stayed with me all these years. I spent a couple of years trying to find it online...didn't remember the title, only the storyline. After searching and searching, I came across a VHS that was being sold on E-Bay. I was excited and when it finally arrived, I jammed it into the VCR and couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic. Needless to say, I was slightly disappointed. This wasn't the movie I remember watching as a kid. It was boring at times and I found Beryl Reid's incessant whinning extremely annoying. Both performances by Reid and Flora Robson were good overall but the movie wasn't scary. I think any movie is worth viewing to form you're own opinion but sometimes, well......

Very slow-burning character piece.

[DPMay · 5/10 · 2 July 2023]

I'd recalled seeing this on television back in 1992 and being disappointed with it at the time. Giving it another go after all these years, I did enjoy it rather more, with expectations suitably managed. I think its main problem is that fans of the horror movie genre, particularly British ones of the early 1970s, will often be left feeling rather underwhelmed given that much of the narrative revolves around the relationship of two elderly sisters.

Things start promisingly enough, with a soldier being attacked and savaged in a wood by someone or something - but after that, it's nearly all talk with only fleeting action when a few more killings occur by some force unseen.

The plot revolves around an outbreak of horrific murders of soldiers at a rural army camp. Nearby, two elderly, unmarried sisters still occupy their childhood home. As we follow the dominant Joyce and the younger, innocent Ellie, it gradually becomes clear that whatever is doing the killing is known to them, for it is something they've had locked up in their cellar and from which it has escaped.

On this new viewing I did find myself appreciating the dialogue and depth of character afforded the two sisters, superbly performed by Flora Robson and Beryl Reid who undoubtedly save this film from being unwatchable. However, as sensitively as their two characters are crafted, the remaining characters in the piece are very one-dimensional, and few in number also, betraying what was probably a very low budget. The suspense is minimal, the killings surprisingly lacking much impact, partly because none of those killed have anything of note to say or do before they are dispatched.

***SPOILERS*** The backstory, when we learn it, is actually interesting, and involves the sisters' loving father coming back from the 1914-18 war a changed man, given to violence. The surprise addition of a male child, Stephen, to the family serves to fuel his anger and the child is sent away to boarding school. Years later he returns, and with Europe on the brink of war again he is determined to follow in his now-deceased father's footsteps and become an officer. Equally determined not to see his life similarly destroyed by service in the army, Joyce persuades Ellie to help her in a plan to incarcerate Stephen, and brick him up in the cellar where he can neither be discovered nor be free to choose his destiny. What was intended as a relatively short term solution ultimately resulted in Stephen's imprisonment lasting for decades.

Whilst the story goes a long way to explaining Stephen's homicidal behaviour, it comes up rather short in justifying how a man weakened by such a dismal existence could so easily overpower and kill a number of fit, healthy, well-trained (and armed!) soldiers. It's also disappointing that the backstory is delivered via a lengthy speech from Ellie rather than via some more imaginative mechanism.

That said, it does hint at more than we are directly told, and more than the naïve Ellie has deduced for herself. The father's complete dislike of Stephen does strongly suggest that the boy was not his own child. Furthermore, given Joyce's rather obsessional need to protect Stephen, there is even a hint that she might be his true mother. Why, also, is she in the habit of secretly donning her father's army clothes when Ellie is out of the house?

It also has to be considered that madness was something that runs in the Ballantyne family line and was only exacerbated by the father's war experiences rather than being the original cause of it, given the actions of Joyce and Stephen.

Overall, the construction of this film, with its extended scenes of dialogue, small cast and limited variance in locations, would almost make one believe it was an adaption of a theatrical play. I'm sure it will continue to disappoint many, but there is certainly sufficient substance to commend it if one approaches it with the right mindset.

Rather Boring

[Theo Robertson · 4/10 · 13 May 2004]

One thing I have noticed about British horror movies from the 1970s is that they don`t hold up to repeated viewing THEATRE OF BLOOD is a case in point as are all those Amicus anthology movies . Add THE BEAST IN THE CELLAR to the list

Much of the drama of this movie revolves around the build up of a plot revelation at the end . Once you know what the revelation is this becomes a rather flat film . It does open with a fairly good hook but after that we`re treated to long boring sequences of two old ladies making small talk . Correct me if I`m wrong but how many people watch a horror movie expecting a couple of old ladies making small talk ? The only sort of interest to be found in THE BEAST IN THE CELLAR is the anti-smoking stance . Some people have mentioned that this is an anti-war or anti-military film but watch carefully and you`ll see that everytime a squaddie lights up for a fly puff he gets killed . Rather strange considering attitudes to smoking weren`t nearly so hysterical as they are nowadays

More than a little creepy.

[christopher-underwood · 7/10 · 24 March 2005]

Not half as bad as some make out and if as is said it went out on a double bill with 'Blood on Satan's Claw', I reckon that was pretty good value. This doesn't have the dolly birds and swinging London paraphernalia but instead two solid performances from Flora Robson and Beryl Reid more than compensates. The kills are surprisingly bloody, the situation with the two spinsters well done and although the final explanation is a bit wordy and prolonged but at least by the end we are still interested to know just who was the occupant of the cellar. Not as jolly as a lot of Tigon product and maybe the better for it for a change. More than a little creepy, not least for the way the old ladies seem, effortlessly to change roles, causing us to rethink what we reckon is going on.

Doesn't make the least bit of sense, but still .

[Coventry · 4/10 · 14 May 2004]

The `plot' of this film contains a few holes you could drive a massive truck through, but I reckon that isn't always top priority in horror. Two elderly sisters in rural England keep their brother in the cellar since more than 30 years. Now, he escaped and started a killing spree, focusing on militaries that are homed nearby. `We only did we thought was best for him' they keep on repeating and – strangely – all the army officers love these women and don't doubt their sincerity, even though 5 of their men died. I don't know whether to find the revelation near the end suspenseful … or tedious! In a way, this film reminded me about `Arsenic and Old Lace'. In that black-comedy classic, two half-insane siblings mother their goofy younger brother as well, yet they do the killing there. The old ladies in `The Beast in the Cellar' are by no means less crazy, though. The `horror' in this early 70's film is very amateurish and cheap, but there are a few neat attempts to build up the tension. Too many `old-ladies' talk about the good ol' days, though and that rarely is something you seek in a horror film with such an appealing title. Flora Robson, who may be recognized by classic film buffs, plays one of the sisters. She gave image to the Queen of England is the legendary Errol Flynn swashbuckler film, the Sea Hawk.

Better than its reputation suggests!

[Red-Barracuda · 7/10 · 26 October 2021]

This latter day Tigon film used to be on the telly all the time when I was young. Me and my sister thought it was great! It doesn't seem to have all that good of a reputation though but having saw it for the first time since way back when, I can safely say that I still like it! It centres on a couple of elderly sisters who live together (Beryl Reid and Flora Robson) who keep their deranged brother in the cellar; he gets out and starts killing soldiers from the local training base. The two central pensioners are pretty good value and it has a sense of place and atmosphere to boot.

The negative of this film should have been confined to the cellar!

[hitchcockthelegend · 3/10 · 4 August 2015]

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

"No celery? You know I can't eat cheese without celery." I rather liked it, perhaps more than I should have...

[poolandrews · 8/10 · 6 February 2007]

The Beast in the Cellar is set in Lancashire in England during the early 70's where two elderly sisters name Ellie (Beryl Reid) & Joyce Ballantyne (Flora Robson) live together in their large house just outside the small rural town of Littlemead, one day Ellie rushes home to tell her sister that a soldier from a nearby Army camp has been brutally murdered. At first they both wonder who the killer could be until Ellie goes down into their cellar where they have kept their brother Steven (Dafydd Havard) bricked up for the past 30 odd years & discovers that he has dug a tunnel & escaped, obviously putting two & two together they feel Steven was responsible or the murder. The fact they find another dead soldier in their shed also has something to do with their thinking. Anyway, the beast is loose, on a murderous rampage & no-one is safe...

This English produced horror film was written & directed James Kelley, it came from Tigon studios who were formed to compete with the likes of Hammer & The Beast in the Cellar was released in cinemas here in the UK to an unsuspecting public on a double bill with Tigon's best known film The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) which is a thought that make me proud to be British... While not as good as The Blood on Satan's Claw I still thought The Beast in the Cellar was a great film, judging by the other comments here on the IMDb I definitely seem to be in the minority by thinking that but quite frankly I don't give a toss because I thought it was a cracking little horror film & the fact that no-one else seems to like is completely irrelevant to me & my enjoyment of it, isn't it? I love the character's of Ellie & Joyce, as a pair their so different anything else I can remember seeing in a horror film, I mean name one other horror film where he two main stars are old ladies'. I bet you can't. I thought their parts were reasonably well written & I actually started to feel a little sorry for them by the end, I liked the story although maybe it's a touch predictable (you just have to look at the title to basically work the entire film out), I liked the twist's & this is one film where I liked the slow-ish pace & the build up. Having said that it can be slow going at times as well as being a bit dull although there was something about it that I found very watchable, in fact I couldn't take my eyes off it! This is a hard one to call because I can see where all of it's (many) critics are coming from & to an extent even agree with them but for me The Beast in the Cellar (great title, by the way) had that 'X' factor, that indescribable element that just hooked me personally even though no-one else in the World can see it...

Director Kelley does a good job, it's not only for the bizarre story that I love The Beast in the Cellar it's the unique atmosphere that only comes from an English horror film from the 70's & there's nothing that can come close to it. I mean they just don't, can't or simply won't make 'em like this anymore, the thick accents & dialogue, the instantly recognisable English setting & countryside, it's all here. It's a little silly at times & after 30 years that bloke would have had a longer beard than that & there is no way on Earth he could have used his long finger nails as Leopard type talons as they would have broke after one slash. There is an acceptable body-count here, while the kills aren't the goriest they're cool & there is one scene in particular that I just loved when Ellie has to dispose of the dead soldier Steven brought home & since the guys eyeball is hanging out she pops it back in! Honestly I don't really know why but there are so many things that I liked about this film, I must be mad.

Technically The Beast in the Cellar is pretty good considering it was probably made for a few thousand quid, the photography is nice (it's not often you see two credited cinematographers for a film let alone the class of Desmond Dickinson who has an impressive 90 films credited to him & Harry Waxman who has 70) & sometimes very effective although the day-for-night shots look cheap as they always do & it's generally well made with atmospheric sets & locations. I thought the acting was pretty good myself especially Reid & Robson who make the film what it is really.

The Beast in the Cellar is a film that I really liked, I can't quite put my finger on why because I think it's a collection of things that just made it work for me. However I will concede that this will probably be the only positive review of The Beast in the Cellar you will ever read as everyone else in the entire World seems to dislike it which I cannot ignore so with that in mind I can't recommend it as going by the law of average I'm sure most will hate it. This comment is my own personal opinion & I thought The Beast in the Cellar was great fun & a highly entertaining creepy little horror film from a bygone era, unfortunately I doubt many will share my views on it which I think is a shame...

Was director-screenwriter James Kelly a playwright?

[EdgarST · 6/10 · 2 February 2019]

I cannot tell. But this motion picture seems like a film adaptation of a stage play, although with very few licenses to leave the main setting: that is, the house with a cellar that contains a beast... or contained, it seems, because right from the beginning whatever was inside is killing soldiers around the countryside, leaving them all bloody (yes, there is enough blood for an early 1970s movie), and more scratched than a phone card. I enjoyed the proceedings and the chitchat between the two main characters, the Ballantyne sisters, in the first two thirds. But in the third act, Ellie (Beryl Reed) never stops talking about how she loved her father and how her sister Joyce (Flora Robson, by now bedridden) loved their brother Stephen. She confirms what we know since the beginning, that the two sisters locked brother Stephen in the cellar for 30 years. In the meantime, the police, now being alerted by Ellie, looks for the man-beast. Blond John Hamill (perhaps Britain's most popular male nude model of the 1960-70s) plays a very amiable young corporal who visits the two old ladies with the latest news at least three times a day, and Tessa Wyatt appears too late in the plot as a nurse, but she anyway becomes Hamill's love interest. By then poor Stephen has no hope. It does not have any right to be so, but somehow the film is enjoyable.

British horror curio mixes drawing room conversation with POV butchery

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 23 October 2015]

This slow and talk-filled movie will be offputting to most genre fans who are expecting the pace of a Hammer movie or the grisliness of a Pete Walker film. It has neither, and instead seems to be more of a drawing-room drama, packed with dialogue and the minimum of action and actual horror content. This is a shame, as the murders (when they do occur) are executed well, and shown from the killer's point of view - kind of like the murders in LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF. Although the film is not explicitly gruesome, the murders do get pretty bloody and two scenes involving a hanging eyeball have been inserted in to make things more grisly.

The story is a rather simple one, yet director Kelley manages to wring maximum atmosphere from the location of his story - an isolated farmhouse is just right for a horror flick of this variety. Although obviously filmed on a limited budget, the realistic sets are good too, full of ominous shadows, which is a good thing because the entire film only takes place in a handful of locations. A suspenseful music score also helps to add to the atmosphere of the film.

The main problem with the movie is the lack of horror content and the slow pacing, which makes it laborious even for patient viewers. While this isn't too much of a problem, it comes as a surprise due to the exploitation title which makes this sound like some exciting monster rampage movie when in fact it's not. The opening murders and a scene showing a loving couple being butchered in a barn fit in oddly with the scenes involving Robson and Reid.

Perhaps these scenes go on for too long (one has Reid telling the whole story, which lasts about twenty minutes of her talking), but they're certainly interesting, if not exciting, to watch. The dialogue the two actresses are given helps to make their characters realistic and, if not exactly likable, then certainly understandable. Both are given clear personalities - Reid is the worrying, gentle one, while Robson is the colder, cunning one - and their interchange can sometimes be gripping in a subtle way. You really get to know these two by the end of the film, and it feels like you've invaded their lives. The supporting roles are obviously minor yet packed out with appealing actors and actresses. THE BEAST IN THE CELLAR is not a film for all tastes, mine somewhat included, but it's a well-handled curiosity.

Good Idea Gone Awry

[mpar · 2 November 2000]

Rating: 5

Good atmosphere - soundtrack, film technique, creepy "not what they appear to be" characters - marred by muddled screenplay. Poor continuity. Opportunities with characterizations missed. Not an original idea, done better elsewhere. Mistitled - alternate titles describe movie better. "Beast in the Cellar" sounds exactly what it tries not to be: a '50s drive-in throwaway. "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" Brit spinster wannabe description is apropos.

Mild Spoilers ...

[parry_na · 5/10 · 7 March 2016]

In a year awash with horror films comes this oddity, built around the familiarity and fondness cinema-goers had for the leading ladies. When Beryl Reid's Ellie potters over the hillside, or Flora Robson's Joyce is introduced sternly cleaning the house, it is the actresses we are being treated to, with the characters of Ellie and Joyce yet to be introduced to us.

The production is more reminiscent of a heartfelt Ealing drama interspersed with briefly glimpsed moments of graphic horror than usual Tigon fare. Apparently, the flashes of gore – and a brief scene of underwear removal during a kiss-and-cuddle scene to 'spice it up' – were added after filming was over, at the insistence of Producer and Distributor Tony Tenser who felt, understandably, that this was a very tame presentation.

'The Beast in the Cellar' could have been lifted from a stage production, as much of the focus is inside the farmhouse, and there is a tendency for the leading players (Ellie, Joyce and soldier Alan, played by John Hamill) to indulge in lengthy preamble, telling each other and the audience what they already know.

James Kelley's creeping direction often makes the most of the evocative location but wastes too much time on mundanities; there is a scene where Ellie discovers the Beast has escaped, which has her scuttling through the house, down some stairs, into the garden, by the side of some sheds, into the barn – and then back again - which seems to drag on forever. Soldier Alan visits the ladies to make sure they are alright, to tell them of the frightening events and killings occurring all around them, and then to assure them not to worry. His cheerful visits are relentless, and surprisingly nothing is made of the friendship between him and wholesome local nurse Joanne Sutherland (Tessa Wyatt).

The 'beast', when revealed, is … a wide-eyed bearded old man. Hardly a thing of nightmares – indicative of the film as a whole, in fact. Well played by all concerned, the story is too thin (indeed, everything you need to know is summed up in the title) and sedate to satisfy. And yet some elements remain unexplained - just why does Joyce take to dressing in her late father's army coat and cap when she thinks no-one is watching? The reason for brother Steven's incarceration is murky at best. These things would have been more effective had the audience furnished with some reasoning or motivation. What could have been truly frightening results in an inoffensive, even quaint, pot-boiler.

Tedious Tigon trash.

[BA_Harrison · 2/10 · 20 October 2019]

There are shades of Arsenic and Old Lace about Tigon studio's The Beast In The Cellar, which sees two spinster sisters (played by Beryl Reid and Flora Robson) hiding a terrible secret in their basement. To protect their brother Stephen (Dafydd Havard) from the horrors of war, they have kept him bricked up in the cellar, keeping him there for thirty years, during which time he has become deranged and violent. Now, with several savage murders occurring in the area, it seems as though Stephen has found a way out of his prison.

Along with Amicus, Tigon was one of the major UK competitors to Hammer. Over the years they gave horror fans such classics as The Blood on Satan's Claw, Witchfinder General and Virgin Witch (OK, that last one might not be such a classic, but I like it). The Beast In The Cellar is at the other end of the spectrum, a dreadfully dull clunker that is way too talky and lacking in scares. Reid (who was 51 at the time, but looks much older) is incredibly irritating as the younger sister, and Robson is given very little to do, their dialogue focusing on such exciting matters as cups of tea and a lack of celery.

The scenes in which the 'beast' attacks local soldiers are shot in a frenzied manner with rapid editing so as to make it impossible to see what is happening. There are blink-and-you'll-miss-them moments of gore, but very little to satisfy most horror fans. At the end of the film, we finally get to see Stephen, supposedly a powerful beast capable of ripping men to pieces with his bare hands, and he looks like Catweazle, about as strong as a week-old kitten.

2.5/10, rounded down to 2 for Reid's prolonged elucidation at the end. Good god, cut to the chase, Beryl!

The Luster has Faded

[arfdawg-1 · 3/10 · 14 February 2023]

The Beast in the Cellar might have been a good movie 5o years ago, but tie has not treated it well.

Perhaps it's all the cuts they had to made due to British censors or maybe its just that times have changed.

Th movie is directed like a Hammer film. In other words very TV-ish and quickly done. It's maybe a slight step above Hammer in the 70's.

One of the problems I had was the murder scenes which are done in extreme closeup and are very jumpy. It's not good filmwork, but as I said, maybe due to the censors at the time.

The acting is fine and the look of the film is good. It just wasnt exciting, thrilling or very dramatic. Certainly not by today's standards.

Charming British proto-slasher

[Stevieboy666 · 7/10 · 1 August 2020]

English soldiers are mysteriously being mauled to death near a rural military camp, meanwhile two elderly sisters have a very dark secret in the cellar of their country house. This is probably one of the first colour horror movies that I watched back in the 1980'a and I have always had a degree of fondness for it ever since. I agree that the movie is very heavy on dialogue but Beryl Reid and Flora Robson do deliver great performances as the charmingly eccentric sisters. Although not as good this movie reminds me of Tower of Evil, together they would make a good double bill. I love British horror movies from this time, dominated by Hammer and Amicus,, Beast being a Tigon production. The deaths are pretty gory for the time, there is one tame sex scene, I liked the POV shots and there is some good suspense. Overall it is a rather sad but compelling melodrama come horror movie.

Good ideas & potential, deadened by excessive dialogue & domesticity

[I_Ailurophile · 2/10 · 1 October 2023]

Setting aside my willingness to watch just about anything, there were two distinct factors that had me interested to watch. One was the involvement of actor Christopher Neame, albeit in this instance only as associate producer, and the other was the fact that this comes to us from Tigon, the same company that made 'The blood on Satan's claw,' 'The creeping flesh,' and ''The witchfinder general.' On these bases alone I'd be lying if I didn't say I had high expectations for this 1971 feature, nevermind that Neame himself apparently didn't think much of it in retrospect. On the other hand, the title works so hard to countermand our expectations as it begins that only the utmost supremacy of a payoff could make the wait worthwhile. Unfortunately, two death scenes within the first half hour can't overcome the pronounced emphasis on the shrillness of sisters Joyce and Ellie bickering and tittering, nor the repetition of two big chunks of dialogue. Nor can these irritants be overcome by the reveal over time of a secret that the sisters keep; the mundanity of the sisters' lives, intended to wryly cloak that secret for we viewers, instead saps the power from a secret that just isn't substantial enough to hold much meaning. Perhaps one might argue that this is an issue of how older fare appears to modern viewers, yet contemporary reviews don't seem to have been especially favorable, either. The end result, sadly, is a would-be horror film whose genre elements are too meager to produce thrills when set against the verbosity of the script. I see what it could have been, but 'The beast in the cellar' just can't make the grade.

Instances of violence, blood and gore are fine, but not necessarily visualized well, and less titillating than audiences hope for such flicks. The material simply isn't strong enough on paper or in actuality to provide the kicks or guffaws we might hope to get from the contrast of the sisters' lives with the secret they keep, and the bloodshed in the surrounding countryside. I don't particularly find any fault with the acting here. Those behind the scenes turned in good work, including effects, art direction, cinematography, costume design, hair and makeup, and even the music - superficially ill-fitting and odd in and of itself, but intended to cheekily add to the contrast between the opposed facets of the storytelling. The fact remains that for whatever worth there may have been in the root concept, James Kelley's script leans all too heavily on the scenes of domesticity, and specifically, again, the busybody shrillness of sisters Joyce and Ellie. Somehow, for as loquacious as the early length is, the back end is even worse. The sisters' secret is reduced to a small corner, let alone any violence; the proportions are all wrong. While Kelley's direction is technically sound, he brings his screenplay to life in those exact proportions that he wrote in the first place, and in turn the viewing experience is rather dull and taxing. All the right pieces are here, but the image they form when assembled just so is less than invigorating. It's to our chagrin that we have to consider how the same company that produced the aforementioned classics also churned out this lackluster piece. No one is perfect, I guess.

I'm glad for those who get more out of 'The beast in the cellar' than I do. I'm underwhelmed. The potential this bore, and what strength it possesses at its best, are well outweighed by its shortcomings. Despite all that this might have been, and tries to be, including some swell ideas and themes: whatever it is you're looking for from this, you're better off just looking elsewhere.

Two old dears, a secret and some murders

[davey-bc · 6/10 · 25 June 2022]

Two old dears living in the family home have a secret. There are murders going on . The murderer favours those in army uniform . One of the old dears is a bit bossy, the other whines a lot. They are sisters . They reminisce about daddy and the war. Miss bossy puts on an army overcoat before going down to the cellar with a torch . Very mysterious. The two old dears are Flora Robson and Beryl Reid , two big names in theatre and film . I must have first seen this film forty years ago and it seemed dated then, but for some reason it stuck in my mind and a recent viewing yielded nothing new I had missed but just a kind of comfort as we revisit old experiences. Don't expect big chills here but look upon it as a little curio. Yes Beryl is somewhat whinging and Flora is , well, Flora ....and it does seem to remind one of "Arsenic and Old Lace" without the laughs. The secret is not too hard to guess and the ending is as expected.

Didn't care much for it.

[lost-in-limbo · 4/10 · 19 April 2020]

A cosy, yet lulling British horror film with much needed lively performances by character actresses Beryl Ried and Flora Robson playing spinster sisters who get caught up in a series of deranged murders against soldiers posted at a nearby army base in the Lancashire countryside, but could it have something to do with the hidden bricked room in the ladies' cellar.

The talents of Ried and Robson are wasted in this mainly muddled story (which was supposedly cut to pieces in post-proudction) and stodgy direction. You get far more tension from the ladies' hysterics, back 'n forth bickering and growing concern when they learn that their secret doesn't want to stay hidden away as the situation is no longer in their control. Compared to the remote backwoods, howling winds and few lousy "beast" attacks featuring shaky, up and close camerawork, blood squirting and horrified screaming. The reveal of the beast at the end is laughably bad (manicure and trim anyone?), and even the backstory falls on the daft side, yet the women deliver it with sincerity giving it a lot weight. One thing that stood out is how the camera follows moments of minor action, and there's an impressive sequence in the dying minutes in the lead-up of the beast confronting the two sisters that felt like a nod to Nosferatu's shadow climbing the stairs from Nosferatu. In a way, the film feels like a creaky, and slow-grinding horror talky in the vein of the poverty-row monster horror films of 1930s through to the 40s.

He can see in the dark.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 8/10 · 14 September 2012]

Two spinsters Joyce and Ellie live together in the family home they grew up in,but hide a dark and sinister secret. They keep their demented brother Steven locked in the cellar. But Steven manages to escape and starts killing soldiers. And he can see in the dark."Beast in the Cellar" is a pretty creepy horror movie produced by Tigon. The score by Tony Macaulay is marvelous and there are some moments of genuine suspense. The film is well-acted and directed. Beryl Reid and Flora Robson shine in their chilling performances of two elderly sisters Joyce and Ellie. The climax is a bit predictable and the editing is rather bad in places plus it's quite difficult to see what is happening. Still solid British shocker.8 beasts out of 10.

Picks up a bit

[neil-douglas2010 · 6/10 · 25 June 2022]

The first half of this film is so tedious I was in two minds of giving up. Thankfully things pick up in the second half. In what starts as a horror movie ends as an anti war movie and the true horror that normal people can do. Great performance from British stalwart Beryl Reid .

Well, at least it's not the basement of Wuthering Heights.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 20 September 2019]

It is obvious from the 1939 movie of "Wuthering Heights" that Flora Robson's character of Ellen returned there after the death of Cathy. She's aged greatly from that sequence to the finale, taking care of the brooding Heathcliff and Cathy's drunken brother, Hindley. Over 30 years went by in real time and Robson ended up in this gothic horror film, co-starring with British stage actress Beryl Reid, and their performances help this rise above mediocrity.

The stars are spinster sisters, basically the British version of Bette Davis and Lillian Gish in "The Whales of August". Robson is the stern sister and Reid the gentler, much more vulnerable. When attacks of an animalistic nature begin to occur, the sisters are horrified, but not out of grief. Obviously they know something, hiding a creature of some sort in their basement. What it is or who it is is gradually explained, and Reid gives a sensational performance in the scene where she discusses a bit of the family history.

Unfortunately, there's no real opportunity to explore the motivations of these killings outside a generalization, and that's what makes this a disappointment. Robson's character never gets a full development putting the bulk of the story on Reid's capable shoulders. Those who only know her as the mannish Sister George will be very impressed by her here.