The Beast in the Cellar (1971)

The Beast in the Cellar (1971)

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Are You Dying, Young Man?
Beast in the Cellar
The Cellar
Young Man, I Think You're Dying

Tagline(s):	A Chill-Filled Festival of Horror!
	...Come Face to Face with Naked Fear...
	Evil Lurks Below
	Meet the...
	"And much of Madness, and more of Sin and Horror the soul of plot." -Edgar Allen Poe

Nomination Year: 1996

SYNOPSIS:

Two old maids have kept their homicidal brother locked up in the basement -- until now....

If you put the plot elements and characters of Arsenic and Old Lace into a blender, this might be what came out if you had committed a mortal sin and required serious penance.

Kevin Hogan

Smithee Award Nominations

Deus Ex Machina
"Where's the Police When You--Oh." The Beast (i.e., crazy guy in cellar) is about to kill Joyce. The cops mysteriously appear JUST in time to shoot and kill him just before he strangles her.

Worst Cover Copy
This Beast Ain't a Seller The drawing makes it sort of look like a fuzzy Sasquatch rather than a crazy old guy. But then nobody would rent a movie called Uncle Steve's in the Basement, would they?

"Whoops!"

I Think There's a Movie in This Glitch

There's a glitch at the start of the "you'll be dead soon" clip. It's a film glitch. It's the sort of thing you have to see.

NOTE: The copy of the glitch is still on the analog VHS tape, awaiting digitization.

Sorry, this clip has not yet been made available!

Directors

Director	Claim to Fame
James Kelley	AKA "James Kelly," Brit who also directed What the Peeper Saw (starring the poor child actor who played the titular Oliver!). And that's it.

Cast

Actor	Character	Claim to Fame
Beryl Reid	Ellie Ballantyne	British actress who was June Buckridge in The Killing of Sister George, Connie Sachs in the whole Rich Man, Poor Man franchise, and played Briggs on a few episodes of "Doctor Who" in 1982 alongside the 5th Doctor.
Flora Robson	Joyce Ballantyne	Distinguished Oscar-nominated British stage actress who played a witch in Clash of the Titans, Queen Elizabeth in The Sea Hawk, and Ellen Dean in Wuthering Heights.
John Hamill	Alan Marlow	Beefcake British bodybuilder (say THAT three times fast!) who played Pierre in Doing the Best I Can and was on a couple episodes of "Doctor Who" as Shrieve ("The Ribos Operation").
Tessa Wyatt	Nurse Sutherland	Portrayed Georgiana Darcy in '67's Pride and Prejudice, Vicky on "Robin's Nest," and Bett on "EastEnders."
T.P. McKenna	Det. Chief Sup. Paddick	Irish actor who played Buck Mulligan in Ulysses, Maj. John Scott in Straw Dogs, and played Henry VIII in Monarch.
John Kelland	Sgt. Young	Known for small parts on "The Avengers," "Department S," "The Brothers Karamazov," and "The Three Musketeers." All "group/organization- related" roles. Hmmm...


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