The Cellar (film)
Encyclopedia
The Cellar is a 1989 horror film directed by Kevin Tenney and starring Patrick Kilpatrick
.
Indians have trapped the evil of their land in a monster made up of a mixture of other animals. The Comanche have placed a protective spear in the ground to contain the evil. A young boy pulls the spear from the ground while pocketing a rabbit foot talisman. He starts to play with the spear. A Comanche catches the boy, and startled, he runs away with the rabbit's foot. The Native American places the spear back, realizing too late that the rabbits foot is now gone. After that, white men come and start drilling for oil.
Skip to current time, a divorced father, Mance Cashen (played by Patrick Kilpatrick
), moves to the area with his new wife, baby, and his son from his first marriage, Willy (played by Chris Miller
), who is visiting. Willy notices something peculiar in the house and tries to warn his father and step-mother. They do not believe him. Willy is attacked while on a tire swing over a small water hole. The creature grabs his foot and Willy struggles, eventually getting away. He eventually befriends the local drunk, T. C. van Houten (played by Ford Rainey
). A nice old man with some bad memories who knows something about the evil near the oil well and was in a situation similar to Willy's.
In the meantime a Comanche Indian, Chief Sam John (played by Michael Wren), comes to warn Mance of the evil and the need to keep it contained. Sam John informs Mance the evil was originally intended to stop the white man, but it is indiscriminate in whom it kills instead. Mance will have none of it. Willy eventually takes a spear he finds on his property to Sam John and tries to find out what is going on. Sam John convinces Willy to promise to stay out of the cellar and come get him if anything happens.
Willy, of course, has plans of his own and sets booby traps in the basement. He plans to trap it in sight so he can prove he isn't lying. As he lays the traps the creature gives him a scare and Willy runs away. T. C. dies shortly after by the evil. Willy decides to be more bold and makes another trip to the basement in order to stop the monster. This time armed with a flame thrower, electrical cables, and a lucky rabbits foot. The monster interrupts him and Willy must run away again.
Willy takes his Mance's ex-boss's son, Tommy Boatwright (played by Alex Pederson), with him to the water hole in order to set up bait for the monster. Tommy falls in and the monster eats him. The police suspect foul play from Mance on account of him being fired. Mance locks Willy in the kitchen with the cellar door nailed open to scare him into reality only to find out Willy was telling the truth. Willy electrocutes the monster, saving his dad. But the monster is only stunned. Mance disappears and Willy, his step-mom, and the baby escape. Willy grabs some dynamite and rigs it up for the monster. Mance escapes through the tunnels to the water hole. Mance and Willy blow the monster up together while escaping.
on VHS
by Southgate Video in 1989 and in Canada that same year by Cineplex Odeon
. As of 2011, it has not been officially released on Region 1 DVD
.
Patrick Kilpatrick
Robert Donald Kilpatrick, Jr. is an American character actor with over 85 film and TV appearances to his credit. He made his film debut relatively late in 1985 with The Toxic Avenger.-Life and career:...
.
Plot
ComancheComanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
Indians have trapped the evil of their land in a monster made up of a mixture of other animals. The Comanche have placed a protective spear in the ground to contain the evil. A young boy pulls the spear from the ground while pocketing a rabbit foot talisman. He starts to play with the spear. A Comanche catches the boy, and startled, he runs away with the rabbit's foot. The Native American places the spear back, realizing too late that the rabbits foot is now gone. After that, white men come and start drilling for oil.
Skip to current time, a divorced father, Mance Cashen (played by Patrick Kilpatrick
Patrick Kilpatrick
Robert Donald Kilpatrick, Jr. is an American character actor with over 85 film and TV appearances to his credit. He made his film debut relatively late in 1985 with The Toxic Avenger.-Life and career:...
), moves to the area with his new wife, baby, and his son from his first marriage, Willy (played by Chris Miller
Chris Miller
Chris Miller is the name of:* Chris Miller , quarterback with the Oregon Ducks and the Atlanta Falcons* Chris Miller , American director of Shrek the Third...
), who is visiting. Willy notices something peculiar in the house and tries to warn his father and step-mother. They do not believe him. Willy is attacked while on a tire swing over a small water hole. The creature grabs his foot and Willy struggles, eventually getting away. He eventually befriends the local drunk, T. C. van Houten (played by Ford Rainey
Ford Rainey
Ford Rainey was an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:Rainey was born in Mountain Home, Idaho, the son of Vyrna , a teacher, and Archie Coleman Rainey. Rainey graduated from Centralia Junior College in Washington state and the Cornish Drama School in Seattle. He first acted on...
). A nice old man with some bad memories who knows something about the evil near the oil well and was in a situation similar to Willy's.
In the meantime a Comanche Indian, Chief Sam John (played by Michael Wren), comes to warn Mance of the evil and the need to keep it contained. Sam John informs Mance the evil was originally intended to stop the white man, but it is indiscriminate in whom it kills instead. Mance will have none of it. Willy eventually takes a spear he finds on his property to Sam John and tries to find out what is going on. Sam John convinces Willy to promise to stay out of the cellar and come get him if anything happens.
Willy, of course, has plans of his own and sets booby traps in the basement. He plans to trap it in sight so he can prove he isn't lying. As he lays the traps the creature gives him a scare and Willy runs away. T. C. dies shortly after by the evil. Willy decides to be more bold and makes another trip to the basement in order to stop the monster. This time armed with a flame thrower, electrical cables, and a lucky rabbits foot. The monster interrupts him and Willy must run away again.
Willy takes his Mance's ex-boss's son, Tommy Boatwright (played by Alex Pederson), with him to the water hole in order to set up bait for the monster. Tommy falls in and the monster eats him. The police suspect foul play from Mance on account of him being fired. Mance locks Willy in the kitchen with the cellar door nailed open to scare him into reality only to find out Willy was telling the truth. Willy electrocutes the monster, saving his dad. But the monster is only stunned. Mance disappears and Willy, his step-mom, and the baby escape. Willy grabs some dynamite and rigs it up for the monster. Mance escapes through the tunnels to the water hole. Mance and Willy blow the monster up together while escaping.
Cast
- Patrick KilpatrickPatrick KilpatrickRobert Donald Kilpatrick, Jr. is an American character actor with over 85 film and TV appearances to his credit. He made his film debut relatively late in 1985 with The Toxic Avenger.-Life and career:...
as Mance Cashen - Chris MillerChris MillerChris Miller is the name of:* Chris Miller , quarterback with the Oregon Ducks and the Atlanta Falcons* Chris Miller , American director of Shrek the Third...
as Willy Cashen - Suzanne SavoySuzanne SavoySuzanne Savoy is an American actress and voice actress. Best known for playing Susan Lombardo in The Man with the Perfect Swing. She also appears and does voice-overs for many commercials, and has roles ranging from minor to starring in both film, and television...
as Emily Cashen - Ford RaineyFord RaineyFord Rainey was an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:Rainey was born in Mountain Home, Idaho, the son of Vyrna , a teacher, and Archie Coleman Rainey. Rainey graduated from Centralia Junior College in Washington state and the Cornish Drama School in Seattle. He first acted on...
as T.C. van Houten - Lou PerrymanLou PerrymanLouis Byron "Lou" Perryman , also known as Lou Perry, was an American character actor. He acted in a number of small roles both on television and in films such as The Blues Brothers, Poltergeist, Boys Don't Cry and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.He was a film crew member on the original Texas...
as Kyle Boatwright (as Lou Perry) - Michael Wren as Chief Sam John
- Danny Mora as Chilo
- Alex Pederson as Tommy Boatwright
- Don CollierDon CollierDonald Collier is an American radio personality and a former actor, particularly known for his role in television westerns during the 1960s. He played U.S. Marshal Will Foreman in the 1960-1962 NBC series Outlaws, with Barton MacLane , Jock Gaynor , and Bruce Yarnell...
as Sheriff - Mindy Spence as Girl in Schoolyard
- Nick GomezNick GomezNick Gomez is an American film director and actor. He has directed for a number of television and film studios. He has also acted in a few minor films...
as Boy with Plane - Irv Gorman as Tony Turner
- Bryson G. Liberty as Striking Eagle (as Bryson Liberty)
- Sid Dawson as Joe
- Patrick Wells as Earl
- Michael Crawley as T.C.'s Father
Production
Director Kevin Tenney took over as director from original director John Woodward eight days into the film's shooting schedule.Release
The film was released in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
by Southgate Video in 1989 and in Canada that same year by Cineplex Odeon
Cineplex Odeon
Cineplex Odeon Corporation was one of North America's largest movie theatre operators, with theatres in its home country of Canada and the United States...
. As of 2011, it has not been officially released on Region 1 DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.