The Cellar (2024) | Film Review

There’s a certain thrill that comes with stepping into the darkness in horror — the unknown, the implied, the what-lies-just-out-of-frame. The Cellar aims directly at that primal fear of what creeps beneath and what terrors might be locked behind familiar walls. Unfortunately, while it wants to be a slow-burn descent into dread, it stumbles more than it haunts.

The Cellar (2024) | Film Review

From the very first moments, this low-budget chiller throws us into the unknown: a young woman awakes, confused, and trapped underground with no memory — an immediate “what is this?” that echoes through its entire runtime. However, there is something to admire in the gutsy setup Jamie Langland’s gone with and how it prioritises mystery over cheap bloodshed. Unfortunately, atmosphere alone can’t conjure up a fully satisfying experience.

The performances are a mixed bag, but again this is expected to a point within indie horror films. The lead, Megan Adara, carries much of the film’s emotional weight with admirable grit and presence — she is convincing in both terror and determination — but supporting characters sometimes feel slightly wooden and underutilised.

Visually, The Cellar likes to play with shadows and mood, and there are flashes of genuinely eerie cinematography that creates a few wonderful moments of tension. Fans of slow-burn horror will find moments here that do untether a chill — particularly in sequences that focus on sound design and suffocating silence rather than the usual jump scare toolkit. Personally, I think that was one of the strongest points in the film. Furthermore, Langland's choice for minimalistic dialogue made for some interesting moments; at times the silence was almost deafening.

The Cellar (2024) | Film Review

But where the film starts to unsettle, it soon gets somewhat tangled. The pacing drags and repeats, and you begin to feel the story circling the same dark corners rather than heading somewhere new. I found all too often the film leans too heavily on clichés without giving anything that would leave a lasting impression. And when the ending arrives, there’s a sense of unfinished business that might frustrate more than intrigue.

Where The Cellar does score points though, is in concept. It toys with interesting thematic threads — identity, psyche, addiction, trauma, survival — and there are flashes of a deeper idea buried beneath the creeping dread. It commits hard to restraint, and that’s something a lot of modern horror forgets how to do. It trusts the audience enough to sit in discomfort without constantly explaining itself or blasting jump scares every five minutes.

That confidence — especially for an independent horror film — gives the film a more mature, almost arthouse edge at times. Even when it falters, you can feel the filmmakers aiming for unease over spectacle, and that intention alone earns a certain amount of respect.

Final Verdict

The Cellar is ambitious but uneven — a movie that reaches for existential terror but only occasionally grasps it. Considering this is a feature directorial debut from Jamie Langlands, it shows a lot of potential and promise. It’ll be interesting to see what he’s capable of with a bigger budget.

To conclude, it’s not a bad film, just something I wouldn’t rush to re-watch and not really my cup of tea, so-to-speak. If slow, atmospheric horror with mood over jump scares is your thing, there are moments here that will keep you watching. But if you want a haunting tale with a payoff that truly stays with you, you may come away a little disappointed.

The Cellar is out now. Check out the trailer below.