The Cellar Door

MONTEREY
Street: April 8
Prebook: March 11
> Grim little shocker could break out beyond the “torture porn” audience.

In this oddly compelling effort, James DuMont plays a doughy, balding, unlikely suburban monster in starched pajamas who abducts gorgeous Michelle Tomlinson for the usual psychotic reasons (he has a wedding fetish and wants her corpse as his bride; he has done things like this before, etc.). Though DuMont doesn’t actually torture her, there are plenty of surgical implements in full sight to compel her not to go home. Unfortunately, a grocery store clerk, two missionaries and the girl’s best friend are not so lucky. Director Matt Zettel, heretofore an assistant director on a slew of B titles, reveals his filmmaking influences here, and, clearly, he has more than one Mario Bava and Dario Argento disc in his collection.

Shelf Talk: This ambitious indie will likely be shelved next to such disturbingly popular “torture porn” titles as Hostel and Saw and its offspring, but Cellar Door’s restraint in the use of chains and carving knives and its emphasis on thriller aspects broaden its appeal beyond gorehounds. Still, there’s enough of the red stuff to appease those who crave it, and Monterey is wisely targeting a national marketing campaign to the Fangoria crowd. Cellar Door is currently in the midst of a limited theatrical run to expose it to a wider audience and raise general awareness.