This is an extended version of the director’s short film The Ten Steps, and recommended one watch that instead. A tightly told and simple short is now bloated into an sprawling narrative involving alchemical mathematics, mysterious stairways, and demon entities named Baphomet. If you recognize the ridiculous nature of that last statement, then you might be actually amused by what follows. Everyone else will likely roll their eyes. The movie feels like three different films thrown together, one of which is actually fairly decent, one forgettable, and the last a deep staircase into the deeply dumb. The big mansion is spooky, there are great visuals and ominous scenes, and the setup is a slow build supernatural mystery. However, what becomes glaringly apparent, is that the parenting skills of the main characters are far more horrific than potential demonic visitation. They ignore, neglect, and on occasion actively work to put their children in mortal peril. The script has some decent potential, but the execution is pretty bad by an entire troupe of over-actors and annoying children. While there, are some interesting practical effects involved, but the main entity looks so bafflingly bad it makes the subsequent scenes hilarity, like fights on a bad 80s tv show. The last act is hectic and rushed, but ends with a pretty brutal reveal that plays off like a love letter to Fulci film. On the whole, there is not much gore and little action, just a lot of build and playing off traditional haunted house tropes. On the whole, while bookended by amusing concepts and a strong ending, this movie is pretty weak and more amusing than terrifying.
The Cellar (2022)