The Beast in the Cellar (1970)

User Rating:

4.2/10   

Director:

James Kelley

Writer:

James Kelley (original screenplay)

Release Date:

August 1970 (UK)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

A chill-filled festival of horror!

Plot:

Two spinsters have kept their mad brother locked up in their cellar for 30 years. Then he escapes ... |

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Cast

Beryl Reid	...	Ellie Ballantyne
Flora Robson	...	Joyce Ballantyne
John Hamill	...	Cpl. Alan Marlow
Tessa Wyatt	...	Joanna Sutherland
T.P. McKenna	...	Supt. Paddick
John Kelland	...	Sergeant Young
David Dodimead	...	Dr. Spencer
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Sir Bernard Newsmith
Dafydd Havard	...	Stephen Ballantyne
Gail Lidstone	...	Young Ellie
Elizabeth Choice	...	Young Joyce
Merlyn Ward	...	Young Stephen
Anthony Heaton	...	Anderson
Chris Chittell	...	Baker (as Christopher Chittell)
Peter Craze	...	Roy

Also Known As:

Are You Dying, Young Man?
Young Man, I Think You're Dying

Runtime:

101 min | USA:88 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | USA:R | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Leander Films

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the flashback of the family going to the railway station in a pony and trap to meet their father coming home from the First World War, as they get to the station the white lines can be clearly seen in what must be the present day car park.

Soundtrack:

She Works in a Woman's Way

Contrived, but interesting horror flick

A soldier walks alone in the ever darkening sunset. Suddenly he is attacked by a creature. You know this because the camera is shaken around, there is disjointed screaming, and the same photo of a bloody slash mark is subliminally flashed. This was obviously to avoid too much editing by the censor, but I immediately thought, "Great, a 1970's crap horror movie. Worth watching" Then the laid back, easy-listening trumpet title tune put the icing on the cake - more cocktail lounge than horror film it is immediately at odds with the theme of the film. After the intro, the usual chapter with the detectives investigating the incident scene. You don't actually see the body, but the contrived commentary by the detectives gives you a good idea of its condition. "Hmmmm, deep lacerations to the face and body made by talons, I'd say." You get the picture. This thorough off the cuff autopsy by the detectives gets them off on the wrong foot by making the assumption that it's a Panther.

Apart perhaps from the two leading actresses and T P McKenna, there is little evidence of any real acting. The soldier that keeps an eye on the two old dears was probably a real soldier - he appeared to be reading from idiot boards such was his woodeness. However, the story does get a bit more involved and at times seems well written, so you shouldn't judge this film by the first amusing half hour.