“Cellar Door” by Vaughn Stein has a mix of family and thriller elements with the pitch focusing on the sacrifices that one can make for the greater good. Following their miscarriage, Sera (Jordana Brewster) and John (Scott Speedman) are looking for a fresh start and want to buy a new house. Once they’re about to settle for a house far below their budget, they’re offered a deal. Emmet (Laurence Fishburne), the seller offers a condition, which is to never open the cellar door, in exchange for the keys to the house. The problem here exists because the couple’s negotiation of controlling curiosity comes at a cost, if the door is opened the keys need to be returned.
While Sera wants to motivate herself by looking at the seller’s condition a little closer from an idealistic point of view, when the seller’s curiosity gets escalated, John Resorting to idealism himself rather shifts the burden of the mystery of not being able to open the door to himself. Despite the hesitation, they have the dream house they wanted. But with the trust issues in their relationship escalating, and whether or not they can sustain the reality of a house with so many unknowns, becomes a fundamental issue they have to deal with.
“Cellar Door” exhibits love through a rather practical lens. A practical approach to love sounds rather dull, which is where the cynicism stems from. The flick is centered around a couple played by Sam Scott and Lori Evans who penned the screenplay as well, however, it is scatterbrained, has poor to little writing, lacks perspective, and aggressively shoves symbolism down the viewer’s throat. And with all this in mind,, once the movie nears the end, it resorts to shamelessly copying better relationship thrillers such as “GONE GIRL” or “FATAL ATTRACTION” but without the intricacies.
The performances of the couple are alright, but alongside everything else, they feel rather dull. This lack of energy is made up for through the couple’s chemistry, where the sheer strength of their bond steals the show. There are barely any glimpses provided outside of work, which can be a hindrance but in this case, it works out for John as he has a dynamic workplace with a lot of different people, alongside friends which help flesh out his character. Sera is far more one-dimensional in comparison, with her only exterior being knowing she’s a professor through dull performances. She is not a character who is portrayed in a favorable light, being exhibited through the hairs birth she suffered, her aspiration to create a family and her denial of reality.
The house serves as the primary topic and location of the film, and with how rigid everything stays while progressing, it adds an additional layer of realism to the movie.
Stein’s home treating assignment with iceberg is not discussed further as more ideas are left unworked with creative liberty rather than left unexplored, with the upper-floor planning potential nursery as the ideal and the cellar as the mystery and repression, the salacious. The film as a whole is an exercise through and through which, while inclusive, is all devoid of any form of emotion characters, scenery, or sounds. Putting aside morose and dry-structure classroom insight of the metaphors, the slyness of the structure would allow “Cellar Door” to achieve the tension it desires. But this one note approach quite predictably proves lacking in terms of inducing commitment.
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