'Cellar Door' Fails to Impress Critics

         On November 1, 2024, Lionsgate released 'Cellar Door', which has received predominantly negative reviews from critics. In the film, "A wealthy homeowner offers to give his beautiful estate to a couple who's looking for a fresh start. However, their dream home comes with one unusual caveat -- they can never open the cellar door." The ensemble cast includes Scott Speedman, Jordana Brewster, and Addison Timlin. But what did the critics say?

       Brian Orndorf of Blu-ray.com says, "Scott and Taylor don’t follow the potential of the cellar door, quickly putting the mystery on the backburner to deal with relationship issues between Sera and John. For the architect, his work life has been derailed by sexual harassment allegations from Alyssa, putting him on suspension, unable to tell his wife what’s going on. He builds a layer cake of lies instead, struggling to handle Alyssa and the fallout from their affair. This is the tale “Cellar Door” wants to pursue, aiming for a psychological study of a dishonest man trying to stop his life from unraveling. “Cellar Door” periodically returns to the unknown, as John uses his free time to figure out an alternate route into the basement, and he researches previous owners. There’s also the discovery of a bullet buried in a wall." Adding, "It’s very strange to watch “Cellar Door” avoid becoming a more suspenseful film. The writers are clearly trying to use a MacGuffin to help explore what becomes a melodrama of sorts, getting away from the unknown to highlight troubling behaviors and burgeoning insanity. A dissection of marital trust is the final destination of the movie, but the writing just isn’t strong enough to pull off the magic trick of misdirection. Director Vaughn Stein (the consistently underwhelming helmer behind “Terminal,” “Every Breath You Take,” and “Inheritance”) doesn’t add enough visual tension to the effort, and his command of casting leaves much to be desired. The feature ultimately becomes a study of relationships put to the test, which isn’t nearly as enticing as the secrets of the cellar door."

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'Teacup' is a Halloween Treat

         On October 10, 2024, Peacock premiered 'Teacup', with all episodes available for a binge watch at the time of this writing, garnering positive reviews from critics as the series currently holds at 73% on Rotten Tomatoes. In the series, "A disparate group of people in rural Georgia must come together in the face of a mysterious threat in order to survive." The ensemble cast includes Scott Speedman, Alice Kremelberg, Yvonne Strahovski, and Ashley Shelton. But what did the critics say?

        Zofia Wijaszka of Nerdspin says, "Teacup" feels swift, engaging, and rarely tiresome, with some brutal scenes that will leave you speechless. While some questions in season 1 remain unanswered, the show sets the stage for future revelations, leaving viewers hopeful for continuation." Adding, "The narrative can get chaotic with multiple intertwining storylines, but it remains compelling, demanding close attention. As the Chenoweth family faces strange occurrences, they must collaborate with neighbors trapped alongside them: Ruben Stanley (Chaske Spencer), his wife (Diany Rodriguez), their son Nicholas (Luciano Leroux), as well as Donald (Boris McGiver) with his wife Mary Alice (Ashley Shelton). The broad supporting ensemble cast is solid, as the characters complement and play off one another."

       Jenna Scherer of AV Club notes, "This show could have been an email. We’re not kidding. Peacock’s new horror-tinged sci-fi thriller isn’t only one of the least imaginative shows of 2024; it’s also crackling with so much dead air that each 35-minute episode could be trimmed down to a tight five. The amount of times characters tell each other how scared they are could fill the runtime of a Marvel movie. Take this exchange between two teens: “I’m petrified.” “I’m petrified, too.” “We can be petrified together.” “Yeah, maybe we can.” (Also, when was the last time you heard a Zoomer use the word “petrified” in casual conversation?) Teacup is nominally the creation of writer-producer Ian McCulloch (Yellowstone, Chicago Fire), but the writing is so soulless and the plot so tropey that we have a sneaking suspicion it was penned by ChatGPT. "

        Proma Khosla of indieWire praises the series, stating, "I tore through “Teacup” in two days. The Peacock thriller based on Robert McCammon’s “Stinger” premieres on October 11 and will continue in two-episodes installments, but the wait between them is agonizing. “Teacup” takes place over the course of one harrowing night and day amid a major supernatural threat — the kind of premise and pacing that would’ve made a killer feature along the lines of “Cloverfield” or “Attack the Block.” Ian McCulloch serves as showrunner and executive producer along with McCammon, James Wan, and more. Alas, “Peacock” debuts in the era of streaming, the era in which a novel’s TV adaptation veers toward audiobook in terms of run time. This is the era of “We’re not making a TV show, we’re making a multi-part movie” (to its credit, the average “Teacup” episode is closer to 30 minutes than to 60 or even 45), and for a story like “Teacup” that just crushes the momentum." Continuing, "The cast soldiers through, Strahovski so in command of her character that not only did I instantly shed her “Handmaid’s Tale” persona, but I pretty much forgot that “The Handmaid’s Tale” exists (Season 6 in spring 2025!). Others do their best with limited material, including Scott Speedman, Chaske Spencer, Rob Morgan, and Boris McGiver. Dolden is appropriately haunting, while Kathy Baker gets a nice action scene, and Jackson Kelly leaves one of the strongest impressions as young local investigating what’s happening, even if his backstory is largely separate from the rest."

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash