Cellar Door (2024) Review: Despite the Subversive Third Act, This Would-Be Psychological Thriller Misses the Mark

Here’s the biggest question about Cellar Door: What’s behind that titular locked door? According to the enigmatic Emmett Claybourne (Laurence Fishburne), where the broker introduces John (Scott Speedman) and Sera (Jordana Brewster) to him as the married couple is looking to start a new life in a suburb, he offers them an opportunity too irresistible to reject. And that is, they can stay in his McMansion as long as they adhere to one simple condition: They must never open the cellar door.

Before the meeting with Emmett takes place, the movie establishes John and Sela’s plights from the beginning. They are originally from the city of Portland, happily married and looking forward to their first child. They have respective great jobs: John works at an architecture firm while Sera teaches math. But their blissful life ends with Sera suffering from an unfortunate miscarriage, leaving them heartbroken. Meeting Emmett seems like fate, not to mention perfect timing for John and Sera for a fresh start.

Everything’s good at first but their decision to move into Emmett’s McMansion is subsequently met with a stroke of bad luck. This is especially true with John finds himself suspended from work until further notice after his co-worker and ex-lover, Alyssa (Addison Timlin) accuses him of sexual harassment. As Sera decides to go back to teaching math, John chooses not to tell her what happens at work — a result that soon spirals out of control including jeopardising their relationship.

Cellar Door runs 90-minute-plus but it sure feels longer, evidently with Sam Scott and Lori Evans Taylor’s padded-out screenplay that focuses more on John and Sera’s marital problems than the mystery of the cellar dollar. It’s not like there isn’t a moment where one of them, particularly John becomes increasingly curious to find out what’s inside the cellar door. But I can’t help feeling it’s more of an afterthought and the so-called thriller angle in this movie is pretty much a hit-and-miss affair.

The problem here is that the movie lingers too long trying to get to the point and even misses some opportunities along the way. Case in point: the sexual harassment subplot revolving around John and Alyssa and their past relationship can be used to spice up the story but the result is disappointingly tame in its execution.

The movie also requires a suspension of disbelief. No, make that a huge suspension of disbelief because you have to buy the fact that a well-educated couple like John and Sera barely hesitate to stay in such a big place like Emmett’s McMansion seemingly free of charge and mind you, it’s not even temporary. Free as in the capital “F” and although there’s an earlier scene where John feels it’s too good to be true for such an impossible offer, the fundamental logic is quickly thrown out of the window and wants us to just accept the story as it is. Suspension of disbelief would have worked if the story could distract the viewers with enough suspense, intrigue or red herring to stay invested throughout the movie.

Too bad the constantly erratic pace and lull moments often dull the story. As for the cast, Scott Speedman and Jordana Brewster are adequate in their roles of an attractive married couple coping with difficulties. Laurence Fishburne made good use of his otherwise limited scenes as the mysterious Emmett Claybourne while Addison Timlin looks the part playing a bunny boiler type of character. Interestingly, Cellar Door explores an unlikely allegorical angle connected between the titular cellar door and John and Sera’s respective psychological explorations and consequences as it approaches the third act. It may be too late and too little but still, it’s worth mentioning here.