Cellar

I saw this film at the Philadelphia film festival in 2004. The film had quite a buzz so I was expecting something at least half way decent. It was more than half way decent. It was great. The story of two guys trapped in a locked cellar with no idea how they got there and no way out, could have very easily become a 'Saw' knockoff. But, what makes this film unique is the intimate touches of the script, and the continuing development of the characters. The writer/director Ben Hickernell first wrote this story as a play several years ago, before turning it into his first feature film. Sitting on this material for so long has undoubtedly helped the film's refined texture. Month's after seeing the film I continued to recall it's strong imagery. For me Cellar is reminder that big budgets and great classic storytelling are definitely not one in the same.