Colin Childress (Jeffrey Combs) is a famous artist known for drawing the comic book series known as Cellar Dweller. His creation is a monster that is a combination between a werewolf and a vampire. He works in his basement studio. While working on his drawings he uses an ancient book of magic as inspiration and inadvertently creates the actual monster (Michael Deak) from his illustrations. The creature kills a young woman in front of Childress. Realizing what he has done, Childress attempts to set his drawings on fire thus destroying the monster. In the process Childress sets his studio and himself on fire. The police believe it was a murder suicide and close the case.
Thirty years later the Childress home has been turned into an artist colony called the “Throckmorton Institute for the Arts”. In residence are Mrs. Briggs (Yvonne De Carlo), Phillip Lemley (Brian Robbins), Amanda (Pamela Bellwood), Lisa (Miranda Wilson) and Norman Meshelski (Vince Edwards). The newest artist to join the institute is Whitney Taylor (Debrah Farentino). Whitney is a fan of Colin Childress and is also a comic book artist.
Whitney convinces Mrs. Briggs to let her use the basement studio to do her work. She enlists Phillip to help her clean the space. Whitney finds the ancient book that Childress used to conjure up the monster. When Whitney begins drawing the monster, she inadvertently reanimates the creature in real life. The monster begins to manifest its own scenarios. Drawings begin to appear where the monster is stalking and killing the other members of the colony. Whitney eventually realizes that the monster has taken over and is systematically destroying and devouring the residents of the institute.
“Cellar Dweller” was released in 1987 and was directed by John Carl Buechler. It is an American horror fantasy movie.
Director Buechler is also a special effects artist and created the Cellar Dweller monster. The comic art drawn by Combs’ character for the film was made by Frank Brunner.
The monster is a guy in a suit, and although it is a little silly, it fits in quite well with the tone of the movie. The comic book atmosphere is reminiscent of Tales from the Crypt and has some of that same entertaining camp. Nudity and carnage are at a minimum but there is enough of it to add some interest. The overall flavor of the film reminds me of Lovecraft’s style of writing but less insane and on a smaller budget. Overall, it is a fun and entertaining film.