Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Cellar Dweller Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 22, 2023

Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of Arrow's Enter the Video Store: Empire of Screams set.

The vagaries of fame and/or fortune can often be positively confounding, and in that regard it's maybe just a little odd that Charles Band has never seemed to have quite risen to the "immediate name recognition" factor of people like, say, Roger Corman. This may seem especially strange in that Band not only has tended to work in the same kind of less fulsomely budgeted B movie environment that Corman often has, with both sharing a penchant for somewhat sly, winking horror films, but also because Band founded not one but two "studios", Empire Pictures (the "subject" of this collection) and, after the demise of that enterprise, Full Moon Pictures, which continues to release Blu-rays to this day. When you add in the fact that Band hails from a really rather notable family which includes an at least somewhat famous grandfather, father, and various offspring and/or other relatives, the lack of general renown for Band becomes even more inexplicable. Arrow Video is coming to the rescue of this conundrum, however, with this elaborately packaged collection of several Band productions for Empire Pictures which should be of interest to genre aficionados, even if this set can't quite match the extravagance of Band's own Empire Pictures Collection release from several years ago, an immense offering which included all of these films on Blu-ray, save Arena, which was on DVD in that set. As fans will know (or can find out by clicking on links provided in individual reviews), the Empire set was not the only time some of these films have had prior releases on Blu-ray.

As mentioned above, Cellar Dweller has had prior releases on Blu-ray, as part of a Shout! Factory Cellar Dweller / Catacombs double feature, which then (if I'm understanding things correctly) was included in the massive Empire set linked to above. Martin Liebman's Cellar Dweller Blu-ray review provides a brief plot recap.

Cellar Dweller Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Cellar Dweller is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's perfect bound booklet included with this set offers the following information on the restoration:

Cellar Dweller is presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio with stereo sound. A high definition feature master was supplied by MGM via Park Circus. Additional grading and picture restoration work was completed by R3Store Studios.

Some videophiles may wonder, as I do, if the "high definition feature master" supplied by MGM via Park Circus, is the same one that Marty mentioned Shout! and Full Moon offered a disclaimer for, to whit:

The new HD transfer was created from the only surviving film element, a film print, direct from MGM's vaults. Some video and audio anomalies may be present.

That said, the back cover of this release states that "additional grading and picture restoration" was done by Arrow, and this version at least offers the film in its proper aspect ratio (the Shout! release was 1.78:1). This doesn't quite have the luster of the 4K OCN source scans for a couple of the other films in this set, but it probably improves at least marginally on the somewhat inconsistent older transfer. There are still variances in detail levels, and a lot of the dark material suffers from crush and generally less fulsome detail. Based solely on screenshots, it looks to me like grain is a bit better resolved in this version, and palette is just slightly more suffused and arguably a tad warmer than on the older release. My score is 3.75.

Cellar Dweller Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Marty wasn't especially enthusiastic about the older Blu-ray's audio quality, but I found nothing particularly lacking in this disc's LPCM 2.0 audio. The lo-fi (no pun intended) nature of the production means the sound design is not especially ambitious, but there's good support for both effects, especially when the title character starts marauding around, as well as Carl Dante's score and all dialogue. Optional English subtitles are available.

Cellar Dweller Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary features special makeup effects artist Michael Deak along with Empire Pictures fans Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain in this newly recorded track.


• Grabbed by the Ghoulies (HD; 16:03) once again features Matty Budrewicz and David Wain, here in a appreciation of special make up effects artist John Carl Buechler.


• Inside the Cellar (HD; 16:30) is an interview with the aforementioned Michael Deak.


• Trailers

  VHS Trailer (HD: 1:15)

  
  

  More Films by Empire Pictures (HD; 11:23)

  
  

  More Films by Empire Pictures (VHS Mode!) (HD; 17:01)

• Image Galleries

  Behind the Scenes (HD; 1:40)

  
  

  Artwork and Stills (HD)

• Original Sales Sheet (HD)


• Original Production Notes (HD)

Additionally the keepcase features a reversible sleeve, and houses a folded mini poster and art cards.

Cellar Dweller Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Cellar Dweller is another patently goofy homage to monster movies of yore, and where else are you going to be able to see Ben Casey and Lily Munster co-starring with each other? Technical merits are generally solid, and this release provides some fun supplements, arguably making it more appealing to fans than the older release, which had none.