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The Cellar (2024) Breakdown: Smart Survival, Mind-Bending Twists & Killer Acting | Streamin’ Demons
15 Plays5 days ago
The Cellar (2024) gets the Streamin’ Demons treatment! Jo & Amelie unpack Meghan Adara's powerhouse performance, clever low-budget scares, psychological depth, and that head-scratching ending we still can't fully explain. From bra-escape ingenuity to realistic jump scares and beautiful lighting in tight spaces, this indie horror delivers big. We both loved how proactive and relatable the lead feels—no helpless victim here. Perfect slow-burn thriller that's way more entertaining than most Hollywood flicks these days. Check it out at https://linktr.ee/EmptyhellWe are Amazon Affiliates—as an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases if you click and buy through our links.
KEY MOMENTS
- Opening chaos – Jo riffs on discovering this gem via the R.I.P. Man team, late-night watch vibes, and Joe Bob Briggs auction madness
- Main plot or twist – Abigail wakes imprisoned with amnesia; smart escapes (yes, including THAT bra moment) and narrative flashes to AA meetings keep the pacing tight
- Character study – Meghan Adara carries the film with killer body language and zero victim tropes—proactive, realistic, award-worthy
- Jo’s big take – Lighting and sound done RIGHT (unlike some dark messes we've suffered), plus comparisons to Moon/Inception for cerebral rewatchability
- Amelie’s reflection – Jump scares that actually work, beautiful location details, no CGI overload—just situational tension and entertainment
- WTF moment – That ambiguous, snake-tinged ending...
Recommended
Transcript
00:00:05
Amelie
Cheers.
Introduction to 'Streaming Demons'
00:00:07
Jo
How, how, how, mother, uh, everyone. Welcome to Streaming Demons. My name is Joe. My co-host is on my hellos.
00:00:17
Jo
She's saying hello, hello. Today, Streaming Demons, we have a special one from you.
Discussion on 'The Cellar' (2024)
00:00:22
Jo
We have from the creators of R.I.P.R. Ripman. Ripman.
00:00:29
Jo
We've got The Cellar, a 2024 horror movie from director and writer Jamie Langlands. Starring Megan Nadara, Neil James, Charlotte Marshall.
00:00:43
Jo
Charlotte Marshall also started writing it with Jamie and Obi-Din. So this one came again from magically nowhere for me.
Experiences with 'The Cellar' and Auction Tales
00:00:54
Jo
It was one of the things we were talking about R.I.P. Man, and i appreciated this. i mean We loved the movie, so we were were're talking with the ah the team with it. and Like, oh, we got another one for youm like cool.
00:01:06
Jo
And they sent this, and we had to sit on it for a while because we had, like, the other movies we needed to to crunch out. And then Joe Bob Briggs' Last Drive-In, Cold CruelChristmas.com for the auction right now. I'm getting outbid on some things. I'm winning some things. Nice.
00:01:25
Jo
So all that madness had to happen and then we got some time to watch it.
Film's Plot and Psychological Elements
00:01:30
Jo
And I'll read you the IMDb. A young girl wakes up imprisoned underground with amnesia.
00:01:36
Jo
She must escape, unravel the mystery behind her captivity and confront her personal struggles. Suspenseful tale of survival, truth and inner turmoil on bolds. Horror movie, hour 25 minutes.
00:01:48
Jo
And it's won like a bazillion fucking awards. Like I'm looking at IMDb, it's 43
00:01:56
Jo
Just all over. We watched this two days ago. Was it Thursday? Today we're recording Saturday.
00:02:04
Amelie
I think so.
00:02:05
Jo
Yeah, I think so.
00:02:06
Amelie
I think so.
00:02:07
Jo
And we just, and you were like, what, 1 a.m. when you were watching it, I think, right?
00:02:13
Amelie
ah yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
00:02:15
Jo
Yeah, like we started kind of late.
00:02:17
Amelie
It was easy to watch.
00:02:19
Jo
yeah And that's ah another thing. It was like, and start we started watching it late. And usually for this is more of a, like a slow burn. It's like, I would say it's more of a psychological drama horror than like, are there blood and guts?
00:02:36
Jo
Yeah. Right. there's There's some blood and guts, but it's more psychological drama. It's more of that. And so sometimes if you watch those that late at night, the slower burns are like, you start.
00:02:48
Jo
die her But no, it held your attention.
Character Portrayal and Release Details
00:02:54
Jo
right
00:02:55
Amelie
Yeah, especially it was really smart. Like the victim was not a victim, that powerless victim far away from the caricature. The storyline was interesting.
00:03:07
Jo
Very interesting.
00:03:08
Amelie
The text was good. I watched it. It was low budget, but entertaining.
00:03:15
Jo
Yeah, I think you hit on the head. It's it's low budget in a way that it makes you feel good. Like I would watch this at Gen Con. like I can imagine this being screened at different places that do shows like Gen Con or whatever the Fangore is going to be.
00:03:32
Jo
And it does well. It does well. The release date was November 4th, 2025 the United States. So it's still relatively new. I guess 2024 was when came to the UK.
00:03:44
Jo
And Megan Adara, who plays Abigail, she has to kind of carry the entire movie. Like, without her, the movie is like 10 minutes.
00:03:56
Jo
So this is someone who's carrying the entire fucking movie.
00:03:57
Amelie
Yes. Yeah.
00:04:00
Amelie
Because most of the screen time, it's her in different situation and she's acting very well and she doesn't have any text.
00:04:01
Jo
Yeah.
00:04:04
Jo
Yeah.
00:04:08
Amelie
So it's just body language, situation, etc.
Performance and Social Media Challenges
00:04:11
Amelie
And it's very well done. Like she's really good.
00:04:15
Jo
Yeah, I agree. it's It's one of those things where i was watching something for the last drive-in yesterday and I didn't get to make this. I got my ass handed to me on X, by the way.
00:04:28
Jo
um Yesterday I was on X for the first time in two, three years. And i like one follower because I guess someone, like my email address popped up and they said, yeah, you know, invite, whatever.
00:04:42
Jo
I did the first movie to do the live tweeting on X. I got my ass handed to me for like two fucking hours of just like crickets, just like soul crushing nothingness.
00:04:56
Jo
i was like, fuck. Okay. I went back to Blue Sky for the second movie and everything like starts lighting up again. oh, people, people like me. They really like me. So when I'm seeing stuff, I have no idea. When seeing stuff in the movie for Last Drive, in the first movie, has like these classical actresses where when they're not saying something, you can see how acting can be done.
00:05:26
Jo
It's easier to act when you have a bunch of dialogue, unless it's like one big block of dialogue is too much, whatever it's But to react with the face and the presence and stuff like that, that that's the things that most people don't do anymore.
00:05:41
Jo
And when I saw it in the last drive-in last night, i was like, holy crap, that's exactly what Megan Adaro is doing. She's acting every moment.
00:05:54
Jo
She's on cam. And it's not a lot of written word. she not lot Not a lot of spoken word. But you feel the tension. You feel what she's going through because she's an amazing actress.
00:06:09
Jo
And award winning.
00:06:10
Amelie
Exactly, yes.
00:06:12
Jo
So we both liked it. and we but i made fun. I won't say why. i did make fun of you once during the movie. I'm like, oh, you'd be screwed.
00:06:24
Jo
Because she's she doesn't play victim like, oh, no, I'm helpless victim.
Realism and Practical Effects in Filmmaking
00:06:30
Jo
She's very proactive and I'm not, I don't think this is going to be a spoiler. It happens in the first like five minutes in a movie.
00:06:39
Jo
She uses her bra to get out of a tough situation.
00:06:43
Amelie
Yes, I really like that scene because compared to the other movie we watched, it's always like, oh my God, Michael, Michael, oh, there is an entity in the house.
00:06:51
Jo
Yeah.
00:06:52
Amelie
We're going to die. scream and they die and voila. Here we have a woman who is laid back, pretty normal street style, you know, in the movie.
00:07:03
Amelie
And she uses her bra to open the gate. And she's really good at it.
00:07:08
Jo
Right.
00:07:08
Amelie
And she brought her bra and she used it as a level and everything.
00:07:13
Jo
Hooks it up, latches and...
00:07:15
Amelie
And we were like, see, you would be in a situation. You would be fucked because you don't wear a bra. And I'm like, yeah, you're right.
00:07:24
Jo
I know.
00:07:24
Amelie
The only thing she goes back to basement and like, girl, no, I would do differently, you know.
00:07:32
Amelie
But I really like that movie because the place they filmed the movie is very interesting. It's very beautiful.
00:07:32
Jo
Run away!
00:07:40
Jo
Yeah.
00:07:40
Amelie
There is a lot of details. um It's not using CGI too much. It's really situational, situation scare.
00:07:50
Jo
Yeah. Really.
00:07:52
Amelie
um running around what does she do etc and it she's so entertaining like she does different thing and doesn't need a long dialogue doesn't need CGI she's really good at it and yeah I liked the movie I didn't understand the end of the movie but
00:07:53
Jo
I
00:08:09
Jo
agree.
00:08:13
Jo
It was 2 a.m. for you by that time like
00:08:15
Amelie
Yeah. I was waking up in the morning and my friend was like, so what did you do or yesterday? I watched a movie. What is it about? ah um People turning into snakes. And they were like trying to imagine. I'm like, yeah, but she she used a bra.
00:08:35
Amelie
She's s smart.
00:08:35
Jo
She's a bra like this.
00:08:35
Amelie
She used a bra.
00:08:39
Jo
Right? Exactly. Yeah.
00:08:39
Amelie
And there is snakes.
00:08:40
Jo
But that's the thing. i I agree. And in a good way in a good way. Because none of us woke up and said, oh, that was a waste.
00:08:51
Jo
was like, oh, was a good movie. What's about? How do I explain this? And that's a sign of a good movie for me.
00:08:56
Amelie
Yeah. And the actress, yeah.
00:08:58
Jo
Sometimes it's easier to explain in a movie, like in the big major tropes.
00:09:00
Amelie
Mm-hmm.
00:09:01
Jo
And we can probably nail this one down pretty well. But it's the, okay, what is it? what like How does it end? Well, we can't really spoil it for you because we can't.
00:09:12
Jo
Like, even if I told you exactly what bit by bit what happens, it's like trying to spoil the ending of Inception. You can't. You can't.
00:09:22
Amelie
Yes, you can. So you you make me, if you you you just put me in situation, like for example, I was with a friend, she's like, so what did you do last Saturday? Oh, you know, I'm feeling good. I'm having a podcast with a friend from America. Oh, lovely. What was the movie you watched? when It was about a big, dick
00:09:23
Jo
We felt giving...
Award-Winning Aspects and Narrative Devices
00:09:41
Amelie
big, big,
00:09:42
Jo
Oh yeah, the previous one.
00:09:43
Amelie
and a gossip and stuff. So try to explain that. And then, so what movie did you watch? Well, you know, people who are turned into snakes, but not snakes like that. Like, you know, it's just, but it's one character. She's Irish. She's a fantastic actress. Then people try to find her online.
00:09:59
Amelie
I'm like, yeah, I think I saw her. Is it this actress? So yeah, she make a great impression on me.
00:10:04
Jo
Yeah.
00:10:07
Amelie
The actress who, After the big big big don't Yeah, it's a big big big Yeah
00:10:07
Jo
Like influencer, yep.
00:10:16
Jo
Big, what was it?
00:10:16
Amelie
did
00:10:17
Jo
And for those who don't know, we're talking about Pig Hill. The previous one we recorded was for Pig Hill.
00:10:20
Amelie
yeah yeah it's a big big we've a big dig
00:10:23
Jo
And i think that's, the we went we got two things out of it, three. And oddly enough, it goes with this movie really well.
00:10:31
Amelie
yeah
00:10:31
Jo
Because the one thing we picked out was the dialogue, big dick pig, whatever, or big pig dick, whatever it was.
00:10:42
Jo
was like the only intelligible thing that was said for a while in that movie. And then you had like the lighting was shit. Like it was so fucking just on purpose shit.
00:10:52
Amelie
Dark, useless, and shit.
00:10:55
Jo
Yeah. And then you watch this movie where it happens and in a fucking cellar.
00:10:55
Amelie
Yeah.
00:10:58
Amelie
Mm-hmm.
00:11:01
Jo
And guess what? You can see things. It's lit well.
00:11:04
Amelie
Mm-hmm.
00:11:05
Jo
Yeah. You know it's supposed to be dark because they're using a little blue tinting.
00:11:06
Amelie
Mm-hmm.
00:11:10
Jo
You know, you know it's like, oh, it's dark down here. I get this. But I can also see things, which is nice because what's this called? It's a movie. You're supposed to fucking see it.
00:11:21
Amelie
Yeah, and you have different lighting and for example they have an AA meeting so you see everything is blue.
00:11:24
Jo
Yeah.
00:11:27
Amelie
You have the past, the present, the dream. You go to different places where light off but you see the different thing.
00:11:35
Amelie
It's a sort of hotel she is. It's dark but very gold. It's really well done.
00:11:35
Jo
Yeah.
00:11:41
Jo
It's well done. And one of the major issues, and then it's easy to see like from one movie to another why we didn't take to one movie because we just couldn't physically see anything on it. And the acting was just like, what the actual fuck? And all these other things were adding on to it.
00:11:59
Jo
And then you get this one. And it's like, oh, wow. All of those things that we had an issue with last week, This is like a bomb.
00:12:10
Jo
This is so well done. It's the writing smart. The acting is phenomenal. The lighting... I can't tell you how happy I was able to see... Just see these fucking scenes.
00:12:27
Jo
Because they didn't have to. It's called The Cellar. They could have just done this black bullshit and been done with it. But no, they actually took time with their craft. And the one... I say issue that we had with R.I.P. Man was some of the sound in the group settings gets washed.
00:12:48
Jo
You know, I think that was one the issues we had that everything else, the movie we we love. And this movie does not have that issue. The sound is perfect. You know, everything is done kind of by the numbers that the poster is kind of cool. It's i got the awards all over it, you know,
00:13:07
Jo
And this is one thing, because we won't spoil it. It's really hard to talk about the movie without giving major plot points away. We'll just once you start seeing the movie, it becomes evident of the direction the story's narrative takes.
00:13:27
Jo
Like this happens, and then once you see this part, you know it's going to flash into the AA meeting again. And this happens once you see this part, you know, it's going to flash into the right.
00:13:35
Amelie
Correct. Yes.
00:13:37
Jo
So there's ah there's a narrative device that works like that, and which I can say with without spoiling. Right. But it's fun. It kind of paces the movie.
00:13:47
Jo
Well, this could have been a awful fuck pacing where you're just grinding through a slow burn for our 25 minutes, but it's not, it's not.
00:13:57
Amelie
Yeah, and I had jump scare.
00:13:57
Jo
And for psychological thrillers, nice.
00:13:59
Jo
Yeah.
00:13:59
Amelie
I admit it to you, I had jump scared.
00:14:04
Jo
Yeah.
00:14:04
Amelie
Like, yeah, yeah, no, no, no. I was really intrigued to see how she get out of the cellar. And there were a few times where I was like, whoa, you know, I jumped, I jumped.
00:14:16
Jo
yeah It was decent.
00:14:17
Amelie
ah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:14:20
Jo
It was decent.
00:14:21
Amelie
It's not... So for those who like a lot of blood and everything, it's not like that. Not at all.
00:14:27
Jo
Oh. That's RIP, man.
00:14:28
Amelie
It's pretty realistic. and But jump scare, guys. Jump scare. Very simple jump scare.
00:14:34
Jo
And it it pays off well. And they're not doing... I saw Conjuring last race and they tried to do the jump scare. But by then you're like, the 12 fucking Conjuring movie. And ah oh, a doll. It doesn't frighten me. I'm so sorry. No.
00:14:47
Jo
And here it earns its jump scares because it's almost like... It's not even trying to. Like you don't feel like they're trying to force a jump scare. It is a jumps scar because is a jump scare a jump scare.
00:15:00
Jo
And because it's a natural one. It's not someone waiting behind the corner going, boom. You know. Which I do a lot, by the way.
00:15:12
Jo
So if there's a lot of corners in your house, I'm just saying, people, don't have me over. I would actually stand behind a corner or a sofa for days just to scare you. Warnings.
00:15:23
Jo
Now, the seller 2024, can't...
00:15:28
Jo
i can't imagine this not being a theater movie. I think that works really well on the big screen. I would watch it with pop you know the whole popcorn and go in the movie type thing.
Theatrical Experience and Recommendations
00:15:44
Jo
It would be almost interesting to see in 3D because it can get claustrophobic with some of the underground stuff. But you know that's just me but you would Would you watch this in the theater?
00:15:55
Amelie
Definitely.
00:15:56
Jo
Yeah? Yeah.
00:15:57
Amelie
Definitely. would like to point out the actress is so interesting and the plot of the actress is so interesting. It's really entertaining. Like I find the first 15 minutes of the movie way more entertaining than the Hollywood movie we watch nowadays.
00:16:10
Jo
Yeah.
00:16:15
Amelie
There is no sexy scene, there is no woman in sexy clothes, if you see what I mean. She's really like jean t-shirt shoes and she's trying her best to get out.
00:16:26
Amelie
And she's got makeup, she's trying her best, she's not panicked, there is no fake tears or anything. It makes sense. Like, I really like it. I was looking at that. was like, oh, who even if she was in the Middle East trying to get out of prison, I was looking looking at that.
00:16:45
Amelie
Like, it's so realistic with the music, the sounds, silence, etc. Like, I like it.
00:16:49
Jo
Yeah, I agree. i like it. And like the the same actress, I believe, is also allegedly allegedly someone in Rip Man.
00:17:01
Jo
I'm going to call it Rip Man, mate. No, R.I.P. man. But it's the.
00:17:07
Jo
You know what this almost reminds me of? And this might be unfair. It reminds me of some of ah Duncan Jones's old works. Like when he was really putting out like Moon and Source Code and stuff like that, right?
00:17:24
Jo
Because their' Moon and Source Code are completely different fucking movies. Genre-wise, they're akin. But... Otherwise, they're completely fucking different movies.
00:17:35
Jo
R.I.P. Man and The Cellar, completely different fucking movies. And just like Source Code and Moon, Moon is more akin to Cellar, right?
00:17:47
Jo
It's more of a slow, cerebral environment where Source Code is still cerebral, but it's more action-packed, boom, boom, boom, like Man or R.I.P. Man or R.I.P. Man or R.I.P.
00:17:59
Jo
So I think this is to be amazing. I do believe we're going to have him on for what's cracking later on. But I can't wait to talk. And this is a great way to kind of wind down the year.
00:18:12
Jo
If you have not seen The Cellar with... there's like There's a lot of movies called The Cellar. So here we go. The Cellar with Jamie Langlands as director and writer.
00:18:26
Jo
Starring Megan Adara. Watch that one. Rent it, stream it, steal it. Don't steal it. Pay for it. Rent it and stream it. Right? Buy it. It's all good.
00:18:37
Jo
And you will be entertained. It's rewatchable. If you think Inception is rewatchable, going to think the seller is rewatchable. If you hated Inception, still watch the seller.
00:18:50
Jo
Because it's horror. I love it. I think that's fair, yeah. if I think this a rewatchable movie, especially.
Indie Film Charm and Closing Remarks
00:19:00
Amelie
Yeah, I think it's so that's why I really like to watch, you know, B-movie, as I said, and movie or low cost, because often you can discover very interesting actors you never heard about.
00:19:10
Jo
Yeah.
00:19:11
Amelie
Or there are synopses who are really interesting. The movie can be bad, but the synopsis really good.
00:19:18
Amelie
Or, for example, you can have a good laugh. But I'm telling you, as the first 20 minutes of the movie, you're going to be entertained with just a little bit. And she's doing an excellent. She's great. She's great.
00:19:18
Jo
Yeah.
00:19:30
Jo
She's amazing. It was a good find. All right. The Cellar 2024.
00:19:33
Amelie
Thank you.
00:19:35
Jo
Check it out. Up next, up next, another episode of Streaming Demons. Until then, we could talk about some dogmen next time. Until then, we wish all of your Christmases and holidays are not cold and cruel. So go to coldcoolchristmas.com and check out Joe Bob Briggs' stuff.
00:20:00
Jo
Buy some freight rags. Buy the big-ass cup subs. Buy the cold, cruel hoodies. The cold, cruel t-shirts. All that and more for some great charities.
00:20:12
Jo
Including a lot that I'm more than familiar with. right. So, Joe and my co-host, Amelie, we bid you good day. Bye, y'all.
00:20:23
Jo
See next time.