Vintage Horror Review: The Basement (1989)

The best of the worst!

The Basement is an anthology horror film that begins with a group of strangers who find themselves in a strange basement where meet a supernatural creature called The Sentinel. The creature shows each person a horrible deed they have yet to commit. The first story (Swimming Pool), is about an unhappily married woman who finds out that something in her pool can be used to kill and eat her enemies. The second (Trick or Treat) is about a man who, for some reason, hates Halloween. This one is like a Christmas Carol for Halloween as monsters visit the man and urge him to change his Scroogey ways. Part three, (Zombie Movie) is about a bunch of undead ghouls attacking a sleazy B-movie set. The fourth and final story (Home Sweet Home) is about a man who, ignoring all warnings, purchases a haunted house.

The Basment has a bit of interesting story behind it. The entire thing was filmed on Super-8 cameras back in the 80's by Ghoul School director Timothy O'Rawe. The film was uncovered and restored by director of photography Michael Raso in 2010, and now, Camp Motion Pictures is releasing the film in a rare box set that includes 4 other Super-8 films and The Basment on both DVD and VHS tape. It's a real treasure for fans of bad horror and videovores alike. 

The Basement is poorly made, terribly acted, simply written, oddly dubbed and absolutely perfect. I love this movie, and just can't get enough of it. It's insanely cheesy in all the right ways. Due to its nearly non-existant budget, the monsters look like bad Halloween costumes, which makes the film so much better. 

This movie is a true gem of bad cinema, and one that all fans of 80's horror need to own.