My Review Of "The Basement"

Directed by Brian M. Conley and Nathan Ives, "The Basement" is a twisted mix of torture porn, and psychological thriller. This indie horror stars Mischa Barton, Cayleb Long, Jackson Davis, Tracie Thoms, Bailey Anne Borders and Kareem J. Grimes. It is a low budget, nicely produced "3: An Eye For An Eye" meets "Split" meets "9 Days".

Craig is abducted and wakes up in a basement. His captor, Bill, is a twisted serial killer who wishes to reenact his own capture, with Craig playing the part of Bill and Bill playing everyone else. As Bill tortures Craig, he cycles through a number of personas, all while Craig tries desperately to find a way into Bill's pathology in order to save himself.

"The Basement" kicks off this basic horror premise with familiar fashion. An abduction and torture porn party favors. There is a quick but impressive set up scene that hints to the horrors in store, it tickles the horror bone and almost champions the idea that this is gonna be a nice, indie gem. Almost. 

Conley and Ives don't offer anything that hasn't been scene or written before, but they do show an effort in creating a story with continuity and depth. The production and cinematography is spot on,  edging toward perfect. The characters are standard constructs, common to most movies in this aubgenre, the notable standouts here are both Jackson Davis and Cayleb Long,  who give exceptional performances.

The acting at times falters somewhat, a few of Gemini Killer's personalities fall a bit flat- for the most part Davis rocks the crap out of his role. Long has a bit weaker dialog and isn't as developed as Davis' character, but still it is good enough to make their scenes together captivating. The contrasting scenes with Barton are slightly cumbersome, her character is way too two-dimensional, still it is one of her better performances. 

Special effects are limited, but what we get is quality, and play on classic torture tropes. The really big gore scene slips to mediocre slightly but it is still a fun, visceral treat. The real horror I'd heavy psychological melodrama and intense drama that holds solid between the two male leads. The score amps up the atmosphere and is a plus. 

Overall "The Basement" is a good movie, one of the better indie torture/revenge horrors I have seen lately. It isn't original by a long shot and the twisted reveal at the end is one you see coming. Still it is worth checking out and the issues aren't enough to kill the entertainment value - even the choppy mansion scenes with Mischa Barton don't hurt "The Basement" too much. (3/5)