Basements can be frightening places, but they can also be a kind of refuge if you fix them up nicely and settle in. Also, the distinction between a basement and a cellar is that a basement is essentially part of the foundation of a home, whereas a cellar is an empty space beneath the home that is not a part of the foundation. Both are spaces beneath the original building so in that vein this list will be taking from both. As it so happens, a lot of movies use either or to make an impact.
How they use it and which they use is all dependent on the needs of the film.
Home Alone
When you’re a kid the basement can be a very creepy place. The smells, the musty feeling of the place, and of course the menacing shadows that seem to loom whenever you’re not looking directly at them. It doesn’t really help that your imagination fills in the blanks and makes it that much worse either. But eventually you can get used to the place and realize it’s not that bad.
Psycho
We all go a little mad sometimes. Yeah, sometimes, not 24/7 on full tilt. Norman Bates said bye-bye to sanity a long, long time ago. The kind of guy that keeps his mother’s corpse in a basement and then dresses up to blame the murders he commits on here doesn’t seem all that sound of mind. I would say give him a break what with the way Bates Motel showed how he became who he is, but really, he’s just kind of sick.
The Benchwarmers
First of all, this guy’s basement is a testament to childhood. It’s sad in a way because he never really grew up completely, being driven to the point that he felt the need to hide away from the world. But it’s impressive when you think about it. The guy has his own little mini-castle in his basement, and it’s lined with actions figures as guards. It would be cool if the two in the clips were kids, but considering they’re adults it’s kind of, well, sad. But it’s still an awesome basement.
Evil Dead 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuB6Vnq138g
Yes, it’s a fruit cellar. But technically it is another room beneath the house. Unfortunately for Ashe it has a hidden secret that no one was thinking about when they tossed him down the stairs. Luckily for the hero he doesn’t suddenly erupt in a fountain of blood like others that get dragged the dark, which is funny because the demon had a good long time to do something nasty to him. But then this is Ashe we’re talking about, the guy that from the first film has been kicking butt and forgetting important words to banish the undead. He can handle it.
The Goonies
Leave it to Chunk to smell ice cream through a LOCKED door. And of course leave it to Chunk to ignore the plastic-wrapped corpse that’s leaning in the corner getting all nice and stiff. Chunk must have bumped the body though as it’s kind of hard to believe that the corpse just fell over all on its own when it was stuffed into the corner of the freezer.
Basements are inherently creepy unless you can deal with them or they are used in a recreational sort of way. The best basements however are usually those found in horror films.
Follow Us
