Here at Strictly Splatter we are not afraid to voice our discontent when a movie sucks! If I have to sit through 90 minutes of cinematic excrement you can bet you’re going to hear about it. On the other hand when a film succeeds and rocks our expectations, that will certainly be made clear. Timothy O’Rawe’s (Ghoul School) unassuming feature, The Basement, quite simply left me enthralled. Said film is a horror anthology shot on super-8. Despite a modest budget, O’Rawe’s clever craftsmanship produces four quality camp horror tales to rival anything from HBO’s Tales From the Crypt.

Four strangers find themselves in a gloomy basement. They have all been summoned by a foreboding being who calls himself 'The Sentinel'. They shall each be condemned for subsequent sins which they have yet to commit. One by one we witness each character’s inexorable ruin. The first tale is called "The Swimming Pool". Victoria is an unfaithful whore who is privy to a demonic force in her swimming pool that devours anything that goes into the water. She lures her husband, and pretty much anyone who has pissed her off, into the pool where a geyser drowns the victims.

In "Trick or Treat" Charles, a school teacher who loathes Halloween and children, is visited by four angry ghosts (one being his late wife) and warned to change his feelings on the holiday. This was my favorite story because the ghosts were terribly chilling. We get several examples of ingenious make-up work and creature effects. His wife’s ghost appears as a rotting corpse in her tattered burial dress. Then we have a tall demon in a suit with wild hair and a mouth crammed with long sharp teeth who spews green bile as he talks. There is also a scary as fuck mummy who pulls Charles’ tongue out and eats it.

The third story is called "Zombie Movie". Mr. Analman (pun probably intended) is an asshole horror director filming a zombie flick which takes a detour one night when a shitload of real zombies rise-up from the earth. This scene utilized a rock metal riff that made the experience sparkle. While Analman is snorting cocaine in his trailer with two dumb broads the ravenous zombies surround the vehicle and Analman has to come up with a survival plan.

The final tale is entitled "Home Sweet Home". Mr. Kaplan decides to buy a house that is said to be haunted by a serial killer who tortured, raped and slaughtered half a dozen people in the home. He spends a couple of nights and becomes possessed by a demon that urges him to kill. The remote, unfurnished home, without electricity is the perfect setting for a solid, malevolent atmosphere which utilizes light and shadow to its advantage. Kaplan’s friend, Peter, surprises him one night and the two pals kill time eating sandwiches and chugging Jack Daniels. Peter gets his head bashed in by an unseen creature who plucks out his brain from the shattered skull. I felt I was trapped in this horrible nightmare with no way out.

The Basement is one of the best horror anthologies I have ever seen! The acting is natural and believable, as are the monsters and ghosts woven into the story. Scott Hart works his magic creating phenomenal creatures for us to enjoy. The directing emphasizes mood and builds tension around credible characters and settings. The only flaw, which I consider negligible, is the fact that some of the tales end abruptly. A smoother ending would have made this film epic. I rate it with five coffins because your entertained and absorbed into the experiences on screen from the first minute to the last.

O’Rawe’s lost super-8 feature will be available for the first time on VHS and DVD! Restored by director of photography Michael Raso in 2010.

Camp Motion Pictures will be releasing their Retro '80's 'Big Box' Film Collection Featuring The Basement on Sept. 13, 2011. The ’Big Box’ contains five films (The Basement, Video Violence 1&2, Captives, and Cannibal Campout) on three DVD’s (crammed with specials!) plus a VHS copy of The Basement. This is a massive collection containing the crème of the crop from Camp Motion Pictures. Be sure to look for our reviews of these other titles.

- Jorge Antonio Lopez