THE BASEMENT is a very cheap independent thriller from Canada. It's marketed as a horror film but despite some violent events doesn't really horrify the viewer. The one thing it has going for it is the intense opening, which throws you into the heart of the action within just a few seconds. Unfortunately after the first five minutes it's all downhill from there.This is a single location film set within the titular location. Five teenagers are trapped by a killer above them, and over the course of the film they gradually fall out and fight among themselves. The reasons for doing so feel spurious because the characters aren't developed very well and the actors aren't really up to the job. THE BASEMENT is notable for a surprise twist ending which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but at least is the freshest feeling element of the whole story.

I just watched this on Amazon Prime, Horror section.This isn't horror; it's a psychological thriller-drama with no more gore or scares than any cable movie of someone going mad and tumbling over the edge and right into The Murder Zone.For what it is it's a fairly OK movie. But melodramatic teen junk is not for me and I resent having watched all that drama and teen angst crap waiting for something special to happen, like guts and/or ghosts and/or flying heads created by very special artists. All I got were a few cuts and about a bucket-full of blood.Nothing special here except I didn't see the ending twist coming, which gives the movie a positive stroke. So if you like movies with a bunch of young folk stuck in a room with one person going murderously insane then this flick, and its cool-and-twisted ending, then give this a shot.In fact, that ending makes this movie better than my first assessment, so I'm upping my vote to a 6/10. Happy watching!

I've watched so many crappy horror/slasher films, I've lost count. With that said, I enjoy almost all of them as I usually find some redeeming quality, whether it be the storyline, an actor, the music, etc. I can usually predict the outcome of a horror film within a half hour into the show. This was no different...sort of. The opening scene of the movie is not something I have seen before. I thought the acting was good, although the dialog could have been more intelligent..a lot more intelligent. The kitchen scene prior to the ending still confuses me. All in all I liked this one. I rated 6 out of 10 because compared to a lot of films in this genre, this was miles ahead.

The Basement wastes no time in getting its characters into the titular basement - the opening scene has our five actors hustling down the stairs and slamming the door shut as a crazed killer has attacked one of their own. The next 75 or so minutes have the viewer and characters trapped in the single room as the teens yell at each other and get picked off one by one. Nobody seems particularly likable and there's a twist ending which doesn't really work but it made some of the flaws of the basement behavior less egregious so I actually bumped my rating up from two stars to three because of it. The young cast tries their best and the blood is well done but listening to so much yelling and swearing and arguing for so long just wore me out. The Hole with Keira Knightly has a similar premise but I liked it much better.