A Quiet Place Part II (2021)Movies

Things that go bump in the night no longer scare us silly.

We’ve been inundated with haunted house movies over the past decade, and even the best of the bunch can wear out its welcome.

Creaking doors. Ominous noises. Been there, heard that.

So it’s a miracle that an early, consequential scene in “The Cellar” leaves us breathless. The rest of the film can’t match that moment, but it’s still a first-rate thriller with a sour sucker punch.

Elisha Cuthbert stars as Keira, mother to an oh, so grumpy teen named Ellie (Abby Fitz). They’ve just moved into a standard-issue haunted house (oh, it’s not labeled as such, but come on!), and it’s widened the gap between mama and child.

The fact that Cuthbert and Fitz sound American, while...