Don't Look in the Basement

Don’t Look in the Basement (aka The Forgotten) (1973)

Dr. Stephens runs his mental hospital just a bit differently then most other professionals. He and his nurse live with the patients and use some unique methods of treatment. But early in the movie one of the “sessions” goes wrong and Dr. Stephens ends up dead with an axe in his back. When his nurse tries to leave she is done away with as well, meaning the inmates are literally running the asylum! Into all of this comes the new nurse, Charlotte that arrives the day Dr. Stephens dies without any clue what she is getting herself into. Will she figure out what is going on before she too becomes a victim of the patients?

I hate it when people say this but for this movie it is true. Don’t Look in the Basement is one of the best bad movies that I’ve ever seen. To start with the story is completely silly and over the top. I don’t care how radical you therapy is would you really ever give a mental patient an axe to carry around? The characters of the patients are all fairly typical of what you would find in a movie like this. I did particularly like the one character whose only mental illness appeared to be a really annoying laugh and an obnoxious attitude. Oh and when we are introduced to the big childlike innocent guy Sam you know he is going to end up saving the day. This and the fact that the movie makes no attempt to hide the big twist make this a very predictable movie. But there is so much energy and cheesy fun that in spite of this the movie never gets slow and is a blast to watch. What can I say about the cast? They seem to have some skills and can deliver lines, but those playing the mental patients really just go for it and chew up the scenery like there is not tomorrow. But this is one of those movies where that just makes the whole thing that much more fun to watch.

As far as the technical stuff goes it’s not bad. There are a couple of decent kills in the movie, especially by the standards of the early 70s. This includes a nasty looking office spindle in an eye that had me cringing. The camera work, sound, and lighting are all really good for a low budget independent movie.

The drive-in and grindhouse scenes created opportunities for low budget non-studio movies to be made and distributed. Honestly most of them are best forgotten, but every once in a while you run across a pretty damn good effort. This is one of them and I highly recommend that everyone give it a chance. This movie is available on a Grindhouse double feature from VCI with another movie from the same director, Don’t Open the Door. For more information check them out at http://www.vcientertainment.com/

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer