TheToolboxMurders1978

The Toolbox Murders (1978)

This is the kind of movie that grabs your attention early with some really brutal murders that are seemingly random and unexplained. The first 30 minutes of the movie we follow a ski mask wearing killer as he brutally kills 4 women over two nights. Terrorizing the same security building that they all lived in. On the second night the killer kidnaps a 15-year-old girl from her apartment during his rampage. From then on out the movie changes it’s tone and focus. The killer and his intentions are reveled as he has the girl tied up at his house. Also the focus of the action changes from following the killer around on his murder spree to the girl’s brother as he looks for his sister (sort of anyway). Eventually the brother figures out what is going on, but then there is another twist as several of the characters have the rug pulled out from under them. The movie ends with a very simple shot and bit of text explaining that the movie was based on a real story. Not sure if that was true, but it was a cool way to end The Toolbox Murders.

This is another really killer little exploitation gem from the fine folks at Blue Underground. Make no mistake, while the first bit of the movie plays very much like a brutal slasher flick this is really more of an exploitation movie. First of all there is quite a bit of sleaze as the nudity is shown early and often during the first 30 minutes. There is one particular scene with a woman in the tub taking care of “business” shall we say. The killer watches her then after she finishes takes her out (eventually) with a nail gun! So you have some boobs and some blood, then the movie takes a big left turn into weirdsville. Spoiler Alert: Suddenly the killer is taking care of Laurie (the kidnapped girl) thinking that she is his dead daughter. While he was out killing the bad people, so that there would only be good people, he spotted her and had to protect her. This leads to all sorts of creepy conversations about what it felt like to die and what heaven was like. The fact that Cameron Mitchell plays the killer, and that he does a wonderful job in the role, makes what could have been very cheesy dialogue work.

Even though they are mostly over after the first 30 minutes there are some really great kills in this movie. The special effects are very basic and there isn’t anything that will set the world on fire here. You get a bit (no pun intended) with a drill early on that tosses the red stuff around on screen briefly, but other than that it is all off screen. Even the infamous nail gun kill really is pretty tame (except of course for the full frontal nudity!) but is pulled off in such a realistic way that the scene carries some weight and power to it. The kills aren’t clean, there is some struggle from the girls as they fight to live, and the victims don’t die right away from their wounds. I think that this makes the kills so realistic that it was a bit disturbing, which again makes it all work on screen.

As I’ve already mentioned this is the Blue Underground DVD. There is one special feature on the disc that I wanted to mention. I Got Nailed in the Toolbox Murders is an interview with Marianne Walter, who played the woman in the bath. This was a fascinating interview. She talks a bit about how she got involved with the movie, and what working with Cameron Mitchell was like. She also talks about how the masturbation bit in the tub was thought up on set. This is another short interview, I think less than 10 minutes, but it is worth checking out.

I’ve noticed that a lot of horror fans really don’t like this movie much. I think that might be because early on it looks like it is going to be a kick ass slasher film and then abruptly changes into an exploitation flick. Honestly I can see why it might not be everyone’s idea of a good time. But as a fan of both slasher movies and nice sleazy exploitation flicks I had a blast with the Toolbox Murders. I recommend that everyone check it out. Head over to Blue Underground’s website at http://www.blue-underground.com/ for more information on this and their other great titles.

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer