The Toolbox Murders

In the early ‘80s, academics, the sociologists, the psychologists and especially the feminists, caught wind of the growing popularity of slasher films and went a little funny in the head with horror and dismay. Lord help us, what did these pictures say about the state of the culture? One after another (undoubtedly egged on by Siskel & Ebert's TV "exposés) they undertook major studies, attempting to determine what kind of lasting effect these evil films (what with their blending of sex and brutal murder) would have on the delicate psyches of the Young People of Today, especially the boys. The police became interested in these studies, as did the government.What if it came out that these slasher films were turning kids into a generation of vicious monsters who cared nothing about human life? We’d seen it happen once already, when comic books destroyed an entire generation back in the ‘50s and couldn’t afford to let it happen again.The funny thing about all these studies is that for all the hundreds of nasty, bloody, icky pictures they examined, they concluded that the biggest bugaboo of them all, the one film that could single handedly bring down all of Western Civilization, was The Toolbox Murders. What makes it funny is that when the ultra low-budget grindhouse picture was released in ‘78, no one noticed.It was only after the frantic, cautionary studies started coming out and the “experts” started popping up on the talk shows and the news programs to condemn the film that people started mobbing their local video stores, eager to see what all the hubbub was about. Only then did The Toolbox Murders become the cult classic it is today and even then it earned that status less for what it was than for the ridiculous outrage it spawned. In the same way, no one cared about I Spit on Your Grave until Roger Ebert declared it to be the most repellent, disgusting movie ever made. Will these people never learn?Pre-dating as it did the slasher film era (it was released seven months before Halloween) The Toolbox Murders was more clearly inspired by the Italian Giallos, with its whodunnit structure, its focus on a string of savage sex crimes and its twist ending. It even starred the great Cameron Mitchell, who’d also starred in the grandaddy of the Giallos, Mario Bava’s 1964 film Blood and Black Lace. Sadly though, TV director Dennis Donnelly didn’t quite have the stylistic chops of those Italian directors and so approached the film like another episode of Adam-12, but with more boobs and blood.Apart from Cameron Mitchell, Donnelly did have two other things going for him. First was his director of photography Gary Graver, who was Orson Welles’ DP throughout the ‘70s (who concurrently directed exploitation and porn), who needless to say was quite good. The other was Wesley Eure (as Mitchell’s nephew), in his first role since starring in TV’s Land of the Lost. Easily recognizable at the time, his role here drew shocked laughter from audiences who weren’t expecting to see the clean-cut, Sleestack-battling Will in a sleazy movie like this, especially doing some of the things he does.The plot is a simple one. A ski-masked maniac kills off the sexy young tenants of an L.A. apartment complex one by one using (as the title would suggest) the contents of a toolbox. Then he kidnaps a teenage girl (Pamelyn Ferdin, who provided Lucy’s voice in the early Peanuts TV specials) and keeps her bound and gagged as things take several creepy turns..Yup, that about sums it up. But what do you expect for a $165,000 movie? Then again, it looks like a million bucks - it looks like a million bucks (1977 dollars). It's Very slick and polished compared to any number (most, actually) of subsequent slasher flicks.About half an hour in we get what would be remembered as the film’s iconic sequence, which not only graced the posters, but was held up by any number of outraged feminist groups and newscasters as the most despicable thing ever filmed. A woman (future porn star Kelly Nichols/ Colleen Brennan, here using the name Marianne Walter) disrobes, gets in a tub and masturbates to an awful country song. Then the ski masked killer shows up, chases the nude woman around the apartment for a bit and dispatches her with a nail gun to the forehead.Nowadays it seems fairly tame (at least if you’ve seen enough horror films), but at the time, hoo-boy. It was shown on countless TV shows as the ultimate bad example and earned the film hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of free publicity. In an article for TV Guide Stephen King cited it as his favorite movie murder of the ‘70s and Brian DePalma paid homage to it while amplifying and exaggerating the sexual subtext in Body Double.Admittedly, taken out of context like that it makes the film (at least to the more twisted members of the audience) look much more entertaining than it actually is. The rest of the film surrounding it, though, is another story. For a picture that takes the form of a whodunnit, there’s never any real question about whodunnit. The holes in the ski mask leave it perfectly clear who’s killing off the tenants with his various tools of the trade. And after the kidnapping the mask disappears completely as the film switches genres, from a whodunnit to a police procedural.While on the surface there’s nothing terribly unique about Mitchell’s handyman/religious fanatic/murderous psychopath, he did bring a number of small touches to the performance that make it memorable, like the fact that he’s constantly humming and singing quietly to himself. According to the producers, that was all a Mitchell improvisation and certainly added a layer of eerieness to an already fine performance. His bad hairpiece and jumpsuit adds a certain pathos, too. Knowing that you’re watching Will from Land of the Lost and Lucy from the Charlie Brown specials helps some (especially if you hated Land of the Lost and the Charlie Brown specials).Maybe it doesn’t matter. The joke was on the do-gooders, though. They made this cheap little, ignored film a hit. Not only did the film go on to make a lot of money, it inspired many other, much nastier films which also went on to make a lot of money. And however much the uptight academics wanted to find the worst, not a one of their studies could draw any connection between slasher films and long-term psychological damage. So a few years later they started looking at videogames instead.Blue Underground bluray: tech specs and extras:The film is presented in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen 1080p and looks quite sharp for a 30-year-old grindhouse movie. Details disappear in darker scenes, but overall the look is great. The audio is presented in English 7.1 DTS-HD and English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround EX, English Original Mono, with English, French and Spanish subtitles. All tracks tend to sound distorted in louder sections, but they do the job.Audio Commentary with Producer Tony Didio, DP Gary Graver and star Pamelyn Ferdin – Pretty interesting stuff, hearing from the people who know about the filmmaking climate back in the day. An informative commentary that has everything you could possibly want to know about this movie.I Got Nailed in THE TOOLBOX MURDERS – Interview with star Marianne Walter – Not a half bad interview with the actress/model who gets taken down with a nail gun in the opening of the movie. Apparently the written sequence was much shorter, but on set, with Walter completely nude and being chased around the apartment by the killer, the makers decided this scene deserved more screen time. (8:00)Theatrical Trailer – (2:19)TV Spot – (0:30)Radio spots – (both 0:30)

The Movie Starts out Rock’n, but then starts to Drag and Drag, but it picks up near the End.If you Watch it Uninterrupted, it’s Actually a Descent Slasher Flick.The 4K UHD picture looks Great!

The movie is good, the better version is the 70s one. I don’t remember buying this, because I don’t have it in my collection, but I do enjoy the movie. The plot is something that can happen to anyone, and it’s relatable, which is something I like in horror movies.

For some reason this film rates high amongst gore aficionados but I couldn't fathom what they see in this snooze fest. It starts out promising enough. The killer dispatches a few girls and they don't skimp on the blood or nudity. In fact the film's only real highlight is porn star Kelly Nichols, whose bathtime near the beginning of the film is ruined when she is unceremoniously dispatched with a nail gun. But that song. Ugh. If I neverhear that song again it will be too soon. After 30 minutes or so of unrelenting bloodshed, the film turns into a bad TV movie mystery. I've been more on the edge of my seat watching Barnaby Jones. Instead of killing her. the killer kidnaps a young innocent girl, for reasons revealed later, and it's up to her brother to rescue her. He brings along about zero charisma, no acting skills and that guy from the Land of the Lost, Wesley Eure, who not only ends up being the killer's nephew but also ends up setting him on fire in a 'What the heck?!?!' moment that had me scratching my head. Well that came out of nowhere. A bunch of non-sensical twists and turns try to build tension but even more dull moments ensue and then at the end they inform you that it was based on true events. Uh huh. Cameron Mitchell is wasted in this dud. I always liked the poster but the movie bored me. I have nothing bad to say about Kelly Nichols. She's one of my top ten actresses in the adult genre so it was cool to see her in a somewhat mainstream flick. I'm not saying, "Don't watch it" but there are plenty of films in this genre or from this era that are not a chore to suffer through.

I saw this movie in 1978 with my brother(He took me)at the South Park Drive In.If the murders depicted in this movie were to take place in REAL LIFE it would be HORRIBLE.Thankfully they just happen in the movie Not in Real life.This movie is condemned because of the nail gun murder scene,but if you watch the interview with Kelly Nichols(The nail gun vctim),she and Cameron Mitchell had a good time filming the sequence.While this picture is no OSCAR contender,the acting of Pamelyn Ferdin as a teenager(She was 19 in real life)bound and gagged by Cameron Mitchell's character is very realistic for the situation her character was in.I have to say courtesy of this movie I admire Pamelyn Ferdin as an actress and as an animal rights activist.I looked up her website.For a laugh watch the scene where Cameron Mitchell brings dinner and a lollipop to Pamelyn Ferdin.LO,double L I POP spells lollipop.I gave this movie 5 stars but A MAKING OF"THE TOOLBOX MURDERS"and A Behind the scenes look at THE TOOLBOX MURDERS"would have been nice.Watch for Anetea Corsaut(Helen Crump on Andy Griffith)as Pamela's Mother.I suggest to watch the Kelly Nichols interview,to help you NOT TO TAKE this movie seriously,her talk is amusing and she had a GOOD time filming her demise with a nail gun.

This sleazy shocker features a masked killer running amok in a down-market apartment complex. Blood fountains all over textured walls and Montgomery Ward furniture! Then the action shifts to a tract house, with Pamelyn Ferdin tied to a bed. Coarse yet effective, with a great exploitation cast (though Aneta Courseaut is wasted) and grim atmosphere.

Bad acting uncut don't think so more like cut supposed to be uncut says it on.the cover don't print it if it is not uncut or full version is another word or directors cut

A lot of critics don't give this film much credit but personally I really like it. It's got brutal, gory killings, nudity, sleaze, the gorgeous Kelly Nichols doing her thing in the bath & of course the great Cameron Mitchel. Don't bother with the cut British release though. This is a Danish release but English language, as are the extras. The booklet is in Dansk though.

This old video nasty is a fascinating watch. It starts off as a slasher flick and ends as a psychological thriller when it actually is a story about loss, grief and the descent into madness.

Good

Great video nasty released uncut