John Allman

If you’ve ever wandered the aisles at the video store or surfed the DVR pay-per-view options and seen a bunch of movies that you’ve never heard of, chances are John has watched them. Why? He loves movies. All kinds of movies. Good, bad, so-bad-they’re good, even the truly unwatchable ones. He mostly loves horror and science-fiction and drive-in exploitation movies that most upstanding model citizens wouldn’t dare watch. Then he writes up his thoughts so you can decide - watch, don’t watch or avoid at all costs. Sometimes he even gets to talk to the cool folks who make some of your favorite films.

 Blood, Violence and Babes
 John Allman

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Coffin Classics: The Toolbox Murders

Posted Feb 7, 2010 by John Allman

Updated Feb 7, 2010 at 05:35 PM

The Toolbox Murders
Genre: Horror
Directed by: Dennis Donnelly
Run time: 94 minutes
Rating: Unrated
Format: Blu-Ray

The Lowdown: Classic grindhouse exploitation from the 1970s didn’t have to make a lick of sense as long as it had blood, boobs and violence.

Taking a page from the Italian Giallo films, the 1978 cult classic “The Toolbox Murders” is about as straight-forward as early slasher movies come.

Within the first 15 minutes, there’s been a flashback, a jerky point-of-view killer cam and a vicious, bloody slaying.

Doing everything right that the wretched 2005 Tobe Hooper remake got wrong, director Dennis Donnelly wastes no time on confusing back stories or elaborate but pointless subterranean lairs.

His “toolbox” killer simply wreaks havoc with every implement at his disposal from claw hammers to nail guns, slashing and crushing his way through a Los Angeles apartment complex populated by an abundance of nubile victims.

Blue Underground continues to mine the back catalog of yesterday’s vintage horror to find worthy entries long overdue for a high-definition upgrade. Between this and George Romero’s “The Crazies,” releasing later this month, the company keeps hitting long balls as far as the films chosen and the obvious care given to the restoration efforts.

Is it a great movie? Hell no.

But it’s a classic of the genre, despised by critics and criticized by mainstream audiences upon its release for its excessive violence and sadomasochistic depravity.

The Stuff You Care About:
Hot chicks – Hot 1970s scream queens.
Nudity – Yes.
Gore – Yes.
Drug use – No.
Bad Guys/Killers – The toolbox killer.
Buy/Rent – Buy it.
Blu-Ray Bonus Features – Audio commentary, featurette “I Got Nailed in The Toolbox Murders: An Interview with star Marianne Walter,” theatrical trailer, TV spots.
Release Date – Jan. 26, 2010