IMDb RATING
5.2/10
4.9K
YOUR RATING
A ski-masked maniac kills apartment complex tenants with the contents of a toolbox.A ski-masked maniac kills apartment complex tenants with the contents of a toolbox.A ski-masked maniac kills apartment complex tenants with the contents of a toolbox.
Kelly Nichols
- Dee Ann
- (as Marianne Walter)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaKelly Nichols got the role of Dee Ann after the first two actresses backed out because they didn't want to do the total nudity. She had no problem being nude on screen because she had spent years as a nude model. This was her first of only two mainstream movie roles. The year after the film was released she was selected Penthouse Pet of the Month in May 1979 and then began a career of making hardcore adult films.
- GoofsWhen Vance carries the presumably unconscious or dead Debra, she clearly grips his arm or shoulder to keep herself from sliding to the floor when she is laid down.
- Quotes
Joey Ballard: I'll be home for dinner. What are you fixin'?
Laurie Ballard: Ah! La specialty of the house; chicken à la TV dinners.
- Alternate versionsThe version televised on the UK's Zone Horror channel in 2007 was complete and uncut.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010)
Featured review
Not bad; nothing to write home about
Maybe it's in part just because I don't watch a lot of slashers, a genre of horror that's often among the most invariable and the least interesting. Yet even recognizing how very common violence against women is in horror broadly, and in slashers most specifically, this feels like a rendition that's extra blunt and tactless, and thusly even more grotesque and borderline offensive. For whatever passing plot there might be - the killer's motivation, the investigations into the string of murders - 'The toolbox murders' is very straightforward, and not particularly nuanced, not least when it comes to the bloodletting or the killer's characterization. Sure, this is meant to be shocking, but in its brusqueness it rides a fine line. I don't think 'The toolbox murders' isn't bad, but at large it's nothing terribly special, and the lack of a delicate hand in the writing and direction further limits the entertainment value.
The blood looks good, for what it's worth, and the hair and makeup work. In the most broad of strokes the writing isn't far removed from any other slasher, but is passable. Twisted as the underlying motives are, to varying degrees they reflect a mindset that's not too far off from the dark reality of certain subsets of the population in real life, and more haunting because of it. What stunt work there is here is executed well, and the violence generally. For that matter the cast perform admirably through all the grisliness. Again, this isn't bad. Only, the more we look at any one part, the more flimsy it becomes. There's nothing here we haven't seen before or can't get elsewhere; the violence is especially awful; the effort to expand motivations, the climax, and the finale becomes unwieldy, almost convoluted, and less fun for the fact of it. There are good ideas here, but one way or another they get muddled.
You could do worse. I've certainly seen too many movies that were much worse than this. But there are also far better movies out the world, slashers even, that are more worth one's time. Unless you're a diehard fan of someone involved, or perhaps intent on watching films that have been banned in one place or another over time, there's no major reason to seek this one out. I guess 'The toolbox murders' is alright if you come across it, but don't go out of your way, and do keep in mind the nature of the violence.
The blood looks good, for what it's worth, and the hair and makeup work. In the most broad of strokes the writing isn't far removed from any other slasher, but is passable. Twisted as the underlying motives are, to varying degrees they reflect a mindset that's not too far off from the dark reality of certain subsets of the population in real life, and more haunting because of it. What stunt work there is here is executed well, and the violence generally. For that matter the cast perform admirably through all the grisliness. Again, this isn't bad. Only, the more we look at any one part, the more flimsy it becomes. There's nothing here we haven't seen before or can't get elsewhere; the violence is especially awful; the effort to expand motivations, the climax, and the finale becomes unwieldy, almost convoluted, and less fun for the fact of it. There are good ideas here, but one way or another they get muddled.
You could do worse. I've certainly seen too many movies that were much worse than this. But there are also far better movies out the world, slashers even, that are more worth one's time. Unless you're a diehard fan of someone involved, or perhaps intent on watching films that have been banned in one place or another over time, there's no major reason to seek this one out. I guess 'The toolbox murders' is alright if you come across it, but don't go out of your way, and do keep in mind the nature of the violence.
helpful•00
- I_Ailurophile
- Oct 2, 2022
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Maniac Drill
- Filming locations
- 6633 Fallbrook Avenue West Hills, California, USA(Shopping mall parking lot in the final shot)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $185,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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