IMDb RATING
5.3/10
3.8K
YOUR RATING
A man who runs an apartment house for women is the demented son of a Nazi surgeon who has the house equipped with secret passageways, hidden rooms and torture and murder devices.A man who runs an apartment house for women is the demented son of a Nazi surgeon who has the house equipped with secret passageways, hidden rooms and torture and murder devices.A man who runs an apartment house for women is the demented son of a Nazi surgeon who has the house equipped with secret passageways, hidden rooms and torture and murder devices.
Carole Francis
- Jessica Marlow
- (as Carol Francis)
Tane McClure
- Sophie Fisher
- (as Tané)
Jack Heller
- Alfred Lassiter
- (as Jack Hiller)
Abbott Alexander
- Hank Storm
- (as David Abbott)
Sherry Buchanan
- 1st Victim
- (uncredited)
Adolf Hitler
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
David Schmoeller
- Rejected Tenant
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDuring filming, as Klaus Kinski became more and more difficult to deal with, director David Schmoeller noticed Kinski had a crush on one of the young female actresses (Tane McClure, daughter of Doug McClure) and would always be polite and on his best behavior while she was on the set. Towards the end of filming, Schmoeller asked McClure to remain on the set as often as possible so Kinski would be more cooperative and the film could wrap sooner.
- GoofsHank's last name is given as Storm in the credits, but twice in the movie he is called Hank Peterson.
- Quotes
[repeated line; after each failed attempt to kill himself by playing Russian Roulette]
Doctor Karl Gunther: So be it.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits crawl over a sequence shot on a camera crawling through the crawlspace.
- Alternate versionsThe movie had a few scenes trimmed for its original UK video release:
- The first shot of Martha's dismembered tongue.
- A shot of Dr. Guenther cutting into his finger, then wiping the blood onto a bullet that has 'Guenther' engraved into it.
- All scenes that show Tane's character wearing a bra that has been cut with scissors, including a whole scene of dialogue between her and Hank.
- ConnectionsEdited into Full Moon's: Trailer Rama: Psychos-A-Go-Go (2023)
Featured review
Klaus Kinski Gets His Creep On...
Crawlspace is one of the creepiest films you'll ever see; largely thanks to Kinski's portrayal of Gunther, the son of a Nazi war criminal- and seasoned serial killer- who runs a boarding house for women. Rarely do films give you an idea what lays in store, so quickly. And few actors possess the natural creep factor that Kinski exudes.
After fleeing from Argentina- where he was a doctor, practicing his trade by, killing off all his patients- Gunther would settle in America; where he would build a mansion that would make Holmes proud: complete with a crawlspace for voyeurism; and all manner of booby traps- to prevent anyone who might discover his secrets from escaping.
Gunther keeps one of his former tenants, hostage in a cage, as a pet. He cut out her tongue, so that she may never speak of what she's seen, but he keeps her around for someone to talk to.
He also knocked off his last tenant, and, considering such, is looking for someone to fill the vacancy. Enter our protagonist, Lori.
Whereas he first began killing (the terminally ill) for reasons of compassion, he now suffers from an insatiable bloodlust, and has become addicted to killing. It makes him feel closer to his father.
Though, after each murder, he leaves it up to fate to decide whether he will continue on...to kill again. He draws blood, smears it on a bullet and uses it to play a round of Russian roulette. If he does not blow his head off, he considers that divine sanction to continue on.
However, he didn't count on his newest tenants tenacity, and will to live. Perhaps she is just lucky, or perhaps this is what fate ultimately had in store.
Worth watching to see the master-of-creepiness in action...and for all those awesome booby trap kills.
6 out of 10.
After fleeing from Argentina- where he was a doctor, practicing his trade by, killing off all his patients- Gunther would settle in America; where he would build a mansion that would make Holmes proud: complete with a crawlspace for voyeurism; and all manner of booby traps- to prevent anyone who might discover his secrets from escaping.
Gunther keeps one of his former tenants, hostage in a cage, as a pet. He cut out her tongue, so that she may never speak of what she's seen, but he keeps her around for someone to talk to.
He also knocked off his last tenant, and, considering such, is looking for someone to fill the vacancy. Enter our protagonist, Lori.
Whereas he first began killing (the terminally ill) for reasons of compassion, he now suffers from an insatiable bloodlust, and has become addicted to killing. It makes him feel closer to his father.
Though, after each murder, he leaves it up to fate to decide whether he will continue on...to kill again. He draws blood, smears it on a bullet and uses it to play a round of Russian roulette. If he does not blow his head off, he considers that divine sanction to continue on.
However, he didn't count on his newest tenants tenacity, and will to live. Perhaps she is just lucky, or perhaps this is what fate ultimately had in store.
Worth watching to see the master-of-creepiness in action...and for all those awesome booby trap kills.
6 out of 10.
helpful•41
- meddlecore
- Oct 23, 2016
- How long is Crawlspace?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 20 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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