The Forgotten

DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT may be an ordinary-looking exploitational grindhouse movie, but it's actually worth a look for fans of cult cinema. It's entirely cheap with a scuzzy look, but it's also actually a pretty interesting look at mental illness and it doesn't just rely on gore shocks and axe murders to make it work. It has more plot than that, including a fine ending which is something of a mini-classic.

The setting is a cheap, run-down old asylum populated by a group of distinctive characters: there's a the girl who cradles a doll and thinks of it as her child, the former judge who goes around dispensing law, alongside a handful of sympathetic characters. Soon enough a series of gore murders are taking place, and it's up to the pretty young heroine to solve the crimes before she herself becomes the next victim. Director S. F. Brownrigg gets the most out of a clearly non-existent budget, and the film becomes most impressive at the Grand Guignol-style climax, which has something of FREAKS about it.

I have to admit that my preference is for psychological horror where the imagination is left to roam. Thus I thought the lead-up to the unfortunate bloodbath was both interesting and different. Each of the asylum patients in the lead-up is given a chance to demonstrate his or her particular disorder— the compulsive soldier, the nympho hungering for love, the obsessive mother with her doll baby, the partially lobotomized black man, et al-- and except for the judge (Ross) none seems particularly homicidal. And, of course, there's the power-crazed "doctor" (Weenick). Then, into this loony bin arrives poor drop-in nurse Charlotte (Holotik) not realizing that a loony is in charge.

This sets up an interesting and fairly suspenseful storyline since we can't be sure where the plot is headed since the murder, mayhem and gore so far is at a minimum. Plus the acting is pretty darn good—Weenick & Holotik, especially. (And after 60-years of movies, I've never seen a cast with more un-Hollywoodized names!)

Now, in my view, had the creators exercised more imagination, they could have come up with a less hackneyed climax than the gore-fest we're subjected to. Of course, the blood-letting may satisfy many horror fans, but to me, it betrays the subtler possibilities posed in the lead-up. For example, why not have the real doctor murdered by one of the patients, and then try to figure out which of the patients is actually homicidal. A sort of loony-bin whodunit.

Anyway, the film is mostly well-crafted for a cheap-jack production. Still, I wish IMDb provided more background info, since what does appear looks like a wholly Texas production with a local cast. To me that would amount to quite an achievement, regardless of budget or fall off in imagination.

Super sexy Rosie Holotik plays Charlotte Beale, a psychiatric nurse who goes to work at the isolated Stephens Sanitarium. She gets there to find that the Dr. Stephens who (loosely) ran the place was murdered by one of the patients. Geraldine Masters (Annabelle Weenick), who seems to have inherited the supervisory position, has her misgivings about Charlottes' presence, but agrees to take her on as an employee anyway. Among the unbalanced people Charlotte meets are the gentle giant Sam (Bill McGhee), the desperate-for-love Allyson (Betty Chandler), former military man Sgt. Jaffee (Hugh Feagin), and possessive "mother" Harriet (Camilla Carr).

This is actually a pretty good, if overly talky, effort from regional filmmaker S.F. Brownrigg. The low, low budget merely enhances the overall atmosphere. This is a grim, gritty film that goes far based on the personalities of the characters and the performances. Holotik is appealing, but it's Ms. Weenick who takes the acting honours. Things get appropriately gory, especially in the disturbing ending. One great scene takes place between Dr. Masters and the Sargeant, as she insists on asserting her authority.

We know early on that we're going to be in for something amusing. Dr. Stephens, who had an unorthodox way of treating mental illness, is just foolish enough to give Judge Oliver W. Cameron (Gene Ross) an axe in order to work through his aggressions. People who saw this film back in the 70s must have gotten a real sense of deja vu if they ended up seeing "Friday the 13th: A New Beginning". One of the major delights is the refrain spoken by the cackling old lady Mrs. Callingham (Rhea MacAdams).

Deliberately paced and very moody, "Don't Look in the Basement" (a.k.a. "The Forgotten") is an affecting exploitation-horror flick.

Seven out of 10.

Considering budget, time and talent put into making this movie, it actually isn't so bad, but don't go into it expecting much. It's a work of passion and is probably only interesting to fans of the horror movie genre who aren't picky about their poison. Everybody rest has absolutely nothing to look forward to from this movie. I give it 6/10 and recommend it to fellow hardcore horror movie fans. The rest, avoid it...

S.F. Brownrigg is surely one of the most overlooked directors in the slasher genre with Basement being his masterwork. The plot concerns a young nurse (Playboy covergirl Rosie Holotik) who takes a job at a secluded mental hospital. Upon her arrival, it transpires that her employer has been killed by one of the patients and the place is now being run by strict disciplinarian, Dr Masters. Make no mistake, this is a horribly under-staffed operation. The lunatics truly are taking over the asylum and you really have to feel for the young nurse. Tough first gig. The basement figures only very briefly and towards the end of film. It is, in fact, the safest place in the house because the rest of the place is pure madness. I can only assume that Don't Look in the Basement was perhaps an afterthought as a title, possibly forced on the film by the backers to make it sound more scary as the title card appears to have been dropped in arbitrarily and does not match the other titles. Scenes worth watching for are the Judge attacking the doctor with an axe and a broken rubber knife in the final bloodbath. Forget One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. This is the stuff.