El maniático

Cult horror movie about a young man who goes off the rails when his overbearing mother, with whom he still lives with, dies. The first thing that he does his turn the volume up on his stereo! Then he constructs a fire room in the large, creepy house and uses it to burn young women to a crisp using a flame thrower. The first death is particularly graphic but after that the rest are off screen. In fact the movie is pretty much bloodless. His bosses calls him a sicko, and this is just at the start. Psycho is an obvious big influence here, even down to the music in one scene, but the film is also similar to Maniac too. This was made in the era of disco and we get a glimpse into the music and fashion of the time. Banned in the UK as a Video Nasty in the 1980's - and it is a pretty nasty, but well made movie - now thankfully available to watch uncut. If you want blood and guts then probably best to look elsewhere but DGITH is a grim, exploitive tale of abuse and madness that will linger in the memory.

I'll never understand people who complain that a horror movie is too gruesome or horrifying. It's like a person saying he/she didn't like a comedy because it was too funny.

The negativity towards DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE is odd. Yes, there is ONE moment where it's particularly gruesome and lurid but I've seen mainstream movies (LETHAL WEAPON 2 or TOTAL RECALL) where the super violent action was more nauseating to me than an entire film like DGITH. I suspect that a lot it has to do with the fact that DGITH is a low budget movie, with unknowns and made by unknowns, and those suffering from an elitist complex will renege anything if it doesn't look a certain way or stand-up to their (prefab) expectations. The great thing about DGITH is that it doesn't gloss over the violence. The film is grim, dour and depressing, as it SHOULD be.

Another notch against DGITH is that the story follows the depressing actions of the killer, who's the only main character of the film. And like so many horror films with the main character being the killer himself, few people identify with (or what to identify with) the killer, and because of this knee-jerk reaction towards the way the film portrays the killer, many dismissed it without even trying to see it for what it is. Ironically, the film is dismissed for what it is (and isn't) as much as the character it portrays is dismissed in reality for who he is. Oddly enough, I thought his friend was more annoying than the killer himself.

DGITH is not the greatest movie ever made. But it does what it intended to do: it unsettles and it's grim and unpleasant, with its post-Vietnam war tone. There's NO black humour in the film, and a lot of films these days like to include touches of black comedy here and there in serial killer stories. But I'm glad there aren't any touches of black comedy in DGITH. Its straightforwardness is actually what sets it apart from most films of its kind.

The only big mistake in the film is the tacky "surprise" ending that has nothing to do with the rest of the movie. Otherwise, the film is solid and packs a mean punch. And I dig that disco music!

So, if you don't like your horror movies with a depressive tone. If you don't like movies that don't look splashy or stylized, then DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE is not a movie for you. Personally, I think it's light years better than the overrated MANIAC (1980).

No !! I was never set on fire by my mother.

Back in 1981 (when I was 17) video recorders came on the market here in England and we teenagers got our grubby hands on loads of movies that were not just "adults only"; they were more violent/explicit than the cinema versions. The media quickly dubbed them "video nasties". I took out Don't Go In The House and found it (obviously horrific) but good 'trashy' entertainment. Sadly, for me, it was the 1st video ever to get tangled up in the VCR. My dad untangled it, watched part of it himself and that was the end of MY unsupervised video viewing :) It's not a very good film but certainly watchable and does, actually, give an insight into what motivates the crazy minority. 4/10

"Don't Go in the House" is an obscure early 80's horror film that seems to be forgotten by many horror fans.The film is well-made and slickly directed by Joseph Ellison,a talented musician and a screenwriter.Donny Kohler is a tormented young man.His mother tortured him by holding his bare arms over a gas burning stove.He grows up to be a psycho who delights in burning young women with a flamethrower inside his steel paneled bedroom crematorium.The film is filled with truly sick atmosphere and there is one of the most sadistic burning killings ever captured on screen.The underlying theme of child abuse is also taboo-breaking."Don't Go in the House" is often trashed by some politically correct people-still it beats most of the crap being put out today.Highly recommended.

It doesnt get much more grim than Dont Go in the House folks. And I'm not just talking about Donny Kohler's choice in music "When we get home....when were alone" . There is something profoundly artistic about this film whether it be intentional or not. The bleakness and raw style,or lack of style in definetely not for everyone. here is no safe cutaways to humor,just gritty.realistic film.

Crackles,pops,film grain and all. DGINH runs a little long in the tooth but for me it just adds to the realism. Its interesting to hear that Tarantino backs this one up. One last thing,If you think this movie is a hack job and that no one came out of this ,you'd be wrong. Good ol' Donny Kohler(Dan Grimaldi) went on to fame in Law and Order and the Sopranos.