The Toolbox Murders

After a fifteen year long string of awful horror movies and forgettable TV shows, director Tobe Hooper finally roars back to life with this fun, scary and intense horror thriller.

When I first heard Hooper was remaking TOOLBOX MURDERS, I thought he had hit a new low. The director of THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE is making a remake of a movie that was in many ways a rip-off of CHAINSAW? I didn't think I'd bother.

Then I started hearing some internet buzz that the movie was actually pretty good, so I picked up the DVD at a horror convention. I was pleasantly surprised. It's a throwback to Hooper's earlier movies like CHAINSAW, EATEN ALIVE and THE FUNHOUSE, with a similar atmosphere of dementia and claustrophobic terror. The performances are excellent and the screenplay is very good (written by the same team that wrote Hooper's previous film, CROCODILE). Also top notch are the expressionistic cinematography and editing.

Hooper's previous movies reeked of TV movie blandness (possibly due to his having slowly moved into that realm over the years), but TOOLBOX MURDERS has a healthy dose of grindhouse grit to go with the slick, professional quality of his hired hand work. The result is a movie that is as technically well-made as SCREAM or WRONG TURN, but with the guts of a 70s drive-in shocker.

While the killer finds some creative ways to kill people with various hardware items, and the action takes place in a single apartment building, this movie has little to do with the original TOOLBOX MURDERS. It's actually more similar in plot to Lucio Fulci's HOUSE BY THE Cemetery. However, despite its remake status and its borrowing plot points from a few previous movies, it has a surprisingly fresh and original feeling to it.

I'll go out on a limb and say Tobe Hooper's TOOLBOX MURDERS is one of the better horror movies I've seen in quite some time. It leaves the CHAINSAW remake in the dust. It's better than most so-called horror movies I've seen in the last few years.

I highly recommend this to horror fans, but especially to admirers of Hooper who thought he would never crawl out of his rut. Well, he's back, and with a vengeance!

Not really a remake of the 1970s THE TOOLBOX MURDERS, yet alone a sequel. This entry goes in totally a different direction with only a couple things that look like they were taken from the original concept; choice of location, the killer using all manners of tools on his victims and hiding his appearance under a ski mask. Tobe Hooper is in the director's chair and presents a grimy little picture on a minimalist budget. The backdrop for this horror takes place in a rundown, if history-laced apartment building situated in the heart of old Hollywood, where there's an assemble of indie actors portraying a varied bunch of stock characters. Other than Angela Bettis, no one else gets much to work with and are outperformed by the complex. Here we follow Bettis' character. A new resident that just moved in along with her husband, as she tries to settle in with her neighbors, but something about the apartment doesn't feel right and people seem to be disappearing.

The first hour is all about the character quirks, and interactions between the apartment inhabitants centered on a solid Bettis' performance. This is used as a tool to make her character feel like an outsider, who needs to learn the inner workings of her surroundings before making rash conclusions. Over time the mystery and oddities of the building becomes the focal point of the story. Sure, there are a few meaty death set-pieces thrown in early, but it's not until the backend when that comes into its own. The building's charms make way for horror and unease, as it begins to (although not convincingly) shed light on its looming secrets and the mysterious phantom killer. The by-the-book tropes are there with the central character trying to convince others, with no luck that something menacing is happening in the building. It even tries to throw you off with a predictable red herring or so, but they don't add up make it effective enough. Come to the third act it moves away from a straight-forward mystery-slasher hitting over-the-top Grand Guignol territory by ratcheting up the intensity and cruelty of its visuals. The killer gets out the big boys to inflict torturous punishment e.g. circular saw, vice grip, acid and bolt cutters. There even seems to be a little "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" homage involving meat hooks.

A slow and particular beginning eventually transpires into a bloody whirlwind. In the plot's attempts to explain what's going on, the occult and black magic, I found it to be rather lacking and muddled in making sense of it all. There wasn't anything really there to connect these pieces, leaving me with more questions than before. Some contrivances and logic lapses (rotting corpses hidden in the walls, but no stench?) keep popping up, but I did enjoy old school shocks and aesthetics oozing dirt and grime in such a confined space. Visually it doesn't hit you, it's beyond drab and causally photographed, yet Hooper's workmanlike handling did a marvelous job crafting out atmosphere and character from the age-old apartment building. While it might take awhile to come out first gear, when it does, Hooper goes down the excessive route with a climax that really leaves you hanging.

This Hollywood Egyptian showing apparently was the US opening of this very scary and shock-filled treat, and a part of the theater's annual Sci-Fi and Horror festival. The audience was obviously enjoying Tobe Hooper's return to his roots with this superb version of the old cult gore flick from the late 70s of the same name. Tobe Hooper himself was present and gave some insight into the whole development and storyline of the film, and he got an outstanding reception. The first film to ever make me really jump was the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", and this one is only the second one to do it, and I've seen practically every horror film made in the years between. With that being said, I suggest that if you're ready for a scare, this will deliver. It has some of the good elements from other Hooper films that were good but missed the mark somehow, like The Funhouse. In fact, the killer in this flick seems to be part Leatherface and part Funhouse mutation, with a whole lot of new stuff too. Argento has an equal in Tobe Hopper with this American "giallo" film, Toolbox Murders.

This remake was surprisingly enjoyable, despite the low IMDb rating, and perhaps Tobe Hooper's best work since The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Mix some elements of Polanki's Apartment Trilogy with some from TCM, and throw in a few inventive, violent kills à la the original Toolbox Murders, and you have a rather enjoyable horror movie. Also adding to it is the good performance from up and coming horror starlet Angela Bettis. The killer was pretty cool too; I liked how giddy he was after sprinkling lye on some guy's face, held down by a vice, Casino style! I can only wish I enjoyed my work so. Of course, it's not a flawless movie. The plot maybe could have used a bit more work but if you just go with it, it's really a minor complaint. The DVD has two commentaries (one with Hooper!), deleted scenes (mostly more graphic shots of the kills), a short interview with Hooper, and some trailers, including the great one for High Tension! I'm glad I bought it, despite a hefty $20 tag.

Nell and Steven move into a run-down Hollywood apartment in the middle of being renovated. They soon realize that the landlord, maintenance man, and other tenants are a strange bunch. Nell finds herself delving into a mystery of the building when one of her neighbors goes missing. This is an excellent and unique slasher. Considering the last movie I saw by Hooper was about a CGI crocodile, I think it is fair to say he is back in the game. Unfortunately, there are plot holes galore that should have been worked out, the pacing is somewhat uneven, and the ending is a big let-down. But the murder scenes are nasty, the atmosphere is creepy, the set is awesome, and the jump scares are worthy. The "city of broken dreams" theme is effective even though most of the film takes place within the claustrophobia of the apartment building. The performance by Angela Bettis ("May") really anchors the movie. This lady brings a sense of dignity and classiness to the horror genre and I think she could become a real genre pioneer. All horror fans should check-out this movie.

My Rating: 7/10.