Noites de Terror

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 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.

I recently saw this remake last weekend in LA, during which it was being shown on a limited sneak peak basis. Apparently, it's still in limbo on weather to go as a theatrical release or direct to video.

What I got was a well crafted horror remake that drifted away from the original. Yes, it's a remake, but Tobe (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1&2) Hooper makes this picture all worth while. As we address the title of the film, all is implied with a hammer, a vice, a nail gun and a drill. Those tools are to just name a select few. The story takes place in LA, where a young couple move into an old run down apartment complex that is also rented out to tenants that are wannabe actors and sleeze bag drug users. One by one, they fall victim to our Toolbox Murderer.

It's not my favorite Hooper film, but it's a lot better compared to "Crocodile" and "The Mangler." I particularly am pleased with the gory death scenes, as well as the style of Hooper's directing. That apartment complex that was used was just awesome. Overall this slasher flick delivered in such a way that I'd like purchase it for my horror collection.

8/10 Way to go Tobe!!

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!

I like bad horror movies. But at the end of this film I was left with a "huh?" resounding in my brain. Just unanswered questions:

1.) The old guy, Charlie (?). How did he know about the killer? Why was he allowed to live?

2.) The killer- okay so he "clawed his way" out of his mother's body. Then what? He was in a fire? He drank Ponce de Leon's fountain of youth juice? Whats with the face and the homicidal tendencies?

3.) Why was Ned and Byron allowed to live so long?

4.) Did Saffron eventually die, nailed to the ceiling? Or was she finished off later on?

5.) If there was no apartment 4 on any floor, why did they make their attempts to "hide" that so obvious? Why not just make the former #5 apartments #4's?

6.) Why doesn't Angela Bettis eat?

I just wish we had more of an understanding of the killer, instead of some quickly thrown in nonsense about a "pagan" spell (and once again spreading the negative stereotype of the pentagram). And what did the symbols have to do with anything? It seemed that she was following a map, but it looked to me like she was just finding the symbols and looking at them.