The Forgotten

Some can call it cheap, others can call it stupid and some may even call it pointless, but these are all adjectives once attributed to classics such as Night of the Living Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Last House on the Left. As the latter was also distributed by Hallmark, they obliged to reproduced the same tag line here - `To avoid fainting keep repeating: ‘It's only a movie…only a movie…only a movie'.'

Don't Look in the Basement tells the story of Charlotte Beale (heartstoppingly gorgeous Rosie Holotik and Playboy covergirl, April, 1972), a young nurse whose arrival at her new position coincides with a dramatic change within the Stephen's Sanatarium for the mentally insane. The unusual treatment here involves allowing patients to roam free around the hospital, allowing them to express their repressed inhibitions to cure their madness. The patients are a truly frightening gathering. One girl shuffles around with a doll she believes is her baby and if you offend her you'll die; A chap believes himself to be a judge, constantly preaching courtroom jargon; A nymphomaniac wanting love from anyone who lunges at all men; An ex-Vietnam vet watches over the premises, assuring nobody escapes…etc. Soon, poor Charlotte realizes that all is not as it should be and '...a sense of unease creeps over her...' Will she solve the mystery of the Sanitarium before she too is driven insane?

If you allow yourself to get with the flow of this low budget horror film, then you might even see the twist in the tail. I won't spoil it for you here

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...

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.

Take an ensemble cast of good B grade actors, give them a good script, a somewhat original premise, and unobtrusive directing, and you may end up with a film that over-achieves as much as "Don't Look in the Basement" did.

The film takes place in a large house which is home to several psychotic individuals. Before the plot even begins, the head of the hospital is chopped up by one of the patients with an axe. Then Rosie Holotik enters the hospital looking for the axe victim and finds that the hospital has a new head who is not at first willing to honor her agreement with the deceased Dr. Stephens. Soon, however, Dr. Masters reconsiders and Nurse Beale (Holotik) is hired. The rest of the film builds tension and successfully develops the individual psychoses of the in-mates. After a while it becomes very unclear who is a patient and who is a doctor.

In the end, Don't Look in the Basement is a cleverly plotted film which benefits from generally good acting and directing and not-overly-ambitious camera work. A must-see for B horror fans, and an interesting diversion for those interested in psycho-dramas and psychological thrillers. Be warned, however, this film is slightly more gory and sexy than the average horror film of its time.