Crawlspace

R

1986

1h 18m

Horror

List

17%

12 Reviews

Tomatometer

21%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Dr. Karl Gunther (Klaus Kinski) runs a boardinghouse for women and prides himself on keeping it immaculate. Unfortunately for the residents, he also enjoys spying on them through the crawl spaces within the building -- and then killing them, one by one. Among the lovely ladies in Gunther's house are Harriet (Barbara Whinnery), a sultry secretary, and Lori (Talia Balsam), a studious young woman. Will any of Gunther's tenants avoid falling victim to his methodical madness?

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Audience Member

An odd, but fun little slasher flick. Kinski is wonderfully greasy (as always) as the unhinged nazi doctor, out for blood.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/11/21

Full Review

Audience Member

this movie is so bad i would rather watch jay jay the jet plane than this

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

delysid d

creepy paranoid movie, similar to people under the stairs

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/03/17

Full Review

Audience Member

Another Charles Band produced gem from the 1980s. I'd actually never seen this one before and always remember seeing the VHS box in the horror section with a creepy picture of star Klaus Kinski starring out at you. Mr. Kinski plays a creepy ex-Nazi who travels around his apartment building in the titular crawlspaces to spy on his neighbors and to do despicable things. Writer/Director David Schmoeller made a number of fun horror films for producer Band back in the day, including the original "Puppet Master" film and this film stands up as one of his better films, in large part thanks to the larger than life presence of Klaus Kinski. Schmoeller documented his troubles working with the notoriously difficult actor in a short film titled "Please Kill Mr. Kinski," which is what the crew implored the director to do throughout the filming of "Crawlspace." Schmoeller managed to complete the film without killing Kinski and the end result is a pretty entertaining low budget horror film. The great Pino Donaggio provided the film it's better-than-it-deserves score. Not a classic, but well worth watching of fans of this sort of thing.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Well this movie was fucked but at least it had a clear cut ending

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

anthony j

Please Kill Mr Kinski. Hahaha! The notoriously difficult actor managed to posses director David Schmeoller to produce a short film on the exploits of Mr Kinski on set of "Crawlspace". Kinski is however a very gifted actor and this film remains interesting solely by his very presence. Kinski is quoted as saying on the set "Don't yell cut. Why do directors always yell cut? You will stop when I am finished."

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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David Schmoeller

Director

Klaus Kinski

Karl Gunther

Talia Balsam

Lori Bancroft

Barbara Whinnery

Harriet Watkins

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Horror Scribe Susco Prepares to Enter the "Crawlspace"

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Though the film starts with goofy exploitation, it quite suddenly escalates for the last act, with nearly everyone getting massacred in a bloodthirsty fashion.

Rated: 6/10

Aug 31, 2020

Full Review

Heather Wixson

Daily Dead

Crawlspace is an effective little horror movie with a bevy of tension coursing through its dark and sleazy veins and offers up an air of unpredictability for horror fans who think they've seen it all.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 8, 2016

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Creative Loafing

While there's always intrinsic interest in watching the unhinged Klaus Kinski in action (whether while delivering a performance or in behind-the-scenes footage), even his bizarre behavior can't elevate this truly atrocious film.

Rated: 1/4

Apr 18, 2014

Full Review

Mike McGranaghan

Aisle Seat

Crawlspace is kind of a mess, albeit a thoroughly fascinating one.

Dec 30, 2013

Full Review

J.C. Maçek III

PopMatters

Crawlspace revels in its sadistic oddities, but it falls short of true suspense except for at a few key moments.

Rated: 4/10

Dec 18, 2013

Full Review

Paul M. Bradshaw

Total Film

A no-budget, no thrills sci-fi horror that probably should have stayed buried.

Rated: 1/5

Nov 1, 2012

Full Review

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Synopsis

Dr. Karl Gunther (Klaus Kinski) runs a boardinghouse for women and prides himself on keeping it immaculate. Unfortunately for the residents, he also enjoys spying on them through the crawl spaces within the building -- and then killing them, one by one. Among the lovely ladies in Gunther's house are Harriet (Barbara Whinnery), a sultry secretary, and Lori (Talia Balsam), a studious young woman. Will any of Gunther's tenants avoid falling victim to his methodical madness?

Director: David Schmoeller
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 26, 2017
Runtime: 1h 18m

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