The Toolbox Murders

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Daniel C. M A personal favorite of mine. Before anything, yes, this movie does become slowburn for the second half and more of a mystery thriller, while the first half is a straight-up slasher. The first half really is extremely good, all the kills are executed (pun not intended) with perfection and the gore is amazing and well crafted. The opening shot following the inside of a car while a Biblical preaching is taking place on the radio is soooo underrated and one of the best openings for a horror movie i have ever seen. The second half starts around he kidnaps Laurie and the pacing definetely takes a toll -- it even outright reveals the killer for ourselves without the characters finding out -- but it still manages to create solid suspense and thrills that lead to the climax, which is very subversing, unpredictable, and full of twists. Cameron Mitchell as the killer is definetly the best performance and the best thing in general in this movie alongside his kills. His motives and his monologue are truly golden and very realistic. Of course, there typical problems that you would expect from a movie like this; laughable acting at times; some dumb script errors; but really, i am willing to forgive all of it.. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/03/24 Full Review Jonathan O One of the sleaze nasty slasher film ever made it is very bloody and brutal and very explotated of the 70's the cinematography looks good but it feels like your watching a porno film lol however it really felt like Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the suburbs. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/28/24 Full Review Cees T Less bad than the real events this is loosely based on. TIL death scenes are cleaned up by civilians who often hire specialized cleaners. 7/10 - Good. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/24/24 Full Review nick s A rather inconsistent movie that feels like a collage of competing ideas, but every so often there is an artistic flourish or some authentic acting that elevates it. So a little better than many slasher films. Still not great. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/24 Full Review Charles T This infamous little slasher flick with the infamous little title is full of blood, violence, and nudity. It is everything you expect from something of this ilk. Supposedly based on a true story, four women in an apartment building are brutally murdered by items normally found in a toolbox. The killer (and the film makers do not hide this fact) is Cameron Mitchell, the building owner. Mitchell is a religious nut who recently lost his daughter in a car accident. He then begins punishing "sinful" women. The last third of the film sees the deaths of two major characters, and wraps things up nicely with the end credits crawl describing what happened to the "survivors" of this "real life" crime spree. Although rated (R), this is some very violent stuff. The first half hour, when the majority of the crimes take place, is unpleasant. One of the first murders includes the now infamous murder of the model taking a bath. The blood flows freely, and the murders are punctuated by some truly bizarre country and love tunes. The film makers build up a subplot between Ferdin and Beauvy's mom and the standard driven police detective that never pans out, or is resolved. Ferdin and Eure were mainstays on television in the 1970's. They do well, considering the material. Donnelly's direction is pretty basic, a camera shadow can be seen here and there. Gary Graver, the cinematographer, is better known as Orson Welles' cameraman later in the great director's career. Graver seems to have made a career of this kind of film, his involvement usually sets you up for what to expect. I cannot explain why I am recommending this film. Genre fans might appreciate the gore effects, and the reputation this film now celebrates. This is a serial killer film before the term "serial killer" was coined. The events are watchable, however. "The Toolbox Murders" is not "Scream" or "Urban Legends," this is the type of film that no more motive than to scare and disgust its viewer. If that is all they wanted to do, they succeeded. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/27/23 Full Review Vicky H A gory and sleazy 70's slasher that have dated badly, very tame now with boring middle half. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 08/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Toolbox Murders

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