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Don't Go in the House

R Released Mar 28, 1980 1h 22m Horror List
43% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 34% Audience Score 500+ Ratings
After the death of his abusive mother, a deranged man (Dan Grimaldi) starts to lure women back to his house to burn them alive. Read More Read Less
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Critics Reviews

View All (7) Critics Reviews
Alan Jones Starburst Apart from a few of the more elementary text- book frissons, there is really nothing here to write home about. Jul 28, 2022 Full Review Stefan Birgir Stefans sbs.is "Don't Go in the House" is a decent entry in the serial killer genre, although it never reaches real originality, Grimaldi's performance and that one 'burned alive' death scene raises it to a semi-memorable status. Rated: 3/5 Feb 27, 2021 Full Review C.H. Newell Father Son Holy Gore Looks at a man damaged by the psychopathy of his mother, and also encapsulates the '70s fading in the rear-view while 1980 reared its head. Rated: 4/5 May 6, 2019 Full Review Anton Bitel VODzilla.co a slasher that, for all its derivativeness, always retains our sympathy for its central bogeyman, ensuring that it is as much tragedy as horror. Sep 1, 2017 Full Review Tim Brayton Antagony & Ecstasy The violence it depicts is not nearly as off-putting as the perfunctory misogyny the film evinces, and even that isn't half so obscene as the ridiculously shabby quality of the whole thing. Rated: 1/10 Jul 4, 2010 Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault One unforgettable scene. The rest is boredom. Rated: C- Aug 27, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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David W It's a very interesting curio and a more than decent serial killer movie. Grimaldi gives an excellent central performance as the 'created' psychopath. Its very much a horror movie but it's also a light study of the genesis of his creation at the hands of an abusive, overly religious mother and his resultant spiral. There's obviously violence but it's largely more implied than actually shown on screen. It's not the influentual classic that Psycho was and is to some extent inspired by but it's still a very well made genre movie given its late 70's vintage. Well worth seeking out. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/08/24 Full Review wayne k One of the many so-called video nasties that terrified the jumpy British public back in 1980, Don't Go In The House, like many films of its ilk, feels incredibly tame by todays standards. You'll get more violent and shocking content in whatever horror remake finds itself in theatres around Halloween. I recently watched another video nasty called The Witch Who Came From The Sea. Interestingly, both films deal with childhood abuse and trauma, topics which cinemagoers clearly weren't ready for back in the day, but I found Witch to be the more interesting, in depth and emotionally complex. House felt a lot more conventional, like a simplified retelling of Psycho. It's clearly taking inspiration from the real-life Ed Gein case, as do many serial killer films. A horrible mother verbally and physically mistreats her child and they grow up with a deep resentment of women as a result. House doesn't do much different with this premise, aside from its inclusion of fire. I didn't find any of it to be too compelling or even thrilling. The kills doesn't inspire much fear, but I'll admit there are a few shocking moments scattered throughout. It's clear the controversy was just a product of the time, because as good as the film is now and then, there's nothing about it that really sets it apart. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member It doesn't really go anywhere but it's ok. It reminded me of Bad Lieutenant. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Most of the films on the BBFC list of video nasties are by today's standards pretty rubbish. This one however is fairly interesting.. When Donny's abusive mother dies he really loses it in a BIG way. The film looks great now it's been restored ,but it's easy to see why it was seen as a nasty Now 40 years later we can see what a farce the whole banned film thing was . No classic then but vastly better than say Mardi Gras Massacre or other films on the banned list. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/28/22 Full Review Audience Member nice Red Sea" has genuine-seeming concern for the refugees it depicts, but doesn't memorably capture the impressive true tale. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review delysid d fantastic film, a must see Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/03/18 Full Review Read all reviews
Don't Go in the House

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis After the death of his abusive mother, a deranged man (Dan Grimaldi) starts to lure women back to his house to burn them alive.
Director
Joseph Ellison
Production Co
Turbine Films Inc.
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 28, 1980, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 23, 2017
Runtime
1h 22m
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