Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Plumber

Play trailer The Plumber 1980 1h 16m Mystery & Thriller Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
Tomatometer 3 Reviews 60% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Be careful whom you hire to fix your home. In this early offering from acclaimed director Peter Weir, handyman Max (Ivar Kants) worms his way into the apartment of married couple Jill (Judy Morris) and Brian (Robert Coleby). Scaring Jill with tales of his dark past, Max parks himself in the house for several days, doing less and less work as the hours grind on. The terrified Jill is reluctant to anger Max, although she realizes she must eventually find the strength to eject him.

Critics Reviews

View More
Tim Brayton Alternate Ending 05/26/2020
3.5/5
It's perhaps no more than an exercise in psychological tension... but it's a good exercise. Go to Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 09/08/2011
B-
A one-joke black comedy, that plays out as a nightmare. Go to Full Review Fernando F. Croce CinePassion 03/15/2010
Peter Weir in a joking mood Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
08/31/2020 The archetypes and power dynamics on display in this movie still feel sadly relevant circa 2020: Disgruntled blue collar man vs. naive intellectual woman. Ivar Kants is very good at making the title character menacing, especially when joking/not joking. There are vaguely surreal bits, like the work being done in the bathroom, that keep the film's tone less realistic, and therefore lighter, than it otherwise would be if it focused solely on the nasty conflict that develops between the two characters. See more delysid d 05/17/2020 its a classic film about a creepy plumber. a classic of nasty trash movies See more 03/12/2015 Peter Weir's dark comedy is short and sweet. See more 06/01/2014 Peter Weir directed this oddball TV movie thriller for his homeland Australian audiences. A creepy plumber "fixes" the plumbing at an apartment building, but his creepy benavior escalates to stalking and a weird bit of cat and mouse between him and one particular female tenant. Not exactly a classic for Weir, but it's interesting enough black comedy and you can see some seeds of the great filmmaker he'd become. See more 05/24/2014 Next time it might be better to do it yourself. A metaphor for socio-economic disparity and distrust. See more 05/21/2014 good low budget thriller See more Read all reviews
The Plumber

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Peter Weir

Director

Judy Morris

Jill Cowper

Ivar Kants

Max

Robert Coleby

Brian Cowper

Candy Raymond

Meg

Henri Szeps

David Medavoy
View All

The Plumber

The Plumber (1980) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Be careful whom you hire to fix your home. In this early offering from acclaimed director Peter Weir, handyman Max (Ivar Kants) worms his way into the apartment of married couple Jill (Judy Morris) and Brian (Robert Coleby). Scaring Jill with tales of his dark past, Max parks himself in the house for several days, doing less and less work as the hours grind on. The terrified Jill is reluctant to anger Max, although she realizes she must eventually find the strength to eject him.
Director
Peter Weir
Producer
Matthew Carroll
Screenwriter
Peter Weir, Harold Lander
Production Co
Australian Film Commission
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Aug 9, 2005
Runtime
1h 16m