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The Toolbox Murders
The Maniac Drill
USA 1978
produced by Tony DiDio for Cal-Am Productions
directed by Dennis Donnelly
starring Cameron Mitchell, Pamelyn Ferdin, Wesley Eure, Nicolas Beauvy, Tim Donnelly, Aneta Corsaut, Faith McSwain, Marciee Drake, Evelyn Guerrero, Victoria Perry, Robert Bartlett, Betty Cole, John Hawker, Don Diamond, Alisa Powell, Marianne Walter (= Kelly Nichols), Robert Forward, Kathleen O'Malley, Gil Galvano, James Nolan, George Deaton
story by Robert Easter, screenplay by Neva Friedenn, Robert Easter, Ann Kindberg, music by George Deaton, cinematography by Gary Graver
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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In an apartment complex, several women are murdered, all with rather
common home improvment tools, like hammers, screwdrivers, power drills and
nail guns - and all clues point to someone inside the complex, someone who
might have actually known his victims. And then a 15 year old girl, Laurie
(Pamelyn Ferdin), is kidnapped - and while all evidence points to the same
perpetrator, the kidnapping doesn't fit with his modus operandi, nor does
the innocent young girl resemble the killer's type. And while police
detective Jamison (Tim Donnelly) can't hide the fact that he's literally
clueless in this case, and Laurie's brother Joey (Nicolas Beauvy) soon
goes on a wild goose chase after the killer, aided by caretaker apprentice
Kent (Welsey Eure), Laurie is tied to the bed of the complex's caretaker
Kingsley (Cameron Mitchell), who considers her his deceased daughter's
reincarnation and has tied her up to never having to let her go again. And
if that wasn't already creepy enough, he also freely admits to murdering
all these women in front of her, because he considered them impure in
comparison. Eventually, Joey finds a clue leading to Kingsley's
toolshed, where he finds his toolbox full of bloodied tools. Thing is,
Kent has followed him, and it just happens so that Kent is Kingsley's
nephew ... A very nice grindhouse shocker that seems to have a
bit for everybody: There are scenes of genuine Hitchcockian suspense, but
there's also some creative and gruesome murder scenes, there are bits of
sleaze but also some very unnerving acting by B movie veteran Cameron
Mitchell - and it's all tied together in an engaging if not exactly high
brow plot, it moves along at a steady pace, and even if the film never
even tries to break the genre mold, it manages to surprise quite a few
times. Not a great film in the traditional sense of the word, but sure
enough a piece of B movie glory.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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