The Toolbox Murders

Plot synopsis:
A person is driving around Los Angeles at night, and a flashback shows a car wreck, an ambulance, and a little girl lying dead on a gurney. The car stops and a person grabs a toolbox from the trunk and heads to a two-story apartment building. The unseen person walks into an apartment, and the resident, Mrs. Andrews, walks out of the bathroom, letting the man know that she called a couple of day ago. The unseen man attaches a drill bit and heads towards the woman. The woman breaks a bottle and holds the fractured glass against him, but the man grabs her arm and drills into it. She runs to the bathroom and locks the door, but the man drills through the door, gets inside, and punches Mrs. Andrews. He carries her to the main room where he drills her to death while a record plays. He puts the bloody drill back in his toolbox, puts on a ski mask, and leaves the apartment.A little later, Debbie (Marciee Drake) returns to her apartment and changes clothes. She opens a door to get something in the hall closet and the ski-masked killer punches her out and carries her to the stop of the building complex stairs where he beats her to death with a hammer. He takes the body back into the apartment and places it on the floor. Maria (Evlyn Guerrero) another tenant, arrives at the front door to ask about the mess outside. When she gets inside, the killer keeps her from leaving, and stabs Maria to death with a screwdriver. In another apartment, the ski-masked killer sees a woman with a man, and avoids the room. An elderly woman sees blood at the top of the stairs and calls out to a man, and they both knock on Debbie's front door. The man opens the door and sees the two dead women.A little later, the police are on the scene and they speak with Van Kingsley (Cameron Mitchell), the owner of the building. They ask for a list of tenants, and he tells them that he screens all of the applicants. The next morning, teenager Laura (Pamelyn Ferdin) talks with her brother Joey (Nicholas Beauvy) and leaves for school with one of her friends.That night another one of the tenants, Dee Ann (Marianne Walter) is getting ready to take a bath and the humming ski-masked killer is outside with his tool box. He cuts the chain lock on the front door and walks into the bathroom where he sees the woman in the tub. Dee Ann sees the killer and jumps out of the tub and throws a towel at him. He shoots a nail gun at her but misses. He reloads and misses again. In the main room, Dee Ann tries to persuade the killer to put the nail gun down, but after a quick flash of the girl and the accident, the killer shoots and hits Dee Ann in her stomach. She leads against a wall and he fires the nail gun into her head.In Laurie's apartment, she is on the phone with her boyfriend when the killer walks in just as she is hanging up. He grabs her from behind and she struggles until she passes out. A little while later, Joey returns to an empty apartment and he gets a drink for his alcoholic mother when she comes home. They hear screams and run outside where the tenants have crowded around Dee Ann's apartment. The police led by Detective Jamison (Tim Donnelly) arrive where they talk to Joey and ask him where he was the last few nights. Joey, anxious to find his sister, heads to Mrs. Andrews' place where he sees Kent (Wesley Eure) who is there to clean up the bloody mess. The two discuss that wreck which resulted in the death of Kent's cousin Cathy. Joey says that he wants to know here Laurie is, and the two head over to Dee Ann's apartment. After looking around, Kent sees a bloody nail in the wall, and he surmises that the killer used a nail gun to kill Dee Ann. The two boys leave.Joanne (Aneta Corsaut), Laurie and Jody's mother, heads to her place of employment, a local bar, because she does not want to be home to think about the kidnapped Laurie. Joey and Kent drive to his uncle's house for cleaning equipment. In the garage, the see Vance who simply hands Kent some money and shuts the back door. The boys get some supplies and leave. Vance watches them leave and goes to the bedroom, where Laurie is bound and gagged on the bed. He brushes her hair and talks to her about his daughter Cathy and the evil world. He says that he killed all those women at the apartment building because they were evil. Laurie calls him 'Daddy' and asks to untie her. Vance says that he cannot lose her again and he leaves Laurie to cry alone.Meanwhile, Jamison goes to the bar to talk to Joanne about Laurie's disappearance, but does not seem to get any useful information from her. Kent goes to his uncle's place and sees Laurie there in bed and gently raps on the window. The next day, Joey goes to Mrs. Andrews' apartment, where Kent is cleaning the place. Jamison is looking out the window with binoculars. Jamison tells Joey that the killer forced his way into one apartment, but may have conned his way into the others. Joey asks if the killer had to con his way at all, and Kent quickly eyes the two. Joey leaves, gets his mother's car keys, and heads over to Vance's place. Inside the garage, he finds the toolbox and a bloody drill bit. Kent enters and tells Joey that he is crazy for believing that his uncle is a killer. Kent says that if there is anyone who can believe Joey's claims, the would be in so much trouble with his uncle. Kent throws some gasoline on Joey and tells him that he must protect his family. He lights some matches and throws one on Joey who burns to death.Kent walks into the bedroom where Vance is with Laurie, and he tells his uncle that he is sick and insane for keeping Laurie there and killing the other women at the apartment complex. Kent further agitates his uncle by saying that he and Cathy had sex on several occasions. Vance angrily chases Kent out of the bedroom and into the kitchen where Kent arms himself with a knife. Vance grabs the knife and the doll that he is holding loses its head. The deranged Vance screams: "you killed my Cathy!" Vance lunghes at Kent and onto the knife and falls to the floor. Kent picks up the doll, puts its head back on and cleans the blood off while Vance lies still where he fell.Kent returns to the bedroom and cuts Laurie's restraints with scissors. Laurie is overjoyed and thanks Kent and persuades him to call the police. Kent tries to kiss Laurie, but she turns away. Kent suddenly slaps her and climbs on top of her ignoring her screams as he presumably rapes her.A little while later at nightfall, Kent and Laurie are lying side by side in bed and Kent is talking about the possibly of marriage. Laurie asks about her brother and Kent avoids the question by saying that they will be together. Laurie apparently figures out that Kent may have killed Joey. Laurie turns and eyes the pair of scissors on the night stand next to her and grabs them.In the final shot, a benumbed Laurie, still holding the scissors and with blood splattered all over her white dress, slowly walks through a deserted parking lot of a local shopping center as she heads for home as dawn starts to break in the distance.

Tags: violence, cult, cruelty, sadist

Review:
And I LIKE horror folks.The first 20 minutes or so features a series of murders of young women by various items from a toolbox - drill, hammer, nail gun,etc.
(Maybe he's a country purist and is offended by their lack of Hank Williams?) Anyway, after that the movie rapidly gets duller and duller, a girl gets kidnapped, some inept cops investigate the murders and are baffled, even though you'll pick the killer as soon as you see him.
The great Cameron Mitchell is a masked maniac who kills the inhabitants with nail guns, screwdrivers & hammers, before kidnapping Laurie Ballard, a typical yet innocent 15 year old (played by Pamelyn Ferdin who is such a vegetarian that apparently she didn't even accept meaty roles).
Better than Tope Hooper's drab and lifeless 2004 re-make (or re-imagining, rather)Eye Candy: Marciee Drake gets topless; Kelly Nichols gets fully nude; and extra nudity in the DVD menus & Extras My Grade: B- Blue Underground DVD Extras: Commentary with producer Tony Didio, cinematographer Gary Graver and actress Pamelyn Ferdin; an interview with actress Marianne Walter (AKA Kelly Nichols); Poster & still gallery; movie poster reproduction; Cameron Mitchell biography; TV spot; 2 Radio spots; and Theatrical trailer.
The acting was, at the best of times, marginal and the plot...let's say it wasn't exactly ground-breaking: At the same time though I doubt that director Dennis Donnelly (who has also worked on episodes of 'Dallas' and 'Airwolf'...if I recall from my childhood) was attempting to change the world with the tale of a deranged Ski-mask wearing killer wielding, amongst other items, nail guns and chisels.
"The Toolbox Murders" opens with a string of brutal and bloody killings at a small apartment complex in Los Angeles.An unknown assailant wearing a ski mask kills various sexually active and 'lewd' women.The nude murder scene of Marianne Walter with a nail-gun is the most noteworthy and has to be seen to be believed.Unfortunately after four gory and misogynistic murders the film becomes pretty tiresome kidnap/captivity/detective psychodrama.Come on!The first half of "The Toolbox Murders" blew my mind with its sleaze and unflinching violence.The climax is also disappointing and abrupt.The acting is good with excellent central performance of Cameron Mitchell as the Toolbox Slasher.Overall,"The Toolbox Murders" is a solid exploitation sickie.A must-see for fans of "Maniac","Don't Go in the House" or "Born for Hell".8 out of 10..
Cameron Mitchell stars as Vance Kingsley, the owner of an apartment building who kills "sinful" women (using assorted tools, of course) who commit "unatural acts." He then kidnaps a teenaged girl (Pamelyn Ferdin, who's wonderful) to replace his own deceased daughter.What a mess!
His weapon of choice is whatever he pulls from his toolbox.Dennis Donnelly paces the killing spree nicely as the killer taunts his victims before he drills, hammers, screws, and nails them (yes, I got the blatant symbolism).
I think the only actress that would dare do this at the moment is Milla Jovovich.Sadly, the movie then stalls a little as it changes from murder to a mystery as our bad guy kidnaps a girl, then it's about finding her as well as the toolbox man.
The original "Toolbox Murders" isn't a bad exploitation movie but it's far from achieving classic status.
Dennis Donnelly's low-budget grindhouse film moves quickly once the opening credits have finished - we are shown a series of violent attacks in an apartment block on a number of attractive women.
Accompanied by a funky '70s soundtrack, the gore sequences aren't memorable in the way that they are in a good "Friday the 13th" installment but the scenes are shown in such rapid succession so there's no time for boredom to set in.Sadly, the film runs out of steam towards the end.
Much decried 70's gore/sexploitation flick, most often noted only as a misogynistic opus, does (in fact) actually have some interesting views on the psychology of loss and dementia.At a Californian apartment complex, one dark night a masked intruder stalks the building and violently murders several of the female tenants.
After the lengthy opening murder spree, the film settles down into something more like an Italian giallo feature, with the police following red-hearings and the violence (while still very brutal) comes in mostly quick bursts.A note on the violence; yes, it is very bloody and yes, it is almost exclusively targeted at women.
The murders also take on a sexual nature in that a couple of the girls are done-in while in partial or full undress; on one occasion, the killer waits until a girl has finished masturbation before doing his thing.It isn't until the final 3rd of the film that is begins to develop into something more than cheap exploitation.
Unfortunately, after several effective, gruesome deaths (which all take place in the first 15 minutes of the film), the movie becomes another one of those "God-made-me-do-it" cheese-fests, where the killer justifies his madness by citing his strict religious upbringing (which might be THE most tired cliche in the Mad Slasher Handbook).
Essentially, however, this is an artlessly made (there's no style to the killings, although the weapons used - like a nail-gun and a screwdriver - are fairly original), rampantly misogynistic horror film with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
The fact that we get to know who the killer is pretty early on in the movie (the hairy arms gave it away) also takes away a lot of the tension and mystery atmosphere of the movie.Even though the movie gets gory in parts, I mean the murders are being committed with the contents of a toolbox, how can it not be gory but it's just never really shocking.Still fans of this sub-genre will probably most likely still enjoy and appreciate this movie.5/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/.
The film details the murders of "sinful" women who perform "unnatural acts" by a madman who has recently lost his own daughter.It has been said that Cameron Mitchell's performance is "over the top", but I don't believe so.
The opening sequence, which sees a young woman butchered with a drill, gives way to an even better scene where we watch a hot naked chick killed with a nail gun.
But for some reason, the film doesn't follow these scenes up with anything similar in quality, and after the good opening; The Toolbox Murders becomes rather routine.
When a young man's sister is kidnapped, he decides to track her down himself and after being asked for advice by the police(?), we get treated to the discovery of the identity of the not so helpful repair man.Considering the huge amount of potential this had to be one of the truly great slasher films, The Toolbox Murders is a huge letdown.
The Toolbox Murders (1978)** (out of 4) Notorious horror film has a couple young men trying to solve a grisly series of murders that have happened at the same apartment complex.
The death scenes are graphic at times with the most famous one being the bathtub/masturbation sequence with Kelly Nichols, which certainly packs a strange punch.What really kills the film is that it switches to a mystery/detective film and it falls apart.
terrible flick is boring awfully acted and non shocking i the dialog is horrible it has a bit of dubbing and its not really that entertaining and not gory either i expected a gore fest but what i got was a lousy piece of pathetic trash of a flick Cameron Mitchell is the only strong actor in this the others are laughable the script has lots of problems for example are we really supposed to care about any of these characters and care if they die and this is also badly written and the whole thing feels kinda rushed this could have been a shocking little flick bur it instead it is a boring stupid waste of film that should have never been made trust me folks stay from this one it's a stinker there is one good thing though a somewhat decent ending and a solid performance earn this * Out of 5.
Plenty of nudity, at times it felt more like a soft porno then a horror, it does nothing to enhance the film, I'm sure it was done purely to get audiences.So I've slated it, but I couldn't switch it off for some strange reason, I had to stick with it, the conclusion is pretty shocking, but satisfying in a way.Not one I'll repeat watch, but I'm glad I've finally seen it.
A ski-masked maniac kills apartment complex tenants with the contents of a toolbox.Blue Underground does a great job of bringing forgotten movies to the mainstream, and making them look good in the process.
Likewise, the slasher movie elements end and settles into a police procedural rut with a subplot between the lead detective and her mother which ultimately goes nowhere as her brother plays amateur sleuth when he agrees to clean the crime scenes, ultimately turning up evidence in the case but is altogether ignored with most of his findings being dismissed until the finale when it becomes altogether obvious.
With the inept Jamison refusing to believe it's kidnapping, Laurie's brother Joey (Nicolas Beauvy) starts to investigate the disappearance along with Vance's nephew Kent (Wesley Eure).Traditional gore-hounds tend to turn their noses up at this movie, as after the extremely bloody opening half an hour, the film grinds to a halt and spends time developing it's somewhat tedious plot and characters.
The Toolbox Murders is one of those early pre date slashers that came out even before Halloween and has become well known among slasher fans due to it's entry on the Video Nasty list back in the 1980's, This is a film that I have seen many times, I dunno why I've never reviewed this movie before, no reason just never got round to it."The Toolbox Murders" starts out with a bang, as we get too see various sexy looking women getting murdered in an apartment building, (dunno why people still live there why don't they just move) not that it's a bad thing, just adds extra cheesiness.
And when it comes to the final moments of this film it does kind of fall flat as it tries to be shocking, which does work in a way.The performances in this movie are quite strong especially from veteran actor Cameron Mitchell who gives a chilling yet convincing performance that's rather menacing and yet quite engaging.
Eventually (SPOILER ALERT), we come to realize that the murders are being committed by the hotel's manager (Cameron Mitchell), who is targeting "immoral" young women as his victims.It seems that his daughter was killed in a car crash after having gotten involved in sex and drug related activities.
The film is about women in a Los Angeles apartment who are stalked and murdered by a ski-masked killer with various tools.
The first thirty minutes of the movie is just basically a bunch of women in a Los Angeles, California apartment complex getting murdered with contents of a toolbox (hammers, drills, screwdrivers, nailguns), and it is pretty graphic.
But hey, at least they tried something new, not many horror films get the deaths over with so quickly and focus more on the solving of the crime and the killer's captive.I saw this film on DVD, so it included some cut footage that I guess had been banned (I'm assuming it was the bathtub scene and maybe some extra gory shots of the murders - it was a pretty violent slasher film).
Here's a little tip for those unfamiliar with Mitchell - if you're watching a horror movie from the 60s or 70s and Cameron Mitchell shows up, expect him to go nuts and start killing people.
It twists the genre on it's head and gives it an entirely different angle on female roles in horror.The film starts with some suitably gory murders, seemingly setting the stage for a by-the-books slasher movie.
(SPOILERS) She eventually is capable of saving herself; no man is needed.The direction is fine, the acting is okay for a low-budget '70's horror movie, but the uniqueness of this film is its greatest quality.
Spoilers!THE TOOLBOX MURDERS is one nasty little horror film.
In what Stephen King called his favorite death scene in a horror movie, the girl runs around the apartment completely nude, barely avoiding the flying nails.
This is slasher movie pop-art.Similar to how the only thing people talk, or remember, about "Trilogy of Terror" is the Zuni Fetish Doll, the opening cascade of misogynistic gore is all anyone remembers about "The Toolbox Murder." It's far to say the fame peaks early.
Marianne Walter, better known as veteran porn actress and makeup artist Kelly Nichols, has a memorable bit as a victim who pleasures herself in the bathtub (to the strains of a touching country ditty dubbed "Pretty Lady") before the Toolbox Murderer comes calling.Basing itself on some supposedly "true story" (as text at the end indicates), this is undeniably entertaining stuff for those with a taste for the sick and seamy, and it just grows more and more grim as it goes along, accompanied by an incredibly haunting score by George Deaton.
Having stated in other reviews I've done that I'm a big fan of slashers and a collector of horror movies, it was pretty obvious, The Toolbox Murders was on my to-review list.
There's somewhat of a happy ending too.The Toolbox Murders is just one of these movies where if one little thing had of been left out, it wouldn't have been really worth the watch.
In the film, Cameron Mitchell plays a really wacked-out killer stalking women he views as "sinful" and sadistically punishing them with murder by various types of garage tools.
This late 70s exploitation slasher film begins brilliantly with a series of murders done by a man dressed in black with a ski mask, using tools from a toolbox to kill his victims in different ways.The first part of this film alone goes well with other slasher films of the 70s and 80s but unfortunately half way through the film, you find out who the killer is and most of the time after that you pretty much have him talking to a girl that he kidnapped and tied up on a bed.
I like the fact that director Dennis Donnelly employs a nontraditional storytelling formula (at least for the horror film) here; it makes "The Toolbox Murders" oddly compelling, if not consistently interesting.
The movie shifts from the deadly seriousness of the murders and Pamelyn Ferdin's abduction to Nicolas Beauvy and Wesley Eure awkwardly exploring the apartments where the killings occurred, and this portion of the film bears more resemblance to an episode of "ABC Afterschool Specials" than anything else (which I'm sure was not Donnelly's intention).
The considerable strength of "The Toolbox Murders" lies in its early scenes; after that, it really becomes a different movie, and not a particularly good one.
This sick little number has all the poise and artistic elegance of a porno flick, but some truly shocking and memorable sequences and the haunting image that ends this film leave the viewer feeling genuinely disturbed and unnerved, making The Toolbox Murders a movie that ultimately presents its uncompromising vision adeptly.The film is flawed on many fronts, and at times tedious, so this certainly isn't a candidate for the "classic" category.
Yeah, it doesn't feature wall to wall gore and the 7 minute body count like later films such as Maniac and Friday The 13th and the ensuing arrival of the notorious slasher in the early 1980s and the toolbox murderer takes no more female victims after the first half hour but this vintage exploitation sleaze left a wonderful taste to my palate.
But at it's heart The Toolbox Murders is pure exploitation of the kind which simply doesn't get made anymore, female masturbation, barking mad psycho's with silly motives, a totally bizarre twist ending that comes from nowhere, some gory & brutal murders looking like it was all filmed on a budget that probably wouldn't cover Tom Cruise's cigar bill!
There is some good gore here with a woman being killed with a drill, one has a hammer whacked into the top of her head, someone is stabbed with a screwdriver & the famous nail-gun murder along with someone being doused in petrol & being set on fire & a stabbing, all of these scenes are drawn out, bloody & pretty brutal looking.
30 minutes in, and The Toolbox Murders is shaping up to be one of the greatest exploitation movies in cinema history: four sexy women, all living on the same apartment complex, are violently butchered by their power-tool wielding, ski-mask wearing landlord (Cameron Mitchell, playing yet another nut-job).
After all, he doesn't want her ending up like all of the 'wicked' women that he has been disposing of, does he?From this point on, the film becomes much more of a psychological horror/suspense movie, as a terrified Laurie lays bound to a bed whilst her brother Joey (Nicolas Beauvy) tries to find out what has happened to his little sis, with the 'help' of Kent, his nutty landlord's equally nutty nephew.And although nothing in the latter part of the film quite matches the grisly sensationalist and misogynistic action to be witnessed in the opening scenes, Donnelly doesn't entirely forget that this is an exploitation flick, and sees fit to include a rather nasty moment in which Joey is burnt to death, and another which sees poor Laurie raped by her brother's killer (this occurs off-screen, but still leaves a nasty taste in the mouth).The Toolbox Murders is a classic grind-house slasher which I thoroughly recommend to like-minded gore-hounds and lovers of trashy horror everywhere.
There is an explanation to the motives of murderer - quite pointless in this kind of movie.Music creates interesting contrasts especially in the opening sequence.Not the best of its genre but I would say worth seeing if you like weird horror.