Incredibly misogynistic film about an insane man that has sexual repressions who brutally murders women only to end up kidnapping a younger girl to care for(?) This film paces through the first four murders of pretty women with virtually no heart. One woman is drilled to death, another hammered, another literally "screwed" with a screwdriver, and the fourth nail-gunned down. The murders are done by a man in a ski mask while pop tunes from the 70s play in the background as they are played in real time on a phonograph and radios. The rest of the film, as has been previously mentioned, does not live anywhere near the pace of the first 20 minutes. I'm thankful for that! Now, I don't think this movie is wholly trash. Sure, I found the woman-hating tone definitely disturbing. It is. The misogynistic bent is strong as women that are young and pretty seem to be ripe objects for inhumane brutality. But that aside, there are some things that were cleverly done. Some of the director's shots are pretty creative. The acting is generally acceptable. Cameron Mitchell always at least gives a performance. That can not be said of all actors. Pamelyn Ferndin, former child star and the voice of early Charlie Brown shows and Charlotte's Web, gives a decent turn as the terrorized teen. The middle section of the film was pretty decent while the mystery was being investigated by the police and family of the kidnapped daughter. The film really falls apart at the end when one of the most ridiculous endings is soldered on and makes little sense. The ending is such poor scripting that it really makes much of the film become very trite. I even found the end disclaimer that this film was based on a real story somewhat implausible(whether it be or not) because the ending tore away what little credibility the film might have had. The end result is a film that is brutal with little point and little feeling. Director Dennis Donnelly must take most of the credit for that. This is one of the few times when I will heartily recommend the remake - which has little in common with this film other than the title and the means of murder - which is a much more innovative film with a script leaps and bounds beyond this rubbish. Oh, it has some guy named Tobe Hooper directing it as well.
Review of The Toolbox Murders
