DVD Review | The Toolbox Murders
Written by: Kage Alan

Film Rating: B
DVD Special Features: A

Do you remember those old newspaper movie ads that used to have smaller
sections dedicated to films that weren't blockbusters and had names that
really caught our eye?  Most of them were exploitation films of a sort,
especially when it came to horror.  When VHS took off, many of them began to appear on the shelves of the local video store and then disappeared over the
years.  Many of these films have remained a point of curiosity for us and
it's only with a resurgence of interest in these older oddities that
companies like Anchor Bay and Blue Underground, the new kid on the block,
came into being.  I mean, who else could release a film with the tagline "Bit
by bit by bit…  He carved a nightmare!"?

"The Toolbox Murders" is like having two films in one.  The first half deals
primarily with a handyman (Cameron Mitchell, "Nightforce") who dons a
ski-mask and starts to take out unclean sinning little bimbos in the
apartment complex where he works.  The first victim gets drilled (and NOT in
the good way), the next gets it with the claw end of a hammer, her friend
dies by screwdriver (gets "screwed" ya might say) and yet another with a nail
gun (nailed?).  Hmm, drilled, screwed and nailed.  It doesn't sound like a
horror movie, does it?  It is, though, and a bloody one at that.  Things calm
down a bit, however, when young Laurie Ballard (Pamelyn Ferdin, "Space
Academy") is kidnapped by the brute because she reminds him of his daughter
who had been killed in an auto accident some time ago.

The second half of the film is more about the investigation behind Laurie's
disappearance as well as her mental anguish dealing with a psycho.  Joey
(Nicolas Beauvy, "Camelot"), her brother, takes it upon himself to try and
find out what happened, especially since the police don't seem to be moving
fast enough for his tastes.  Besides, Detective Jamison (Tim Donnelly, "The
Clonus Horror") appears to be more interested in Laurie's mother than solving
the case, but that's just my opinion.  Anyway, Joey starts digging away with
his best friend, Kent (Wesley Eure, "C.H.O.P.S."), the nephew of the
handyman.  Does craziness run in the family?  Will Joey find his sister or
die in the process?  Will justice be served?  Watch and discover for
yourself.

The really odd thing about this film is that we don't find out that it's
actually based on true events that occurred in 1967 or so (the film was
released in 1977).  Why base it on something that happened?  It's probably
because producer Tony DiDio sat some people down in a room, had them watch "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and then told them to work on a film in that same vein.  Well, it sounds like a valid hypothesis to me.  Anyway, we get the majority of the killings out of the way in the first 15 minutes or so and
then spend the rest of the film working on the psychological aspects of it.
The second half certainly helps elevate the movie beyond its beginning
sequences, but it's the nail gun scene that made "The Toolbox Murders"
infamous.

Blue Underground has released the film in the Widescreen format, a first for
it.  The transfer is slightly grainy, some scenes are too dark and there are
a few other imperfections, but it's far better looking that it's ever been
seen before.  The audio is mono, but still in very good shape.  As for
extras, we have a number of them.  First up is an 8-minute interview with
actress Marianne Walter called "I Got Nailed In The Toolbox Murders." She has fond memories of her role in the film as well as her death scene and candidly recounts her career from that point on including her involvement in the adult film industry.  Beyond that, we're given a theatrical trailer, TV spot, 2
radio spots, a poster and still gallery, a Cameron Mitchell bio and an audio
commentary with Tony DiDio, Director of Photography Gary Graver and actress Panelyn Ferdin.  The three have a very animated conversation and recount their memories of the production, the cast and crew as well as the publicity the film has received over the years.  It's very good.

As exploitation films go, "The Toolbox Murders" ranks right up there.  
Donahue and a number of other shows at the time used the nail gun segment as
a way to show how awful the horror genre was and how damaging it could be,
yet the tide turned when Stephen King listed it in TV Guide as his #1
favorite film.  I wouldn't recommend this for everyone, but anybody fond of
the genre or exploitation films in general will find much to like here.  I
enjoyed the opportunity to watch the movie and hear how cast and crew felt
about it and I think that helped me to appreciate it, but it still creeped me
out.