Plot: What’s it about?
A man with a black ski mask on sulks through an apartment complex, with a toolbox carried to his side. Although the ski mask is an odd touch, you’d expect to see a man with some tools, since the complex has to have a handyman of sorts. But when the toolbox opens, the items withdrawn are not used to repair anything, instead the man uses them to murder beautiful women, in brutal and sadistic fashion. After the drill, chisel, hammer, and even nailgun have served their purpose in the murders, the masked man then kidnaps a young girl and retreats from the scenes of his horrific, numerous crimes. Of course, the police arrive soon afterwards to look into the slayings, but find themselves lost, as no real evidence or witnesses can be found. Even without the aid of the police, the girl’s mother and brother wish to continue the search for her, which becomes a reality when her boyfriend and a detective join forces with them. But as they delve deeper into this sick case, will they uncover something even more twisted than they expect?
Ever wonder what would happen if Bob Vila went “holier than thou,” grabbed his tools, and starting hacking up sinful women? If so, then you’ll want to check out The Toolbox Murders and while we don’t get Bob himself, we do have a madman with some wicked tools. Yes, we watch this sick & twisted lunatic get wild with a hammer, nailgun, power drill, screwdriver, all used to take chunks out of some beautiful young lovelies. The film itself however, is not lovely and as with most exploitation slashers, The Toolbox Murders can be downright nasty at times. The title alone should keep those easily offended at a distance, but the sadistic nature of the movie might even take some genre fans back. But if you’re a veteran of trash cinema and exploitation, you’ll be fine here and of course, you’ll be glad The Toolbox Murders has been released. This one has hilarious dialogue, a good amount of bloodshed, and even some hotties without their tops, plus an eerie and insane performance from Cameron Mitchell. I recommend this to fans of exploitation cinema, especially since this disc contains the uncut & uncensored version of the movie.
You can’t expect a good performance in a movie like The Toolbox Murders, at least not in the traditional sense. Instead, you want girls who look good, scream well, and can put on good death scenes, plus you need some really bizarre surrounding players. In this case, we have Cameron Mitchell and while his effort is by no means good in the usual ways, he is effective and makes the character work very well. He seems creepy enough to be scary, especially once the mouth opens, but also very human, which is important. We need to know he is just a person, though a disturbed and perhaps sick person, to be sure. He adds some humor with his delivery of some low grade, high entertainment dialogue, as well as some humorous facial expressions. Other films with Mitchell include The Swarm, Demon Cop, Memorial Valley Massacre, Jack-O, My Favorite Year, Terror Night, and Crossing the Line. The cast also includes Pamelyn Ferdin (The Beguiled, What’s the Matter with Helen?), Marianne Walter (Ball Busters, Wide Open Spaces), and Wesley Eure (Jennifer, Tv’s Land of the Lost).
Video: How does it look?
The Toolbox Murders is presented in a 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. I have to commend Blue Underground for their work here, as this is one superb visual presentation in all respects. The print has some light debris at times, but is free from grain and softness, which stunned me at first, to be honest. The image is very sharp and as clean as can be, much more refined and clearer than I ever expected. The colors have solid brightness and never fall into error, while black levels look well balanced at all times also. Simply put, I never thought The Toolbox Murders would look this good, but Blue Underground has delivered the goods here.
Audio: How does it sound?
The included mono soundtrack offers nothing to be overly excited about, but then again, it never drops the ball, so I think it all balances out. I’m surprised the materials have held up so well, as the audio isn’t too thin, which I hadn’t expected to be the case. Even so, this is no robust mix either, as sound effects and music remain less than impressive. But the elements sound as good as we could hope for, so I don’t want to complain too much. I never had any issues with dialogue here either, leaving me to rate this as a solid, average mono option.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The selection of extras kicks off with an audio commentary track, which features producer Tony DiDio, director of photography Gary Graver, and star Pamelyn Ferdin. The best comments often from DiDio, who speaks about the project came about in the wake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but the entire session proves to be solid and interesting. An interview with star Marianne Walter is next, in which she discusses her role in the production, as well as her move into the realm of adult cinema. The piece runs a scant eight minutes, but is well worth a look. This disc also includes a talent file on Cameron Mitchell, some radio spots, a television spot, a collection of still photos & poster artwork, and the film’s theatrical trailer.
