The Toolbox Murders

(Dennis Donnelly; 1978)

(Blue Underground)

A series of brutal murders are taking place in and around an apartment building where “immoral” women are being killed with various tools.

Don’t believe the hype. Billed as one of the sleaziest and most disturbing films if its era. Bah! The first half hour is decent, as that’s basically where all the killings are, then it’s plod plod plod, the film drags and drags. I find it hard to believe that the film was banned at one point and what high praise genre fans give the film. It’s not bad, but the killings could have been done better and with way more gore. If only this film was Italian. It includes a now infamous nail gun scene where a nude girl is chased around her apartment flailing about before the killer nails her to the wall. It all sounds worse than the scene is. All in all a decent film (the first half hour anyways) worth checking out just for the notoriety alone. Gore fans will likely be disappointed.

Mono. No noticeable flaws.

Anamorphic 1.85:1. Blue underground did a nice job. The colors are nice and crisp and no noticeable artifacting. This sure beats those old grainy VHS copies floating around.

- Commentary by producer Tony DiDio, director of photography Gary Graver, and star Pamelyn    Ferdin
- Theatrical trailer(s)
- "I Got Nailed in The Toolbox Murders": An interview with Star Marianne Walter
- TV and radio spots
- Poster and still gallery
- Cameron Mitchell bio

DVD keep case. I’m glad Blue Underground kept the original artwork intact.

Sound: 5

Picture: 5

Special Features: 8

Packaging: 6

Film: 6

Overall Rating: 7

(Rating scale is out of 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 the best)