my brief thoughts on.... 'The Toolbox Murders' (1978)

i'm not sure if you saw the remake of this movie by Tobe Hooper.... but this movie and that one have no real connection other than the fact that they both involve tools.... that's where the similarities end.... one of the big differences is that this movie is one of those, "Based on an actual events" movies.... whether or not that's true, i didn't research.... but that's what they say.... now if you're coming into this movie expecting murders by someone with a toolbox.... well, you're half right.... for the first 20 -30 mins or so, that's what happens.... but for the remaining hour.... there is no such occurance.... it's all creepy monologues and some twists and turns.... really slow twists and turns.... this is by no means an exciting movie.... it has very little redeeming qualities and is not something i would readily recommend to anyone else.... not that the Tobe Hooper version was any better.... but at least it had Sheri Moon Zombie in it for the opening scene....

as the story goes.... someone is killing the residents of an apartment complex with a toolbox full of tools.... he's killing those who are impure.... women only.... after killing 4 women, the police have no leads and no clues.... all they have is 4 dead women and a 5th that seems to have been kidnapped.... the brother of the girl begins his own search for her as the police aren't being very helpful.... they soon reveal who the killer is and add a twist.... it kind of brings the story to a screeching halt and it sputters to an end with a whimper, not a bang.
i honestly had hoped for something more.... as this is brought up a lot in slasher movie circles.... but sadly, i was let down.... 1 out of 5 stars is all i could muster for it.... this movie just suffers from all of the bad cliche's of the 70's cinema.... and it hasn't aged well at all.... the killer is lame.... the story is confusing and dull.... the fact that it's based on actual events doesn't seem to help either.... it seems like an attempt to be like 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' or something.... uninspired, boring and not worth the hour and a half it takes to watch it.... find something more constructive to do with your time.

if you watch this, go watch something better: 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (1974), 'The Burning' or a Lifetime original movie