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2004
Lionsgate DVD
This is Tobe Hooper's remake of the 70's film. Now since Lifeforce I have not cared for most of Tobe's films. But this one is a return to form for him. It has that same creepy vibe that all good Hooper films have. I had been wanting to see it and had added it to my Netflix queue. But I ended up finding it in the Walmart $5 dump bin. So I took a chance on it. Figuring that for $5 bucks if I didn't like it ,I could give it away to someone.
The film starts off with Sheri Moon Zombie heading back to her apartment. And once she gets in it she is attacked by someone wearing a full face ski mask. The killer brutally kills her. We jump ahead a few weeks and a new couple is moving into the apartment complex. The wife is played by Angela Bettis. Who is a great actress but she is way too thin. She is so thin she looks like she is suffering from anorexia. Quickly she meets her next door neighbor. Who is a musician and has a abusive boyfriend. She hears the woman screaming. It seems the killer is attacking the musician lady with a nail gun. But once the cops arrive the musician lady isn't in her apartment. Well this happens a few more times with Angela hearing stuff and calling the cops. But by the time they arrive nothing is there.
One day while doing laundry Angela meets up with this older man that has lived in the complex since it was first opened 70+ years ago. He starts telling her some of the history of it. And she goes down to the courthouse to do some further investigation. She finds out that the man that designed the complex had ties to various occult stuff . And the strange symbols she keeps seeing all over the complex are mystic runes. Well after some more adventures she finds the killer's hiding space and he starts chasing her all over the complex.
I really enjoyed this film. When I first saw it I had never seen the original The Toolbox Murders. Now I have and really the films don't have much in common. Most of the kills are impressive. The nail gun kill is very well done. The acting is over all pretty good. The DVD has some deleted scenes,a trailer and 2 commentaries. The first commentary has Tobe Hooper and the two writers. The second one has the producers. So for the $5 I paid I got a great deal. Toolbox Murders gets a B+.
