Crawlspace (1986)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

David Schmoeller

Writer:

David Schmoeller (writer)

Release Date:

21 May 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

He seduces them in his mind and traps them in his crawlspace.

Plot:

A man who runs an apartment house for women is the demented son of a Nazi surgeon who has the house equipped with secret passageways, hidden rooms and torture and murder devices.

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Air Duct | Booby Trap | Rat | Film Projector

Cast

Klaus Kinski	...	Dr. Karl Gunther
Talia Balsam	...	Lori Bancroft
Barbara Whinnery	...	Harriet Watkins
Carole Francis	...	Jessica Marlow
Tane McClure	...	Sophie Fisher (as Tane)
Sally Brown	...	Martha White
Jack Heller	...	Alfred Lassiter
David Abbott	...	Hank Peterson
Kenneth Robert Shippy	...	Josef Steiner

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:(Banned) (1987) | USA:R (certificate #28107) | Australia:R | France:-16 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Empire Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Empire Pictures

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: The heating ducts (or crawlspaces - from whence the picture derives its name) are absolutely immaculate. Not a speck of dust or anything. This is highly unlikely.

Quotes:

[repeated line; after each failed attempt to kill himself by playing Russian Roulette]
Doctor Karl Gunther: So be it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Please Kill Mr. Kinski (1999)

Klaus Kinski's Hammy Performance Is Lots Of Fun

Klaus Kinski had a strange career. Between his highly acclaimed roles (most of them in films directed by Kinski's pal and sometimes nemesis Werner Herzog), the actor made lots of cheesy, bottom of the barrel horror and sci-fi movies (my favorite is "Android"). "Crawlspace" is one of those cheaply made productions Kinski made for profit. It is an exploitation movie, with gratuitous violence and silly melodramatics, that comes close of reaching high camp. Nevertheless, the film was fun to watch. Kinski plays a degenerated ex-doctor (and son of a sadistic Nazi officer) who rents apartments to beautiful girls so he can spy on them through the ventilation system or crawlspace. The film is entertaining thanks to Kinski, who has no qualms about going over the top. He is no Vincent Price, but he plays his role with much-needed energy. Pino Donaggio's ("Carrie (1976)," "Dressed to Kill (1980)," etc.) music score is wonderful, and makes the film look better than what it actually is. I cannot recommend the movie but I surely enjoyed it.