Toolbox Murders (2003)

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writers:

Jace Anderson (written by)
Adam Gierasch (written by)

Release Date:

9 September 2004 (Israel)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

Another legacy begins.

Plot:

A historic Hollywood hotel houses a supernatural evil. It's been subdued for decades - but when renovations start, a series of murders take place. It's up to our heroine to solve the mystery.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Neighbor | Blueprint | Apartment Building | Nail Gun

Cast

Angela Bettis	...	Nell Barrows
Brent Roam	...	Steven Barrows
Marco Rodríguez	...	Luis Saucedo (as Marco Rodriguez)
Rance Howard	...	Chas Rooker
Juliet Landau	...	Julia Cunningham
Adam Gierasch	...	Ned Lundy
Greg Travis	...	Byron McLieb
Christopher Doyle	...	Coffin Baby (as Chris Doyle)
Adam Weisman	...	Austin Sterling
Christina Venuti	...	Jennifer
Sara Downing	...	Saffron Kirby
Jamison Reeves	...	Hudson
Stephanie Silverman	...	Dora Sterling
Alan Polonsky	...	Philip Sterling (as Allan Polonsky)
Charlie Paulson	...	Hans

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, language, some sexuality and brief drug use.

Runtime:

95 min | Germany:91 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Netherlands:16 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | UK:15 (original rating) | Ireland:18 | UK:18 (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-18 | Philippines:R-13 | Spain:13 | USA:R | Sweden:15 | Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Alpine Pictures

Trivia:

Lucky McKee was originally set to play the part of the killer, but dropped out to work on his own horror film The Woods (2006).

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When the killer reappears through the window he enters making a spectacular jump, even there is not enough space behind the window to execute it, as it is shown after he falls down.

Quotes:

Byron McLieb: Any fix-it problems you have, just call Ned at extension 10.

Movie Connections:

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Soundtrack:

California (Back To Hell)

Hooper's best in a long long time

It's hard to believe that the man who 30 years ago gave us what is probably the best horror movie ever done, the powerful Texas Chain Saw Massacre, went through 30 years of movies with mixed results. Fortunately, Tobe Hooper returns with a decent movie that finally manages to live up to the enormous fame of his legendary debut.

Reimagining an obscure 70s movie, Hooper sets his story in present day Hollywood, where a young married couple moves to the Lusman, an old building. Angela Bettis, the actress who surprised the world in "May", stars as Nell, who is not happy with his husband choice of moving to the Lusman. She'll find a contrived plot and gory killings as Julia, her neighbor and new friend suddenly disappears without a trace.

Bettis carries the film with grace, and power. This young woman definitely has a bright future in films. While the rest of the cast is average in their performance, Hooper's direction is the star as he turns the building into another character. The locations are awesome and the atmosphere Hooper uses is very creepy and filled with tension.

The movie flows well as a mixture of a "whodunit" mystery and a gory slasher. The gore is an important factor here, and it is well delivered. Probably he is not a great director, but Hooper knows how to pull up great murder scenes from his actors.

The flaws of the movie lay in the script, it is filled with enough plot holes to be a problem. Fortunately, it's creepy atmosphere and the high tension it creates almost make up for this big flaw, although it is still noticeable.

Tobe Hooper may be an uneven director who had a very lucky debut with "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", but here he gives us a very entertaining movie that really makes up for the 30 years of average movies he did. A very pleasant surprise. 7/10