Toolbox Murders (2004)
A double bill last night from the same Anchor Bay dvd set. Tobe Hooper's remake of the 1978 film The Toolbox Murders is a largely enjoyable reimagining set in an old LA apartment building in which a supernatural presence long buried is awoken thanks to renovation work being carried out to the building.
It's not as nasty as the original but it does have it's moments. The apartment block is art deco and reminiscent of old Hollywood making for a great setting and whilst the kills aren't memorable - unlike the original film - a good cast including Angela Bettis and Juliet Landau plus a pre-opening credits cameo for Sheri Moon Zombie make it all worthwhile.
Disc two in the set houses the excellent documentary The American Nightmare (2000). A 75 minute production in which film makers John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, Wes Craven, George A Romero and David Cronenberg discuss their seminal works from Night of the Living Dead through The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Last House on the Left, Dawn of the Dead, and Halloween to the sex / body horror of Shivers.
It's a fascinating look at the American climate at the time during the late '60s and '70s and provides us with some genuinely horrific imagery from the Vietnam war. Meanwhile the knowledgeable likes of John Landis and Tom Savini as well as assorted academics crop up to discuss the classic status of the films in question. Or in Landis' case talk about watching his beloved Universal horrors at drive ins.
All in all Toolbox Murders is an excellent set which comes in a sturdy outer case and has six actual postcards from the movie with it. This two disc set would cost £30 today.
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