Video Nasty #21
The Toolbox Murders
1977
BIT BY BIT...BY BIT HE CARVED A NIGHTMARE!
WHAT HE DOES TO YOUR NERVES IS ALMOST AS FRIGHTENING AS WHAT HE DOES TO HIS VICTIMS!
NTSC Running time: 93:43
Directed by Dennis Donnelly
Written by Robert Easter, Ann N. Kindberg, and Neva Friedenn
Produced by Tony DiDio
Starring: Cameron Mitchell, Wesley Eure, Pamelyn Ferdin, Nicolas Beauvy, Marianne Walter
Body Count: 7
Availability: Uncut Region 0 DVD from Blue Underground
BBFC Status
Why it's a Nasty: Violence against women.
What was cut: Excisions totalling around 6 minutes was cut from the X-certificate version released theatrically, cutting footage from all of the murders and the bathtub scene. The Toolbox Murders was finally awarded an 18 certificate for video on February 24, 2000 after 1 minute 46 seconds of cuts to the nailgun sequence.
Current UK Status: 18 Certificate version on Region 2 DVD from Cornerstone Media.
The Toolbox Murders was seized, but escaped prosecution.
The time: the late 1970s. The place: San Fernando Valley, California.
An unseen figure pilots a Mercedes aimlessly, an evangelical preacher blasting from the sound system. Tooling past an auto dealership, we get flashbacks of a dead girl falling out of a wrecked car. The figure drives to an apartment complex, removes a toolbox from the trunk, and ruffles the hair of a passing child while making their way into the building. Once inside, our killer murders a robed woman with a drill, another with a hammer. The toolbox murders have begun...
Although it claims to be based on true events that happened in 1967, this is more exploitation gimmickry. No related "true story" has surfaced. The only theatrical feature from television director Dennis Donnelly, The Toolbox Murders uses up its' gruesomeness in the first half hour, leaving the remainder of the picture for psychological suspense and detective work.
But what an opening salvo it is. The murderer's first spree is gruesome, though not as graphic as one might think, with cutaways and blood flying up from off camera providing the visceral thrills. He kills three in rapid succession, then vanishes into the night. A brief police procedural scene follows, then we are treated to the reaction of the neighbours, mainly those of the Ballard kids, Laurie (Pamelyn Ferdin) and her brother Joey (Nicolas Beauvy). And then we reach the meat of the film, the reason why The Toolbox Murders is so well regarded among exploitation horror fans, the centerpiece sequence that is still censored in the UK.
We've already seen this girl, briefly, during the first murder sequence, dancing in her underwear in her apartment window. The girl is played by Marianne Walter, a model in her first acting role, who brought a level of talent to the proceedings that the other female victims did not. Where they were wooden and unbelievable, Walter is aware and animated. The scene required her to go through different emotional states, is both a sex and a death scene, and she does it entirely in the nude. The editing, music, and performances collide to become more than the sum of the parts and stand as powerful cinema even today. From masturbating in the bath (the film is kind to both character and audience in allowing her to finish) to confusion as the killer enters, she displays the real conundrum one would face in that situation: do I defend myself or cover up? She does both, but to no avail, getting hit several times with bolts from a nailgun and collapsing on a table in front of a large framed glamour shot...of herself. My words don't do it justice. It's a great piece of film.
It's also the last really exciting bit in the movie...and there's an hour left. Laurie Ballard gets kidnapped by the killer, and he's batshit crazy, but the remaining drama, suspense, and detective work, even the long-time-coming climax and resolution are dulled. Much like David Cronenberg's Scanners did five years later, the most impressive sequence arrives too early, leaving the rest of the film seem unimportant. It's the cinematic equivalent of premature ejaculation. This is why porno directors make great horror films...and sometimes people from horror films do great in porno. Cinematographer Gary Gravers and poster-girl Marianne Walter both found more success in the adult film world, Gravers as cinematographer and director, Walter as an actress (as Kelly Nichols she won a Best Actress award for her work on 1983's In Love) and then as a hairstylist and makeup artist (for anyone reading this who might want to see some of her work without digging through old porno bins, she did styling for Sublime's "Wrong Way" video, and she did a damn good job). Graver died in 2006, but Walter is still working and still proud of her work on The Toolbox Murders. And good on her for that.
Most of the cast and crew is not so busy these days, it seems. Pamelyn Ferdin has largely given up acting and is active in the animal rights movement (I'm still gonna watch uncut cannibal films, Pamelyn. Sorry). Dennis Donnelly has fallen off the map...but he did work with a guy I know on a film called Terminal Velocity back in the 1990s, so I might be able to get some more info on him. One guy who makes an appearance who I've deftly avoided mentioning until now is Wesley Eure, best known as "the cute one" on the TV series Land Of The Lost. His performance: average. Not really great, but not bad either. He's perfect for television. So was a lot of the crew. The Toolbox Murders seems like a TV movie with more blood and nudity. In fact, the only main crewmember who seems to be working regularly these days is writer Ann Kindberg, who is currently producing Private Practice for ABC. I hope she is as proud of this film as Marianne Walter. She certainly should be.
Have I told you everything you could ever know or want to know about The Toolbox Murders? The answer is: fuck no. I'm no all-knowing repository of trivia, just a dude who's done a tiny amount of research. Not only do I want to inform the reader, I hope you all get excited about this stuff and do some research of your own (and yes, renting Kelly Nichols movies counts as "research"). And remember, when you lock your door at night, turn the deadbolt. That stupid chain thing can easily be cut by a loony in a ski mask with a toolbox. I'm triple locking my house tonight. Because my name's Justin. JustinCase.
Current UK Status: 18 Certificate version on Region 2 DVD from Cornerstone Media.
The Toolbox Murders was seized, but escaped prosecution.
The time: the late 1970s. The place: San Fernando Valley, California.
An unseen figure pilots a Mercedes aimlessly, an evangelical preacher blasting from the sound system. Tooling past an auto dealership, we get flashbacks of a dead girl falling out of a wrecked car. The figure drives to an apartment complex, removes a toolbox from the trunk, and ruffles the hair of a passing child while making their way into the building. Once inside, our killer murders a robed woman with a drill, another with a hammer. The toolbox murders have begun...
Although it claims to be based on true events that happened in 1967, this is more exploitation gimmickry. No related "true story" has surfaced. The only theatrical feature from television director Dennis Donnelly, The Toolbox Murders uses up its' gruesomeness in the first half hour, leaving the remainder of the picture for psychological suspense and detective work.
But what an opening salvo it is. The murderer's first spree is gruesome, though not as graphic as one might think, with cutaways and blood flying up from off camera providing the visceral thrills. He kills three in rapid succession, then vanishes into the night. A brief police procedural scene follows, then we are treated to the reaction of the neighbours, mainly those of the Ballard kids, Laurie (Pamelyn Ferdin) and her brother Joey (Nicolas Beauvy). And then we reach the meat of the film, the reason why The Toolbox Murders is so well regarded among exploitation horror fans, the centerpiece sequence that is still censored in the UK.
We've already seen this girl, briefly, during the first murder sequence, dancing in her underwear in her apartment window. The girl is played by Marianne Walter, a model in her first acting role, who brought a level of talent to the proceedings that the other female victims did not. Where they were wooden and unbelievable, Walter is aware and animated. The scene required her to go through different emotional states, is both a sex and a death scene, and she does it entirely in the nude. The editing, music, and performances collide to become more than the sum of the parts and stand as powerful cinema even today. From masturbating in the bath (the film is kind to both character and audience in allowing her to finish) to confusion as the killer enters, she displays the real conundrum one would face in that situation: do I defend myself or cover up? She does both, but to no avail, getting hit several times with bolts from a nailgun and collapsing on a table in front of a large framed glamour shot...of herself. My words don't do it justice. It's a great piece of film.
It's also the last really exciting bit in the movie...and there's an hour left. Laurie Ballard gets kidnapped by the killer, and he's batshit crazy, but the remaining drama, suspense, and detective work, even the long-time-coming climax and resolution are dulled. Much like David Cronenberg's Scanners did five years later, the most impressive sequence arrives too early, leaving the rest of the film seem unimportant. It's the cinematic equivalent of premature ejaculation. This is why porno directors make great horror films...and sometimes people from horror films do great in porno. Cinematographer Gary Gravers and poster-girl Marianne Walter both found more success in the adult film world, Gravers as cinematographer and director, Walter as an actress (as Kelly Nichols she won a Best Actress award for her work on 1983's In Love) and then as a hairstylist and makeup artist (for anyone reading this who might want to see some of her work without digging through old porno bins, she did styling for Sublime's "Wrong Way" video, and she did a damn good job). Graver died in 2006, but Walter is still working and still proud of her work on The Toolbox Murders. And good on her for that.
Most of the cast and crew is not so busy these days, it seems. Pamelyn Ferdin has largely given up acting and is active in the animal rights movement (I'm still gonna watch uncut cannibal films, Pamelyn. Sorry). Dennis Donnelly has fallen off the map...but he did work with a guy I know on a film called Terminal Velocity back in the 1990s, so I might be able to get some more info on him. One guy who makes an appearance who I've deftly avoided mentioning until now is Wesley Eure, best known as "the cute one" on the TV series Land Of The Lost. His performance: average. Not really great, but not bad either. He's perfect for television. So was a lot of the crew. The Toolbox Murders seems like a TV movie with more blood and nudity. In fact, the only main crewmember who seems to be working regularly these days is writer Ann Kindberg, who is currently producing Private Practice for ABC. I hope she is as proud of this film as Marianne Walter. She certainly should be.
Have I told you everything you could ever know or want to know about The Toolbox Murders? The answer is: fuck no. I'm no all-knowing repository of trivia, just a dude who's done a tiny amount of research. Not only do I want to inform the reader, I hope you all get excited about this stuff and do some research of your own (and yes, renting Kelly Nichols movies counts as "research"). And remember, when you lock your door at night, turn the deadbolt. That stupid chain thing can easily be cut by a loony in a ski mask with a toolbox. I'm triple locking my house tonight. Because my name's Justin. JustinCase.
