The Toolbox Murders 4K 1978

Quite a worthy movie from the category of "once banned". Apparently, in those days, violence and bloodshed really came out too much. Four corpses in the first half hour, while mortified with a fair amount of instrumental creativity, form a fast and hard intro, thanks to which the main part of the film can later seem monotonous and boring. However, the weakening of the dynamics and the tying with the murders is justified by the gradual disclosure of the genre - "Nightmare" looks much more like a psychological drama than a horror (and just this circumstance was decisively rejected by the rather ordinary 2003 curiosity).

In the center of the story is not a maniac with a suitcase at all, but a normal, in general, man who has gone crazy because of the loss of his daughter and slowly rolled along the rails of developed religious fanaticism. Here, on the one hand, a large-scale idea of ​​\u200b\u200bvengeance and cleansing the world of filth is put forward, and on the other, a desire to hide and lock himself in the very room where he drags the kidnapped girl is visible. At the same time, Mitchell is magnificent in the corresponding role, with external calmness and self-confidence in his character one feels a monstrous internal breakdown and helplessness, which illustrates the key moment of the picture - a brilliantly played monologue in which Kingsley Sr., with a lollipop in his mouth, lays out all the points of his motivation. In some ways, this is also a problem with the film, as Mitchell's character and his relationship with the prisoner completely clogs everything else. As a result, the two ongoing storylines with the police investigation and Lori's mother turn out to be superfluous and, as a result, are simply cut off. However, in the finale, everything is slightly balanced by the line of Kingsley Jr. that comes to the fore, as if taking the baton from Mitchell.

The cameraman worked his salary honestly, so the film was shot well, and besides, it was equipped with good actors (except for those mediocrities that were killed at the very beginning). The blood looks natural and natural, which makes the picture juicy and bright even without much excess with nudity. But hooks are not only visual - there is also a lot of music, varied but tastefully chosen, including a great main theme. It is strange that, apart from this film, Donnelly did not shoot anything full-length, he clearly had a directorial potential. Both horror and drama.