Don't Go in the House (1980)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Joseph Ellison

Writers:

Joseph Ellison (writer)
Ellen Hammill (writer)

Release Date:

28 March 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

...Threshold into terror.

Plot:

A disturbed young man who was burned as a child by his sadistic mother stalks women with a flamethrower.

Plot Keywords:

Child | Room | Flamethrower | Incinerator | Abuse

Cast

Dan Grimaldi	...	Donald 'Donny' Kohler
Robert Osth	...	Bobby Tuttle
Ruth Dardick	...	Mrs. Kohler
Charles Bonet	...	Ben (as Charlie Bonet)
Bill Ricci	...	Vito
Dennis Hunt	...	Locker Room Worker
John Hedberg	...	Locker Room Worker
Johanna Brushay	...	Kathy Jordan
Darcy Shean	...	Girl in Car
Mary Ann Chin	...	Woman in Street
Lois Verkimeps	...	Woman with Kids
Susan Smith	...	Girl in Market
Jim Donnegan	...	Clerk
Claudia Folts	...	Body #1
Denise Woods	...	Body #2

Also Known As:

The Burning (USA) (working title) (USA) (original script title)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1983) | UK:18 (cut) | Australia:M | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Iceland:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Turbine Films Inc.

Trivia:

The film's original soundtrack turned out to be unusable, having been recorded on what actor Dan Grimaldi termed "less than up to date equipment". The soundtrack in its entirety had to be re-recorded and re-dubbed.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During Donny's dream, the camera focuses on a large hole in the sand on the desolate beach. However, three people can bee seen wandering on the beach far away from the hole at the top of the screen.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 1 (1996) (V)

Another Mommy-Obsessed "Slasher" - This Time With A Flame-Thrower!!!

DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE is a relatively un-talked about film that falls squarely in the slasher genre - though our lead psycho never actually "slashes" anyone...preferring instead to burn 'em up with a military-style flame-thrower. Comparisons can be drawn to such other mother-obsessed horror films like PSYCHO, PIECES, and MANIAC - as our main-man is all whacked-out due to the treatment he received as a young lad at the hands of his over-bearing momma.

Donny (who reminds me of a cross between Mike Damone and a young Dustin Hoffman...) is a quiet kinda guy whose mother just died. She used to burn him as a kid for being "evil", but I guess a kid's still gonna love their mom - even if she was an abusive bitch. Not taking her death too well, he consoles himself by picking up random chicks and torching them to death in a makeshift steel room in his newly inherited house. He then keeps the charred remains around so he can dress 'em up and talk to 'em. Things get really out of hand for Donny when one of his friends from work invites him out-on-the-town with a couple of broads to the local disco. Needless to say, Donny ain't too good with social interaction of the courtin' kind - and makes a big mess of the whole scene. This brings a bunch of "heat" down on Donny that makes it impossible to hide his obsessions any longer...

DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE is pretty standard slasher material with the flame-thrower as a "different" element. The film is relatively misogynistic due to our psycho's penchant for torching hot young ladies...but the concept itself is nothing new. There are a few choice scenes (the disco scene is flat-out hilarious...) and a couple tits-n-ass shots, including some brief full-frontal. Donny's performance is pretty good too as the quite and mild-mannered freak. Definitely worth a look to slasher fans but don't expect anything extremely original or "shocking"...7/10