Don't Open the Door! (1974)

Director:

S.F. Brownrigg

Writers:

Frank Schaefer (screenplay) &
Kerry Newcomb (screenplay)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

After 13 years she returned home... To a house of terror.

Plot:

In this horror movie, a dutiful grand-daughter goes home to take care of her elderly grandmother. Once there, she finds herself trapped inside the house with a homicidal maniac. |

Plot Keywords:

House | Grandmother | Maniac | Past | Transsexual

Cast

Susan Bracken	...	Amanda Post
Larry O'Dwyer	...	Claude Kearn
Gene Ross	...	Judge Stemple
James N. Harrell	...	Dr. Crawther (as Jim Harrell)
Hugh Feagin	...	Nick
Annabelle Weenick	...	Annie
Rhea MacAdams	...	Grandmother
John Steakley	...	Local 1
Jeffrey Swann	...	Local 2

Directed by
S.F. Brownrigg

Writing credits
Frank Schaefer		(screenplay) &
Kerry Newcomb		(screenplay)

Produced by
S.F. Brownrigg	....	producer

Original Music by
Robert Farrar		(as Bob Farrar)

Cinematography by
Robert B. Alcott		(as Robert Alcott)

Film Editing by
Jerry Caraway
Lynn Leneau Calmes		(as Lynn Leneau)

Art Direction by
Lynda Pendleton

Makeup Department
Jackie Hughes	....	makeup artist (as Jackie J. Barnes)

Sound Department
Oliver H. Oliver	....	soundman

Special Effects by
Jack Bennett	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Robert Dracup	....	gaffer
Brian H. Hooper	....	camera operator
Mark Hundahl	....	assistant camera
David Lusk	....	grip
Mike Varner	....	grip

Other crew
Jackie Hughes	....	script (as Jackie J. Barnes)
Mark Hundahl	....	title designer
Annabelle Weenick	....	dialogue director

Distributors

• Video Gems (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• VCI Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• VCI Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• VCI Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• VCI Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Jefferson, Texas, USA

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 5 (1998) (V)

A Few Decent Spots but the Story is Just Weak

Don't Open the Door! (1975)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Thirteen years after seeing her mother brutally murdered, Amanda (Susan Bracken) returns to her hometown when she receives a call saying that her grandmother is about to die. Soon after arriving Amanda starts to realize that something strange is happening and after receiving some prank calls she realizes she's not safe. Director S.F. Brownrigg made five films in his career and he's gained a pretty big cult following over the years and it's interesting to read reviews from his fans because all of them are mixed on what film of his is the great. The most popular is certainly DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT but it seems that this film has some calling it his best with others saying it's his worst. I think the film shows some growth from Brownrigg's 1973 film but at the same time there are still many problems here. First for the good stuff. The pacing of the film is certainly much better than what we previously saw from the director and it's really too bad that this more upbeat pacing wasn't used in earlier films because they could have been much better. The pacing certainly helps this film because the story is so lacking in many different ways. For starters, there's really not too much going on. You should be able to identify the killer before the twenty-minute mark so there's really no surprises as you work towards the end. Another problem is that we're often sitting through scenes that just drag on without any purpose and none of them really effect what's going on. The performances here are all rather mixed but I thought Bracken did a decent job in the lead and fans of DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT will be happy to see some of the patients from that film in roles here. Brownrigg once again makes some nice atmosphere but it's pretty much wasted due to the weak story.