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IMDbPro

The Toolbox Murders

  • 19781978
  • RR
  • 1h 33m
IMDb RATING
5.2/10
4.1K
YOUR RATING
The Toolbox Murders (1978)
  • Horror
  • Mystery
  • Thriller
A ski-masked maniac kills apartment complex tenants with the contents of a toolbox.A ski-masked maniac kills apartment complex tenants with the contents of a toolbox.A ski-masked maniac kills apartment complex tenants with the contents of a toolbox.
IMDb RATING
5.2/10
4.1K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Dennis Donnelly
  • Writers
    • Neva Friedenn(screenplay)
    • Robert Easter(screenplay)
    • Ann Kindberg(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Cameron Mitchell
    • Pamelyn Ferdin
    • Wesley Eure
Top credits
  • Director
    • Dennis Donnelly
  • Writers
    • Neva Friedenn(screenplay)
    • Robert Easter(screenplay)
    • Ann Kindberg(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Cameron Mitchell
    • Pamelyn Ferdin
    • Wesley Eure
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 69User reviews
    • 93Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:20
    Official Trailer

    Photos78

    The Toolbox Murders (1978)
    The Toolbox Murders (1978)
    The Toolbox Murders (1978)
    Kelly Nichols in The Toolbox Murders (1978)
    Pamelyn Ferdin in The Toolbox Murders (1978)
    Pamelyn Ferdin in The Toolbox Murders (1978)
    Don Diamond and Tim Donnelly in The Toolbox Murders (1978)
    Victoria Perry and Robert Bartlett in The Toolbox Murders (1978)
    Tim Donnelly in The Toolbox Murders (1978)
    Marciee Drake and Evelyn Guerrero in The Toolbox Murders (1978)
    Evelyn Guerrero in The Toolbox Murders (1978)
    Marciee Drake and Evelyn Guerrero in The Toolbox Murders (1978)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Cameron Mitchell
    Cameron Mitchell
    • Vance Kingsley
    Pamelyn Ferdin
    Pamelyn Ferdin
    • Laurie Ballard
    Wesley Eure
    Wesley Eure
    • Kent Kingsley
    Nicolas Beauvy
    Nicolas Beauvy
    • Joey Ballard
    Tim Donnelly
    Tim Donnelly
    • Detective Jamison
    Aneta Corsaut
    Aneta Corsaut
    • Joanne Ballard
    Faith McSwain
    Faith McSwain
    • Mrs. Andrews
    Marciee Drake
    Marciee Drake
    • Debbie
    Evelyn Guerrero
    • Maria
    Victoria Perry
    • Woman in Apartment
    Robert Bartlett
    • Man in Apartment
    Betty Cole
    • Middle Aged Woman
    John Hawker
    • Middle Aged Man
    Don Diamond
    Don Diamond
    • Sgt. Cameron
    Alisa Powell
    • Girlfriend
    Kelly Nichols
    Kelly Nichols
    • Dee Ann
    • (as Marianne Walter)
    Robert Forward
    • Screamer Man
    Kathleen O'Malley
    Kathleen O'Malley
    • Screamer Woman
    • Director
      • Dennis Donnelly
    • Writers
      • Neva Friedenn(screenplay)
      • Robert Easter(screenplay) (story)
      • Ann Kindberg(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Kelly Nichols got the role of Dee Ann after the first two actresses backed out, because they didn't want to do the total nudity. She had no problem being nude on screen, because she had spent years as a nude model. This was her first of only two mainstream movie roles. The year after the film was released, she was selected Penthouse Pet of the Month in May 1979 and then began a career of making hardcore adult films.
    • Goofs
      Both times that Vance carries the supposedly unconscious or dead Debra, when he puts her down she very obviously is gripping his arm or shoulder to prevent herself from falling onto the floor.
    • Quotes

      Joey Ballard: I'll be home for dinner. What are you fixin'?

      Laurie Ballard: Ah! La specialty of the house; chicken à la TV dinners.

    • Alternate versions
      The version televised on the UK's Zone Horror channel in 2007 was complete and uncut.
    • Connections
      Featured in Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Pretty Lady
      Sung by George Deaton & Terry Stubbs

      Music & Lyrics by George Deaton

    User reviews69

    Review
    Top review
    4/10
    T&A and violence heavy beginning leads to dull plotting and laughable ending
    "The Toolbox Murders" is a late-'70s slasher flick that I watched some years ago and could remember nothing about. That's probably not a good sign.

    I will say one thing for it: it's sleazier than most. Three girls disrobe in the opening twenty minutes. The last one gets fully naked and stays that way for a decent stretch. We also watch her masturbate in a bathtub.

    The killer has a pretty lame mask. Hell, Michael Myers' was just a painted William Shatner mask they got at a joke shop, and it became iconic. The one in this movie is just a woollen ski mask.

    The movie does have a decent gimmick, though, which is alluded to in the title. Yes, the killer uses a toolset to dispatch his victims, first a claw hammer, then a nailgun - which is used much more convincingly than the one in "The Nailgun Massacre", even if they forgot to tell the actress playing the victim to look scared while he uses it.

    But get this: for the third victim, the killer just smothers her with his hands! Was the toolbox too heavy or something?

    The protagonist seems to be a guy who looks like a third-rate Luke Skywalker clone whose 15-year-old sister is kidnapped, presumably by the killer. He doesn't appear too worried. He teams up with a guy who looks a bit like John Stamos, but less charismatic. They decide to do some snooping of their own to find the kidnapped girl, and discover a vibrator in the masturbating woman's house, as if to underline what a sex freak she was (?).

    The movie then makes the regrettable decision of revealing the killer's identity to us. Some slasher movies do this, granted, but here it seemed unnecessary. We get a long, boring scene with the unmasked killer and the kidnapped girl.

    He seems to talk about the masturbating woman from before. Apparently he's some kind of religious crazy who wants to punish women for doing "unnatural" things, like masturbating. How did he even know she did that?

    And if the movie is just going to show us the killer's identity, what was the point of the mask, which certainly wouldn't have helped his homicidal efforts? The only people who see him get killed. Anyone else would have been immediately suspicious seeing a man with a mask running around. If not for that, probably nobody would have even noticed him.

    There's also a "twist" at the end which is so out-of-nowhere that you just feel cheated. A "good" character turns evil. Why? They don't even bother giving you a shot of him making the revelation of what's supposed to be the turning point. And what a turnaround. It just feels stupid and tacked on.

    Then there's a laughable text-edit ending that tells you the movie was based on a true story and what happened to the characters in real life or some such garbage. Sometimes when a movie is supposed to be "based on a true story" I actually look it up to see if that's really the case. This time, I don't think I'll bother.
    helpful•4
    2
    • jadavix
    • May 9, 2019

    FAQ2

    • What are the differences between the censored British BBFC 18 Version and the R-Rated Version?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 3, 1978 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Maniac Drill
    • Filming locations
      • 6633 Fallbrook Avenue West Hills, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Cal-Am Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $185,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 33 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
      • Dolby Digital
      • Dolby Atmos
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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