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IMDbPro

Don't Go in the House

  • 19791979
  • RR
  • 1h 22m
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
4.5K
YOUR RATING
Don't Go in the House (1979)
A disturbed young man who was burned as a child by his sadistic mother stalks women with a flamethrower.
Play trailer1:12
1 Video
91 Photos
  • Horror
A disturbed young man who was burned as a child by his sadistic mother stalks women with a flamethrower.A disturbed young man who was burned as a child by his sadistic mother stalks women with a flamethrower.A disturbed young man who was burned as a child by his sadistic mother stalks women with a flamethrower.
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
4.5K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Joseph Ellison
  • Writers
    • Joe Masefield(story)
    • Joseph Ellison(screenplay)
    • Ellen Hammill(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Dan Grimaldi
    • Charles Bonet
    • Bill Ricci
Top credits
  • Director
    • Joseph Ellison
  • Writers
    • Joe Masefield(story)
    • Joseph Ellison(screenplay)
    • Ellen Hammill(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Dan Grimaldi
    • Charles Bonet
    • Bill Ricci
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 98User reviews
    • 101Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:12
    Official Trailer

    Photos91

    Don't Go in the House (1979)
    Don't Go in the House (1979)
    Don't Go in the House (1979)
    Robert Carnegie and Kim Roberts in Don't Go in the House (1979)
    Nikki Kollins in Don't Go in the House (1979)
    O'Mara Leary and Gail Turner in Don't Go in the House (1979)
    Gail Turner in Don't Go in the House (1979)
    Nikki Kollins and Dan Grimaldi in Don't Go in the House (1979)
    Tom Brumberger in Don't Go in the House (1979)
    Jim Donnegan in Don't Go in the House (1979)
    Susan Smith in Don't Go in the House (1979)
    Darcy Shean in Don't Go in the House (1979)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Dan Grimaldi
    Dan Grimaldi
    • Donny Kohleras Donny Kohler
    Charles Bonet
    Charles Bonet
    • Benas Ben
    • (as Charlie Bonet)
    Bill Ricci
    • Vitoas Vito
    Robert Carnegie
    Robert Carnegie
    • Bobby Tuttleas Bobby Tuttle
    • (as Robert Osth)
    Dennis M. Hunter
    • Workeras Worker
    John Hedberg
    • Workeras Worker
    Ruth Dardick
    • Mrs. Kohleras Mrs. Kohler
    Johanna Brushay
    Johanna Brushay
    • Kathy Jordanas Kathy Jordan
    Darcy Shean
    Darcy Shean
    • Girl in Caras Girl in Car
    Mary Ann Chin
    • Woman in Streetas Woman in Street
    Lois Verkruepse
    • Woman with Kidsas Woman with Kids
    Susan Smith
    • Girl in Marketas Girl in Market
    Jim Donnegan
    • Clerkas Clerk
    Claudia Folts
    • Body #1as Body #1
    Denise Woods
    • Body #2as Body #2
    Pat Williams
    • Body #3as Body #3
    Colin Mclnness
    • Little Donnyas Little Donny
    Ralph D. Bowman
    Ralph D. Bowman
    • Father Gerrittyas Father Gerritty
    • Director
      • Joseph Ellison
    • Writers
      • Joe Masefield(story) (screenplay)
      • Joseph Ellison(screenplay)
      • Ellen Hammill(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The house used in this film is now the museum headquarters of the Atlantic Highlands Historical Society in New Jersey. It was falling into disrepair at the time of filming, and shortly after in 1980, the town condemned it and slated it for demolition. That's when the local historical society took action and purchased the property. It is now called the Strauss Mansion Museum, named for Adolph Strauss who had the house built in 1893. There are exhibits in every room, ranging from local history to Victorian displays. The restoration work is still ongoing after all these years due to the massive amounts of money (through donations) needed. However, the house is still there and not too much has changed. Some rooms are recognizable from the movie, while others maybe not because of display cases. The society usually shows the film in the house in October as part of their month of Halloween events. The location is open every Saturday and Sunday from 1-4pm (April through December). Admission is free. It is located at 27 Prospect Circle, Atlantic Highlands, NJ.
    • Goofs
      Mother can be seen breathing when Donny finds out she is dead.
    • Quotes

      Mrs. Kohler: Donald, come here.

      Little Donny: No mother.

      Mrs. Kohler: You're a bad boy.

      Mrs. Kohler: You're evil, and you must be punished.

      Little Donny: No mother, please don't.

      Little Donny: I promise to be good.

      Mrs. Kohler: Come here i said.

      Little Donny: No mother, please no.

      Mrs. Kohler: Your father let you do things like that, but he's gone now.

      Mrs. Kohler: [while burning the childs arms above the stove] I burn the evil out of you.

    • Alternate versions
      The original UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC and the film later found itself on the DPP 72 list of video nasties. The 1987 UK video release was heavily cut by 3 minutes 7 secs and extensively reduced shots of nudity and graphic closeups from the scene of the chained woman being burned alive.
    • Connections
      Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-in Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 1 (1996)
    • Soundtracks
      Dancin' Close to You
      Produced by Murri Barber

      Composed by Ted Daryll

      Performed by The Daryll/Barber Band

    User reviews98

    Review
    Top review
    6/10
    Nasty Exploitation Thriller ... With Historical Inspiration??
    Yes, DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE seems to be another lurid cinematic adaptation of a real-life serial killer's exploits. The first time I saw this film I said to myself "Now where have I heard about someone burning fetching young ladies to death in an asbestos insulated room before?" and the answer is Herman Mudgett, aka H.H. Holmes, Chicago's twisted "Torture Doctor" who murdered anywhere between 20 and 200 people in a self-designed townhouse on 63rd Street during the 1890s. Mudgett built a maze of false corridors, secret passageways, trap doors, sound proof and air proof killing rooms and dug vats for quicklime acid baths & a crematorium incinerator in the basement of his 3 story castle of horrors, complete with fake battlements and windows covered with sheets of steel. The most famous of which was an asbestos lined room with gas jets where he would confine victims and watch them being burnt to cinders for kicks.

    It is perhaps from those basic elements that the brain trust responsible for DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE found their inspiration for a story about a steel mill worker who goes on a killing spree after his mother -- who cruelly abused him as a child -- drops dead in her sitting chair. Character actor Dan Grimaldi is very well cast as Donny Koehler, a mommy obsessed loser and budding psychopath still bearing the scars of his childhood trauma where mom attempted to "burn the evil out" of his soul by holding his bare arms over a lit gas stove, which of course created a Freudian fascination with fire, his relationship with women, his mistrust of authority figures and religion. It doesn't quite answer the question of how he became interested in disco music but what the hell, that was the fad of the time. These days he'd be obsessed with Britney Spears maybe, which IMHO would make for an even more frightening portrait of insanity.

    Several things about this movie actually click and make it a rewarding ride for fans of 1980s era slasher horror, the first being the setting. This is one of the most bleak and dismal looking horror movies ever, set on Long Island during a cold, inhospitable looking February that is actually quite unique: Most slasher movies are set during the warmer months of the year to afford the cast to walk around half naked in the great outdoors. By contrast this film is set within dank, claustrophobic interiors, specifically the wonderfully creepy, empty and rapidly dilapidating house that Donny grew up in, which is photographed from an interesting vantage point to make it look all the more isolated from the rest of the world. There are no neighbors to overhear the screams of anguish from Donny's victims, who's complete lack of hope for rescue is probably more disturbing than their on screen fates.

    Much ado is rightfully made about Donny's first murder of a full-breasted young florist he tricks into coming home with him after wrapping up a get well bouquet for his putrefying dead mother. She is knocked unconscious, stripped nude, hung by her wrists, doused with gasoline and lit on fire. The sequence is convincingly staged but again what struck me about the murder wasn't how graphic it was so much as that she has utterly no hope of salvation and is merely present in the story as someone to suffer horribly for the benefit of the camera. Then there is the scene in the men's shop where Donny is outfitted for a night on the town in a disco ensemble suit that would have made John Travolta envious. Others have questioned it's relevance to the story and my thought is that it depicts just how isolated Donny is from the world around him. And reflects the filmmakers' disdain for the whole disco era subculture.

    Aside from the young florist no characters in this story are sympathetic, there are no good guys and even the local minister ends up a charred reminder of how the community failed Donny by turning a blind eye to his mother's cruelty. Next time you are waiting in line at the grocery store and some pathetic loser starts screaming at their misbehaving kid tell them to knock it off lest the young urchin someday grow up to buy an asbestos suit and flamethrower. Psychopathic mommy obsessed losers are a dime a dozen and you might just end up saving the life of a hot young florist with pert nipples. We need all of them we can get.

    6/10
    helpful•24
    4
    • Squonkamatic
    • Mar 14, 2007

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 28, 1980 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Burning
    • Filming locations
      • Strauss Mansion Museum, 27 Prospect Circle, Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, USA
    • Production company
      • Turbine Films Inc.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $250,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 22 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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