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IMDbPro

Don't Go in the House

  • 1979
  • R
  • 1h 22m
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
5.6K
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
94 Photos
DramaHorror

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.

  • Director
    • Joseph Ellison
  • Writers
    • Joe Masefield
    • Joseph Ellison
    • Ellen Hammill
  • Stars
    • Dan Grimaldi
    • Charles Bonet
    • Bill Ricci
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.6/10
    5.6K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Joseph Ellison
    • Writers
      • Joe Masefield
      • Joseph Ellison
      • Ellen Hammill
    • Stars
      • Dan Grimaldi
      • Charles Bonet
      • Bill Ricci
    • 117User reviews
    • 81Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:12
    Official Trailer

    Photos93

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    + 88
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    Top cast35

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

    User reviews117

    5.65.5K
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    Featured reviews

    8HumanoidOfFlesh

    Great study of deadly obsession!

    "Don't Go in the House" is an obscure early 80's horror film that seems to be forgotten by many horror fans.The film is well-made and slickly directed by Joseph Ellison,a talented musician and a screenwriter.Donny Kohler is a tormented young man.His mother tortured him by holding his bare arms over a gas burning stove.He grows up to be a psycho who delights in burning young women with a flamethrower inside his steel paneled bedroom crematorium.The film is filled with truly sick atmosphere and there is one of the most sadistic burning killings ever captured on screen.The underlying theme of child abuse is also taboo-breaking."Don't Go in the House" is often trashed by some politically correct people-still it beats most of the crap being put out today.Highly recommended.
    7juniorrickman

    Nasty, But Well Done Slasher

    If you like down and dirty feel bad movies like Maniac or Nightmare, Don't Go in the House is more of the same. It's less gory and explicit, but the mean spiritedness and ick factor is still present throughout.

    It's well made with a great central performance by Dan Grimaldi as the mother obsessed serial killer who likes to lure women back to his house, tie them up, and torch them with a flamethrower.
    Dolemite-19

    What ever happened to movies like this?

    As a big fan of horror I really liked this flick and it made me wonder whatever happened to these kind of movies. Horror films used to be disturbing and always pushing the limits of what people can handle. Now all it seems to be about is impressing 14 year old teenyboppers with these hyped flicks like Scream and Urban Legend. Bring back the movies like Don't Go in the House, I Spit on Your Grave, and Maniac and keep the teenybopper trash.
    RussianPantyHog

    Brings back memories :)

    No !! I was never set on fire by my mother.

    Back in 1981 (when I was 17) video recorders came on the market here in England and we teenagers got our grubby hands on loads of movies that were not just "adults only"; they were more violent/explicit than the cinema versions. The media quickly dubbed them "video nasties". I took out Don't Go In The House and found it (obviously horrific) but good 'trashy' entertainment. Sadly, for me, it was the 1st video ever to get tangled up in the VCR. My dad untangled it, watched part of it himself and that was the end of MY unsupervised video viewing :) It's not a very good film but certainly watchable and does, actually, give an insight into what motivates the crazy minority. 4/10
    7Stevieboy666

    Norman Bates with a flame thrower

    Cult horror movie about a young man who goes off the rails when his overbearing mother, with whom he still lives with, dies. The first thing that he does his turn the volume up on his stereo! Then he constructs a fire room in the large, creepy house and uses it to burn young women to a crisp using a flame thrower. The first death is particularly graphic but after that the rest are off screen. In fact the movie is pretty much bloodless. His bosses calls him a sicko, and this is just at the start. Psycho is an obvious big influence here, even down to the music in one scene, but the film is also similar to Maniac too. This was made in the era of disco and we get a glimpse into the music and fashion of the time. Banned in the UK as a Video Nasty in the 1980's - and it is a pretty nasty, but well made movie - now thankfully available to watch uncut. If you want blood and guts then probably best to look elsewhere but DGITH is a grim, exploitive tale of abuse and madness that will linger in the memory.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The actresses who played the burns victims were dancers chosen because they were the same height as the actresses playing the victims, but significantly slimmer in build. This is because when the human body is subjected to burns it shrinks due to a loss of fluid.
    • Goofs
      When the first victim, Kathy Jordan, is in the steel room, you see Donny pour the accelerant on her torso and she is visibly wet. The next scene shows her dry again on the torso.
    • Quotes

      Donny Kohler: You hear that old lady, i'll punish you again.

    • 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

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    FAQ16

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    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(Donny's House)
    • Production company
      • Turbine Films Inc.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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

    Tech specs

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

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