Like most people I’ve often heard of the various movies with
the word “don’t” in their title. It seems like once the first one made some
money many more followed. There were enough of them that when the
Tarantino/Rodriguez film GRINDHOUSE came out including fake trailers director
Edgar Wright made one simply called DON’T.
Most of the movies carrying this title were incredibly low
budget horror films that often made promises they rarely if ever kept. As
movies made for the drive-in and grindhouse circuit there was no need to make
something worthwhile. On the grindhouse end those theaters were more often
places for junkies to crash of the homeless to stay warm in. On the drive-in
circuit they were movies to be ignored by hormone fueled teens. But on occasion
something good came from the movies made for these locales.
VCI released this double feature on DVD several years back
but it is now making its way to blu-ray. It’s not that the quality of the films
garner that attention but it does offer a presentation that’s as cleaned up as
you can get. For fans of the genre or horror in general this means a solid
product to add to your collection. Both films came from the creative mind of
S.F. Brownrigg whose output was very small with only 5 films credited to him as
director. There is little doubt this was because the quality of what he
produced was severely lacking on many levels but at the same time there was
plenty of creativity on hand for movies made on what are apparently miniscule
budgets at best.
The first film DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT (aka THE FORGOTTEN
aka DEATH WARD #13) takes place at a mental institution run by Dr. Stephens.
Stephens has a different way of dealing with his patients, a fairly lenient
method. So much so that within the first 10 minutes of the film one of his
patients takes an axe to him and kills him. This leaves Dr. Geraldine Masters
to insure that the sanitarium continues operation.
No sooner does Dr. Stephens demise take place does a young
nurse arrive that he had contracted to work for him. Charlotte Beale has the
experience necessary but Masters tells her she has no need for her services. A
slight episode causes her to rethink her position and Beale is hired.
As Beale begins to become acquainted with the patients she
finds the methods that Dr. Stephens was employing were questionable at least
and dangerous at best. When one elderly patient tries to tell her in her own
way to be wary the next day she’s discovered with her tongue cut out. Of course
no investigation as to who did this is initiated.
As the clues begin to mount and the actions of the patients
are viewed Beale begins to wonder if she’s meant to remain here or not. Are the
patients to be trusted or is something more sinister going on? Will she survive
her new job?
DON’T OPEN THE DOOR (aka DON’T HANG UP) offers another
damsel in distress, though one far less sympathetic. As a pre-teen Amanda Post
was in the house with her mother when someone entered and stabbed her mother to
death. Thirteen years later she receives a call from a concerned woman that her
grandmother is deathly ill and that she should return home.
She does so to find the town doctor Dr. Crawther has allowed
her grandmother to remain in the house she was born in, the same house Amanda’s
mother was murdered in. A cursory look at her grandmother and Amanda questions
why the doctor hasn’t admitted her to a hospital. His answer is that she wanted
to remain in her house. Suspecting the doctor is giving her grandmother
something to make her ill rather than cure her, she calls her ex-boyfriend
doctor Nick to come look at her and have her admitted.
While all of this is going on she’s also approached by two
men from her past growing up here. One is Judge Stemple who as her
grandmother’s lawyer seems to have power of attorney. In so many words Amanda
tells him to shove off. She knows he has his eyes set on taking over the
property. The other man is Claude Kearn, a creepy local who runs the historical
society in town. He too wants the property so that he can maintain it as it
always was.
Nick does show and agrees with her that something is up. He
sets things in motion to transfer her grandmother to a medical facility. He
hopes to rekindle their romance but it’s never quite apparent if Amanda will do
so or not.
Invited to the historical museum Amanda once more meets with
Kearn. He shows her the various items her grandmother had provided to be put on
display in the museum before offering to show her something special, something
so secret he demands her promise not to tell anyone. On the top level of the
house he shows her a diorama of life sized mannequins depicting the murder of
her mother. Angered Amanda demands he return everything her grandmother ever
provided Kearn.
As all of these events transpire whenever Amanda is alone in
the house she receives phone calls from a whispering voice who talks to her as
if he know every intimate detail of her life. At first annoyed she is later
terrified. We the viewer are able to see that this person is in the house with
her, watching as he talks to her. The caller kills at one point and we’re left
to wonder, will Amanda be next?
I will say there is little surprise as to who is behind the
phone calls or this person’s motivation. Still the movie is an effective film
that provides a few scares more than others of the genre have. The house that
is used is perfect for this sort of story with a winding staircase the moves up
the center to a top level of colored windows adding an eerie feeling.
The movie offers few surprises but isn’t bad. Perhaps the
worst part of the film is that Amanda isn’t quite as sympathetic a victim as
one would hope. Her attitude towards everyone in the film, including her
ex-boyfriend Nick who is trying to help her, is a haughty air of contempt. She
comes off more as a shrew than a woman in danger. This along with an ambiguous
ending make the film the lesser of the pair.
Both movies are shot on perhaps the cheapest film stock
possible, those old movies where colors are washed out and always seem to have
a slight magenta look to them. The camerawork isn’t the best here either but at
least they keep things in frame and microphones out of the shots. For being
zero budget films the movies actually have some decent performances from the
casts in both films.
The end result is to make you wonder what Brownrigg could
have accomplished with a stellar cast and a budget that would qualify as minor
for a major studio. Odds are pretty good that the budget for this film wouldn’t
equal the catering budget for any movie being made today. That Brownrigg could
make movies like this for next to nothing is an achievement.
Don’t look for much in the way of extras here. They include
trailers on Both Features, a 2018 commentary track on DON’T LOOK IN THE
BASEMENT from film historian and journalist, David Del Valle & genre director,
David Decoteau (Puppet Master III: Toulons Revenge) , and assorted other
Grindhouse trailers including upcoming GRINDHOUSE DOUBLE FEATURES from VCI.
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