Toolbox Murders (2004)

Directed by: Tobe Hooper | 91 minutes | horror, thriller | Actors: Angela Bettis, Brent Roam, Marco Rodriguez, Rance Howard, Juliet Landau, Adam Gierasch, Greg Travis, Christopher Doyle, Adam Weisman, Christina Venuti, Sara Downing, Jamison Reeves, Stephanie Silverman, Alan Polonsky, Charlie Paulson

This film is directed by Tobe Hooper, who is also credited with the 1974 classic ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’. Hooper, however, has not regained the form he had with this masterpiece in later years and, although ‘Toolbox Murders’ has its successful moments, this film is also an example of that.

The film starts promisingly enough with a successful and oppressive performance by the serial killer who mercilessly and bloodily kills a victim. But right after that, the film begins to collapse. Attention is shifted too much and for too long to incidental matters in the apartment building: Nell and Steven’s introductions to the other residents of the building who exhibit (meaningly humorous?) eccentric behavior, the altercations with the landlord, the repeatedly jammed elevator, the useless appearances of the police and various other matters. The build-up of the right tension and threat is also only partly visible. The serial killer’s presence becomes apparent quickly enough, and the ways in which he strikes several times are oppressive enough, but his performance is always over and the threat posed by his suggested presence is not enough. In addition, the film takes place between the serial killer’s appearances at too slow a pace and because of that it also takes too long before he proceeds to make the next victim.

It is only in the last part of the film that the necessary successful scenes are created that had been lacking for too long and too often before. Spurred on by her suspicions, Nell goes in search of the killer’s hiding place and manages to penetrate it, but turns out to be unable to get out either. The serial killer starts the hunt for her and the chase scenes in the claustrophobic and dark corridors and rooms of his hideout only now show the necessary tension well and for longer than before. In this regard, the efforts of Steven and his supporters to help Nell also increase the tension. The serial killer also opens the hunt for them and energetically makes the necessary victims with the tools from his toolbox and in various or not gory ways in which his sadism comes out perfectly. His unexpected strike from any angle also ensures that his threat is more clearly felt in the background than before.

A film that only (too) late leads to the necessary desired images, at least for the horror enthusiast. What unfortunately detracts from the film is that things like occultism and symbols are used to guide the story. Also, in particular, an explanation for the murderer’s mental state comes across as extremely improbable. Furthermore, the killer proves to be very tough when he appears again and again unscathed after the umpteenth physical confrontation in which he clearly had a lot to take in. This allows the chases, confrontations, tension and horror to continue, but it does bring down the credibility of various starting points in this film.

The setting in which the story takes place contributes appropriately to the creation of a dark atmosphere in which the various events take place: claustrophobic, desolate, dark and gloomy. But a number of features of the same environment also affect the credibility of the developments in the story. The dozens of disappearances of the serial killer’s victims should have caught someone’s eye long ago. This also applies to the noise of the murders which, despite the noise in the building, apparently nobody has noticed before, even if there is often the noise of maintenance work in the background. In addition, it is unbelievable that, also because of the symbols in the building visible to everyone, the different room numbering has never been noticed and has put anyone on the trail of the murderer’s secret room. And that, after all, there is a fellow apartment resident who has been aware of the murderer’s practices and identity for years, will leave many viewers scratching their heads in disbelief.

A film that starts late, that for the most part takes place too slowly and in which too much and too long attention is paid to additional and distracting matters. Although a few successful oppressive images are reviewed in the first part of the film, the scenes that are really noteworthy and desirable for the enthusiast come very late, whereby it becomes abundantly clear that the credibility of the various starting points and developments is not too close. should be taken. A film with its pros and cons, but clearly again a film that will not go down in history as one of Hooper’s most memorable products.