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Don't Look in the Basement (1973) More at IMDbPro »

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21 out of 23 people found the following comment useful :-
A real drive-in clasick!, 10 January 2005

Author: Drive-In-Freak from United States

If you love drive-in cheeze from the early '70s you will just love this one.How could you go wrong with a low budget film about bloodshed in a lunatic asylum? You can't! Crazy folks and sharp objects are always an entertaining combination.

The film looks like it was shot inside someone's house for about $320.65. For me that just ads to the fun of watching this type of stuff.The gore is a bit mild compared to others of this ilk,but there is enough to keep us bloodthirsty sickos (like myself)happy.Some horror films drag in parts and leave you waiting for something to happen.That's not the case here.The characters are entertaining enough to make every frame quite enjoyable.There is never a dull moment from start to finish.The mind melting climax at the end that is just unbelievable. I liked it so much that right after the end credits I watched it a second time.It's an absolute must see for any self respecting drive-in horror nut.

9.5/10 on the Drive-in-Freak-O-Meter...required viewing

Yea I love you..I DO love you...now take your Thorazine and put your clothes back on...please....8)

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18 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
actually pretty good, 11 June 2003
Author: peterc-8 from boston ma

I was surprised how good this film was. The IMDB rating is so low. I'm not sure why it rates so poorly.

The biggest problem with the flick is that it had a miniscule budget. The overall look is fairly shabby - a very thin production. BUT it has everything else you want in a cheapo horror flick...the script is original, the acting is actually decent, bordering on pretty good for a few characters. The camera work is creative. The heroine is a babe.

A bit of gore and a bit of suspense. Seasoned horror junkies may be able to guess the main gimmick after the first couple of scenes, but it is still worth watching. The film does provide a couple of minor twists that you won't guess though.

If you are looking for bland and well produced then perhaps you should stick with Phantom Menace. If you want to watch a nifty little throwaway horror flick, try Dont Look In The Basement.

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17 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Surprisingly Good!, 1 June 2003
Author: Krug Stillo (nhargii@hotmail.com) from Wales

Some can call it cheap, others can call it stupid and some may even call it pointless, but these are all adjectives once attributed to classics such as Night of the Living Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Last House on the Left. As the latter was also distributed by Hallmark, they obliged to reproduced the same tag line here - `To avoid fainting keep repeating: ‘It's only a movie…only a movie…only a movie'.'

Don't Look in the Basement tells the story of Charlotte Beale (heartstoppingly gorgeous Rosie Holotik and Playboy covergirl, April, 1972), a young nurse whose arrival at her new position coincides with a dramatic change within the Stephen's Sanatarium for the mentally insane. The unusual treatment here involves allowing patients to roam free around the hospital, allowing them to express their repressed inhibitions to cure their madness. The patients are a truly frightening gathering. One girl shuffles around with a doll she believes is her baby and if you offend her you'll die; A chap believes himself to be a judge, constantly preaching courtroom jargon; A nymphomaniac wanting love from anyone who lunges at all men; An ex-Vietnam vet watches over the premises, assuring nobody escapes…etc. Soon, poor Charlotte realizes that all is not as it should be and '...a sense of unease creeps over her...' Will she solve the mystery of the Sanitarium before she too is driven insane?

If you allow yourself to get with the flow of this low budget horror film, then you might even see the twist in the tail. I won't spoil it for you here…

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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Prepare to scream!!!, 18 January 1999

Author: Jason C. Atwood from Suffolk, Virginia

You'll either love or hate movies such as this thriller set inside a lonesome asylum in a far off lonesome land. It's not so much of a horror show, but a concoction of frightening imageries and wackozoid mental patients. "Scream" is the best term to use in what was obviously a popular drive-in classic noted for some strange and wicked behaviors. Notice the "judge", who's about to put on the ax from behind the doctor! Brr-r-r-r!!! Not much else can be described here other than some bloody tasty goodness, but when you get a chance, remember the familiar old saying by the hag lady: "Get out! Get out! And never ever come back!". Don't you wish you haven't looked in the basement?

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10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Why? It's a nice basement., 12 January 2004
Author: Repoman-3 from Toronto, Canada

S.F. Brownrigg is surely one of the most overlooked directors in the slasher genre with Basement being his masterwork. The plot concerns a young nurse (Playboy covergirl Rosie Holotik) who takes a job at a secluded mental hospital. Upon her arrival, it transpires that her employer has been killed by one of the patients and the place is now being run by strict disciplinarian, Dr Masters. Make no mistake, this is a horribly under-staffed operation. The lunatics truly are taking over the asylum and you really have to feel for the young nurse. Tough first gig. The basement figures only very briefly and towards the end of film. It is, in fact, the safest place in the house because the rest of the place is pure madness. I can only assume that Don't Look in the Basement was perhaps an afterthought as a title, possibly forced on the film by the backers to make it sound more scary as the title card appears to have been dropped in arbitrarily and does not match the other titles. Scenes worth watching for are the Judge attacking the doctor with an axe and a broken rubber knife in the final bloodbath. Forget One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. This is the stuff.

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10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
A lovely little low-budget chiller, 28 June 1999

Author: Casey-52 from DVD Drive-In

Charlotte Beal arrives at an isolated country mental hospital to become a full-time nurse there. She is confronted with a motley group of crazies and a seemingly crazier supervisor. Is Dr. Masters all she seems to be?

DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT is one of the best low-budget movies in the genre and why people always put it down is beyond me. The acting is excellent, my favorite performance being by Betty Chandler as Allyson the nymphomaniac. The chills just jump right off the screen. You probably won't have to say "It's only a movie, it's only a movie", it isn't that scary, but it should appeal to any horror fan who respects the low-budget horror genre, which I do. It is very hard to make a creepy film on a low budget and few actually succeed. AXE is another cheap film that is looked down upon. Maybe people are so spoiled by the big budgets of recent films that any movie that doesn't have excellent effects and/or isn't considered a classic doesn't have a chance with an audience. But I think that after people see this movie, they will see how important the low-budget horror genre is and this movie is a classic that stands out among the other rubbish.

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12 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
Not as bad as you might expect, 4 August 2004

Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England

This film kicks off as I thought it would go on, in that a mental patient slays his doctor with the business end of an axe. However, considering that was included on the Video Nasty list in the 80's, it isn't very gory. I fully understand and agree with the idea that buckets of gore does not make a movie great, but when I'm watching a shocking, previously banned Video Nasty; call me old fashioned, but I generally expect to see gore. Still, the film does have other redeeming features.

The acting isn't one of them however; when watching a film like this, one doesn't go in expecting to see great performances, but some of the acting in this movie was so unbelievably below standard that at times even I, a fan of shock horror with bad performances, cringed. The old woman that later has her tongue removed is a particular cause for concern on this film's acting resume; I know that the roles of the mental patients are meant to be fairly quirky, but this one was downright insulting. The rest of the bad performances come from unknown actors, most of which would never go on to make another film, or at least another film of note; and that is quite fitting really.

Another feature of the film that isn't redeeming is the way it is filmed. If I said that it was unprofessional, I'd be right; and I am right, the movie is unprofessionally filmed. Because of this, the whole piece stinks of amateurs at the bottom of their craft. I know that you cant expect fabulous cinematography from a film such as this, but the fact that it is bad makes sure that the film faces an uphill struggle from the start; it looks bad, and for some that will mean it is bad.

However, despite all said so far; this film really does have some redeeming qualities. The characters for one; they're not particularly well done; they certainly aren't deep or fleshed out, but they do make sure that the film creates the right atmosphere for a sanatorium; they're a mixed bag, and although I've never been in a nut house, the one in this film is what I'd expect one to be like. Also of note is the way that it's fairly well plotted; there's always something going on to keep you entertained and it doesn't tie itself up with lots of meaningless plot details, which is definitely to it's credit. The twist towards the end should have been seen coming a mile off by me, but it wasn't, and I think that is to the film's credit also; it catches you by surprise. By the end, it becomes obvious as to exactly what is in the basement, but by then it doesn't matter because the film is nearly over anyway.

Overall, Don't Look in the Basement is one of the better Video Nasty's that I've seen, and I've seen a few from that illustrious list. What it lacks in certain areas, it makes up for in others and although it's not very gory, certainly not by today's standards; I'd still recommend this to fans of shock horror cinema.

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Over-achieving B grade shock-horror tale, 11 August 2006

Author: mstomaso from Vulcan

Take an ensemble cast of good B grade actors, give them a good script, a somewhat original premise, and unobtrusive directing, and you may end up with a film that over-achieves as much as "Don't Look in the Basement" did.

The film takes place in a large house which is home to several psychotic individuals. Before the plot even begins, the head of the hospital is chopped up by one of the patients with an axe. Then Rosie Holotik enters the hospital looking for the axe victim and finds that the hospital has a new head who is not at first willing to honor her agreement with the deceased Dr. Stephens. Soon, however, Dr. Masters reconsiders and Nurse Beale (Holotik) is hired. The rest of the film builds tension and successfully develops the individual psychoses of the in-mates. After a while it becomes very unclear who is a patient and who is a doctor.

In the end, Don't Look in the Basement is a cleverly plotted film which benefits from generally good acting and directing and not-overly-ambitious camera work. A must-see for B horror fans, and an interesting diversion for those interested in psycho-dramas and psychological thrillers. Be warned, however, this film is slightly more gory and sexy than the average horror film of its time.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Smart Script, Pretty good film, 5 July 2005

Author: Jamie Edwards from United States

Like the review before me, people were a little too critical on this film. Delivered very well with a great cast. My friend and I watched it a few days ago and he guessed the plot early in the film, and said "It would be awesome if this happened" Which it did, so it was really cool- It has a good story and twists and keeps you guessing. Sometimes it's a bit humorous, but the setting and mood was delivered well. This is a good film to watch with some buddies or a special someone. It will keep you interested until the very end, and will give you that good IL' Horror feeling. If you're looking for a pretty gory, weird movie- Don't look in the Basement is definitely it.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
"GET OUT GET OUT AND DON'T EVER COME BACK" [Spoiler Alert!], 24 April 2004

Author: Steve Nyland (Squonkamatic) from New York, USA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

If anyone ever assembles a compendium on modern American horror that is truly worth it's salt, there will *have* to be an entry for SF Brownrigg's ubiquetous exercize in Asylum Horror. Every time I watch this movie I am impressed by the complete economy of the film, from the compact, totally self-contained plot with a puzzling beginning and an all too horrible ending, the engaging performances by what was essentially a group of non-professional actors, and a prevading sense of dread and claustrophobia that effectively consumes the narrarive with a certain inevitability which is all the more terrifying because the viewers know what is going on long before the hero[es], with the only question being when are they going to wake up & smell the coffee?

Shot on a dental floss budget in Brownrigg's native Texas at an old palatial manor that nicely serves as the setting for a private sanitorium, DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT is another intriguing twist on the good old Edgar Allan Poe tome about inmates taking over the asylum just before an otherwise "normal" outsider unwittingly joins the ranks without realizing until it is far too late that not all is what it seems, they are totally cut off & beyond any outside help, and inevitably find their own sanity questioned as the madness spins out of control -- The Original STAR TREK TV series had a go at this with their WHOM GODS DESTROY episode from 1968, Juan Moctezuma gave the proceedings a peyote fueled Mexican psychedelic trip in DR. TARR'S TORTURE DUNGEON in 1972, and tangentially related is Fernando Di Leo's ASYLUM EROTICA/SLAUGHTER HOTEL, which injects the elements of an unknown killer and an ending that can only be defined as "Splatter Cinema" -- Brownrigg may not have seen or been thinking of SLAUGHTER HOTEL, but he sure came up with some similar ideas.

Legaliciuos former Playboy Playmate Rosie Holotik plays Charlotte Beale, RN in Clinical Psychology, who has just left her nice job as a supervisor at a major hospital to travel way out into the middle of some god forsaken waste right out of a Peckinpah movie to work with a Dr. Stevens at his private sanitorium. Dr. Stevens has pioneered a new form of therapy based upon basically encouraging the emotionally & psychologically scarred to face their inner obsessions, bring them to the surface and hopefully rid the patients of whatever has fried their sense of reasoning. Nice idea, but arming a 6ft 250 pound utterly insane man with an axe and telling him to pound out his aggression AND THEN TURNING YOUR BACK ON HIM probably isn't the smartest idea, and Dr. Stevens is dispatched before Ms. Holotik even appears onscreen with a good whack to the lower portion of his skull.

This event leaves the sanitorium effectively in the hands of one Geraldine Masters [actress Annabelle Weenick, who also served as the script supervisor & production manager], a woman of startlingly professional demeanor who quickly defuses the situation with the help of Sam, the film's wonderfully unlikely hero, a lobotomized African American boheomouth played by an actor named Bill McGhee who was sadly robbed of a supporting Oscar nomination for his turn as a mass of muscle with the brain of an 8 year old boy. Sam's one wish is to have someone help him put his prized toy boat "in the water", and his continual asking of the various female cast members to do so [and his nonstop consumption of chocolate popsicles] as *SOME* kind of underlying theme, though we will avoid such here because the kids might still be up. There is also a quick subplot about a staff member who has decided to leave after being threatened by one of the patients, but I'll leave the details of that to your discovery.

Ms. Holotik arrives just as Dr. Stevens has been effectively laid to rest and is quickly won over by the snappy professionalism of Ms. Masters, who reluctantly allows the leggy young nurse to stay on in spite of the tragedy that has just happened, oh, TWENTY MINUTES AGO, which you must admit was rather sporting of her. Holotik's Nurse Beale begins to demonstrate symptoms of not being the sharpest meat cleaver in the drawer, however, when informed that she shares living quarters with a bunch of maniacs and there are no locks on the doors & doesn't trudge off for the nearest Ace Hardware Store to pick up a hasp and padlock to secure herself, and we are treated to a couple of truly creepy scenes where some of the inmates sneak into her room & do stuff like smell her hair, try to kill her with butcher knives and caress her neck with axe heads. But that's all a part of working in such a radical psychiatric health care environment, Ms. Master's informs her, and she goes about her oddly defined "rounds" that consist of wearing as leg defining a nurse outfit as you can find in a 42nd Street fetish boutique and getting to know the inmates.

Allysson is a obsessive compulsive nymphomaniac with homicidal tendancies who likes to take off her shirt & provide the film with some T & A between fits of histrionics; Harriet is a young former mother who let her child die in a stupid accident and now dotes on a beat-up old doll that she is also homicidally protective of; The Seargant is an actual seargeant [and implied Vietnam vet] who's negligence led to the death of his platoon, and now watches from the window with binoculars for the approach of an unseen enemy; Jennifer is a Phish fan who couldn't score a ticket to the New Year's Eve Show and went insane & likes to scarf down nembutols and other barbituates when nobody is looking, and likewise has hidden homicidal tendancies linked to her inability to find a bra; Judge Cameron is apparently a homicidal pervert who became obsessed with his own sense of power and now likes to chop things up with axes; Ms. Callingham is an aged poet who serves as a sort of soothsaying old hag from MACBETH before the cat gets her tongue; and Danny is an insane idiot who was included in the cast as the random element that the plot cannot control, and who's antics serve as the real catalyst for the series of tragedies & murders that ultimately take place in this dark, old, creepy house in the middle of nowhere.

The house itself is a wonderful set, with a threadbare early 1970's decor that is remarkable in it's unremarkableness, with a fantastic use of color achieved by subtle ambient lighting. The house is a series of hallways and rooms with shiny brown wooden floors, twisting, confined stairways, secreted closets and passageways leading to the different larger areas, and of course the basement mentioned in the title -- visited only once, but boy it sure proves to be a doozy! I love the frosted old freezer where Sam keeps his stash of popsicles, the utterly plain exteriors that remind me of a summer home our family used to visit every year & force us to swelter in the heat: Everyone is covered with beads of persperation and looks exhausted, and even the ever cheerful Sam at one point begins to suspect that bad things are happening, though he cannot understand what it all means and Rosie H. is too firm in her belief of her profession to even suspect what has really happened, and while Ms. Holotik's limitations of an actress may have diminished the effectiveness of her Big Revelation scene, she's a great screamer when all Hell starts to break loose, and Brownrigg indulged of some nice camera shots of her in various suggestive poses or stages of undress that show off what a pretty lady she is without exposing anything more than her contract stipulated. Too bad!

The real show stealer is Sam, however, and fans of what I have been taught to refer to as Splatter Cinema will not be disappointed by the rather shocking finale, and there is something moving about how Sam runs to the protection of his friend and brutally kills everyone within arms reach in a matter of seconds that either suggests he was one mean motha before his lobotomy, or the film is CUT. In any event you won't be prepared for the ending the first time you see it, even though you as the viewer know what the score is long before anyone else in the film has put it all together.

Except for one person: Rhea MacAdams' uproariously stereotyped old coot Mrs. Callingham [who seems to be inspired by the Donald Sutherland Old Woman character from the Michael Reeves' 1964 Christopher Lee film CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD, in addition to a rather nasty death by round spike to the eye], who not only predicts the future, but has the film's most laugh out loud amusing bit of dialogue while on a walk in the garden with Ms. Holotik that runs something like this --

"It's really beautiful out here. Do you get out much, Mrs. Callingham?" asks Holotik, to which the old woman replies

"It's YOU who needs to get out."

Hilarious, and one of those things you gotta kind of see for yourself to "get". DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT is available on at least a half dozen "bargain bin" codefree DVD releases by companies like Brentwood Home Video, Diamond Entertainment, VCI and Platinum Disc Corp.'s HORROR CLASSICS series; I kind of like Alpha Video's sexily gorgeously decorated $6 release from 2003:

Dig through those bargain bins! But make sure you get one with the 89/90 minute print contained therein; an older 83 minute version is downright confusing due to some of the trims, and you really need to see the ending credits as intended to bring this sick, twisted and surprisingly entertaining yarn to it's end.

Masterpiece? Maybe not compared to THE EXORCIST or ROSEMARY'S BABY, but it is a very uniquely American horror film, and a genuine classic of the drive-in age that deserves to be rediscovered by anyone looking for something made with more than just a little bit of brain juice, and not a penny more than they absolutely needed.

***1/2 out of ****

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