Cameron Mitchell, Pamelyn Ferdin, Wesley Eure

Ski-masked maniac kills apartment complex tenants with the contents of a toolbox.

Flixster Users

34% liked it

1,653 ratings

Critics

50% liked it

14 critics

R, 94 min.

Directed by: Dennis Donnelly

Release Date: March 1, 1978

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DVD Release Date: September 3, 2002

Stats: 77 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (77)


  • September 17, 2008
    Unfairly treated I would say. There's a lot of problems in this film, most notably the acting, but there is also a lot to appreciate. The pacing is different from most slasher films of the day in being that most of the killing takes place very early on. It works rather nicely as ...( read more)after that the focus can shift onto the mystery of it all. In another rather original turn the killer is revealed to just the audience about half-way through and turns it into a more personal movie about the killer. Overall though the acting just really brings it down, with a laughable reaction to a vibrator being the highlight of the film. The music however is excellent and deserves to be used in something of higher standards. From the instrumentals to the original songs used to incredible effect in the murder scenes it really was quite shocking how something so good could exist in an exploitative slasher film. Beware however you must also venture through a sea of stupid cops and a brain dead brother trying to find his lost sister.
  • September 4, 2007
    This was bad. I fast-forwarded through most of it. I did like the one scene where the lady was held captive and the killer was playing with a baby doll. It's dark, cheap and sleazy. Oh, it was ugly and trashy too.
  • July 26, 2007
    The Toolbox Murders starts out with 20 minutes or so of grisly and very well done kill scenes, all of which involve tools. If you like violence, then you'll love the introduction of this film. I personally don't have a preference when it comes to nudity in horror films (since it'...( read more)s overdone and pointless 90% of the time), but if you're a sucker for that sort of thing, then you'll appreciate the introduction to this film for that as well. After the kills are complete, however, many people will be bored by the lack of action that takes place on screen until the final moments of the movie. The middle portion of this movie is a lot of talk with little or no gore. I didn't mind this, because I found the dialog between the killer and the kidnapped girl to be very interesting. "What's it like?" the killer asks, referring to dying. The girl responds that "everything is purple, like a lollipop, and you can't see God, and there are people flying around, and you can see all of their thoughts, and you know the answers to all of their questions, but you can't answer them because nobody can talk." I enjoyed listening to this conversation, and although I'm sure I didn't get it word for word, there is something creative and maybe even worthy in here. Lots of people complain that the acting in this movie is terrible. These people cannot be horror buffs, as I have seen countless other films in which the acting is much MUCH worse. I would go as far to say that the acting in this film is very decent. If you have the attention span to sit through 'slower' moments of this film, then you'll find something to enjoy in it.
  • November 3, 2009
    A guilty pleasure of mine! it's so sleazy, raw and vile that you want a shower afterwards and it's good in that way.
  • July 4, 2008
    like the other one more
  • March 31, 2008
    Really creepy but awesome
  • March 3, 2008
    not that entertaining but some good deaths
  • February 2, 2008
    Most of the interesting murder scenes happens within the first half hour then the films slows down & lacks in action which became boring.The film is not gory or too violent comparing to other slasher films but the nailgun murder is quite brutal.It was interesting to see that tak...( read more)es one disturbing twist and turn after another.
  • November 1, 2007
    Not interested. I usually avoid horror movies.
  • October 25, 2007
    The ski-masked 'hand of God' likes to hum a little ditty & dish out justice from a toolbox. Then after twenty minutes of hardware atrocities the remainder tries to justify the senseless events; even claiming the entire thing was a dramatization of actually events. That's some r...( read more)ough swill to swallow & keep down

Critic Reviews


June 20, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Saying The Toolbox Murders is the finest Tobe Hooper film since The Texas Chainsaw Massacre ... isn't saying much. full review

View more The Toolbox Murders reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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  • Which of these horror films was set in Los Angeles?   Answer »
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