Blame it on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre if you will, because the blazing success of said film brought forth onto an unsuspecting public, the 1977 "treat" The Toolbox Murders. Sickly disturbing and creepy as hell, somehow these filmmakers pulled it off so it doesn't just play off as just pure exploitation (for exploitation's sake). While not necessarily scary by any means, The Toolbox Murders is a sleazy masterpiece of cinematic horrors.

Veteran character actor Cameron Mitchell stars as Ben Kingsley (The Anti-Ghandi) a deranged landlord who spends much of his time trolling around apartment complexes with a murderous toolbox, and a vengeance! He's out to rid the world of the corrupt and "unclean" types through any means possible. He bashes and drills his way through victims so fast, he's completely destroyed 4 of them within the first 20 minutes. The story shifts into overdrive when Ben kidnaps Laurie (former child star Pamelyn Ferdin) to take the place of his own daughter who had recently died in a car accident (now do you get it?). I think it's best to stop here, especially if you're new to The Toolbox Murders. Much of the fun comes from how the story slowly unwinds and takes one disturbing twist and turn after another.

The Toolbox Murders is not your typical paint by the numbers exploitation flick. Sure there's plenty of violence and nudity (hello raincoat crowd) to keep you occupied, but there's also something else here. Part of the appeal comes from the unusual story and how these disturbing events unfold onscreen. Most of the performances are actually quite commendable, especially that of Cameron Mitchell as the ultra disturbed Ben. Beyond the initial murders, the story unfolds in a truly quiet and unassuming manner, much of which seems to be deliberately paced. There's also no doubt that one can sense the love and care that went into this film. It may have started out as a way to make a quick buck and cash in, but somewhere along the way, these people must have actually started to care. Even if they didn't intentionally care, they play a good game, because they certainly fooled me.

Don't get me wrong, this is one sick puppy of a film. The murders are bloody, gruesome and relentless. Ben scopes out one of our victims (Marianne Walter AKA adult film star Kelly Nichols) as she masturbates in the bathtub, only to be chased around her apartment completely naked. She ultimately meets her demise at the hand of a nasty nailgun to the stomach, and then forehead. Also extremely disturbing is the casting of a few former child stars including Wesley Eure of Land of the Lost and Pamelyn Ferdin as the kidnapped Laurie. Pamela was a huge child actress, guest starring in such television shows as Lassie, performing as the voice of Lucy in a few of the original Charlie Brown cartoons and even having a guest spot on The Brady Bunch at one point!

Presented on DVD in a transfer that was pulled from the original negative, The Toolbox Murders looks amazing. This transfer is nothing short of an act of god, as no one could have ever predicted that this film could look like, well, a real film. Aside from the occasional spec of dirt (and I do mean occasional) there is nothing wrong with this transfer. Colors are so sharp and vibrant, they nearly leap off the screen, and there is virtually no evidence of film grain whatsoever. The Toolbox Murders is without a doubt one of the best transfers I've seen for a genre title on DVD to date. Despite the packaging claim of a 1.66:1 aspect ratio, it does appear to be closer to 1.85:1 and the framing does seem comfortable. You've never seen The Toolbox Murders look like this before.

Audio is presented in a standard mono mix and sounds fine. Nothing spectacular here (how much can you really do with mono?), dialogue is crisp and clear with minimal distortion (Shrill screams? Look out!). The few AM Gold era songs sound great, man it would have been sweet to have them on a separate track as an extra.

Speaking of extras, there is no absence of the good stuff to round out this fine presentation of the film itself. Two trailers (theatrical and TV) both in excellent shape, and two radio spots get things started. Next up is a brief still gallery with some cool promo pics and cover art, along with a Cameron Mitchell Bio. Also included is a brief 8-minute featurette entitled I Got Nailed in The Toolbox Murders with star Marianne Walter. It may be brief, but it's highly entertaining as Marianne discusses everything from her casting call, to her unusual leap from legit films into the adult industry. Marianne has fond memories of making this film and seems to be a real trooper at heart. She discusses how she was surprised to see that she made the poster artwork for the film, and how she didn't even flinch when they asked her at the last minute to masturbate while in the tub. Now THAT'S acting ladies and gentlmen! Last but not least is a feature length commentary track with Producer Tony DiDio, Director of Photography Gary Graver, and the aforementioned Pamelyn Ferdin. As a whole I enjoyed the commentary track despite the fact that they strayed quite a bit from the onscreen action, and wound up just having a nice little chat at times. Despite this shortcoming, it's still an interesting listen, as some great anecdotes are dispersed, and they all come across as having seemed to truly enjoyed the experience of making this film. It's also worth mentioning that after listening to Pamelyn for a little while I really wanted to just punch her in the mouth. I'm really not trying to be mean, but man she was really annoying as hell to listen to.

This is an unbelievable presentation of a great exploitation film from years gone by. They don't make films like this anymore (and probably for good reason), but I sure am glad that they used to! It's time for fans of The Toolbox Murders to be happy again, as this is a great little package. I envy you first timers, as I highly doubt you will be disappointed. Hold on, It's gonna be a bumpy ride.