The Toolbox Murders Blu-ray Review & Comments

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Reviewed by Chris McEneany, 5th February 2010
Blue Underground deserves credit, once again, for delving deep into the dark and bloody barrel of cinematic and cult exploitation and fishing out something that most “nice” people would steer well clear of, and then sprucing it up for a spangly hi-def presentation. But, the phrase “scraping the barrel” does also, sadly, apply to The Toolbox Murders. Poorly acted and scuppered by a plot that derails itself and alienates the very people who would be drawn to such a title in the first place, this Cameron Mitchell oddity is one for the completists only. Bolstered by a falsely savage reputation this runs the risk of boring modern audiences who have become immune to such tepid fare by the likes of the Saw films, Hostel and Martyrs. Skilful writing and delicious twists and turns this doesn't have. But, having said all this, I still couldn't wait to get it once I'd heard its Blu-ray release had been announced. There is always something alluring about the return of a once banned movie, the moral-baiting stigma they once possessed still arouses curiosity, and the exciting sense of “the forbidden” that so many of us devoted gore-hounds from the 80's video-boom fondly remember still creates an illicit frisson.

It seems silly to profess a soft spot for such sleazy, badly conceived dross, but The Toolbox Murders, probably for all the wrong reasons, is a trip down memory lane for some people, and for that reason, alone, I would recommend it - but only to those who have already seen it and share something of the same nostalgia.

And those blood-loving ghouls from my generation will certainly be pleased with the transfer. The image has some issues, but is largely fine and a lot better than you might have thought it could be, but the audio has one of those utterly redundant 7.1 lossless makeovers that the film simply doesn’t warrant. So, therefore, I would stick with the mono track. The extras are typically eyebrow-raising and in-keeping with the label’s brazen approach to their subject matter and the most taboo aspects of it, and the release is certainly a welcome one for the die-hard fans out there. But The Toolbox Murders is more fitting, perhaps, as a slice of vintage censor-baiting and an example of how controversy can be raked-up over nothing at all when the climate calls for it. This, then, is the rebirth of a historical scapegoat that, whether it deserves it or not, now has that nail-gun scene in 1080p!


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