Director Tobe Hooper once entered the horror-hall of fame at the top position back in 1974 with his undeniable masterpiece of imaginative terror, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Ever since that, his career only went downhill. In the nineties he simply…well…sucked with a repertoire of titles like The Mangler and Crocodile. The tide seems to be turning a bit now, as his version of the Toolbox Murders is surprisingly decent and well made. This is a remake of a vicious 70's slasher that is overall gory and disgusting (the original was even included in the `video nasties' – list of banned horror movies in the U.K) The plot and motivations of the murdering nut are slightly different in Hooper's version of the Toolbox Murders. The story is about a young couple that moves to Hollywood and homes in an old, spooky building. Inhabitants of this building – mainly wannabe actors and other scum – brutally die one by one…As the title implies, the butchering is achieved by hammers, drills, screwdrivers and a bunch of other tools. And I bet you can imagine how badly things can get messed up if you're using tools on people, no? Indeed, this films is rather gory and extremely violent with a few gruesome killing-highlights such as a (semi-)decapitation with a sawing machine! Angela Bettis, the girl who stole every horror fan's heart since `May', plays the screaming heroine who slowly gets to the bottom of the murder mystery. She receives good feedback from the beautiful Juliet Landau (Martin Landau's daughter) . The script and story-development isn't always logical and most of the interior shots are under-exposed. Also, the Toolbox Murders seems to give the impression we're guessing fro the identity of the killer initially…like a good old-fashioned ‘whodunit' slasher, but the mystery and detective aspects abruptly come to an end as the plot opens up a little more. Far from being an intelligent (or even clever) horror remake, Tobe Hooper's film is entertaining and perfectly suitable for an evening of scares and loud yells.

I thought this film was OK but nothing great. I mean, I thought Angela Bettis was brilliant in it and was pleased to see that she managed to keep the film from falling totally flat on its ass but that's the film's only saving grace (well, there's another one and I'll get to it in a second). It's certainly intriguing and how the victims meet their demise are slightly fun to see but said deaths are rather uninvolving and exist soley to titillate fans of gore. To me, the deaths were, although very inventive, dull. It did nothing for the movie whatsoever. As a horror, the film fails. Sure, it has cheap scares and plentiful of mystery but those who are bumped off...you don't feel any sympathy for them. Mind you, they're killed off that quickly and easily that it's hard to find any sympathy you may have for them. The only person I had sympathy for was Nell (a la Angela Bettis). Mainly because her character is only one in the film that is close to fully developed. Sure, we are introduced to others but what else?. However, there is another thing apart from Angela Bettis that keeps it going and that's the mystery of it all. When Nell decides to turn detective and investigate the history behind the building and those weird symbols, that's when the films jumps from being merely watchable to actually good. But it all backfires spectacularly when the boyfriend shows up and decides at that moment to save the day. This occurrence spoils the mystery plot line and the climax is just a clichéd stalk-and-slash (and the very Halloween-alike ending was a very bad idea). The mystery storyline is crippled at the end when the killer chooses not to kill Nell there and then because of the symbols on her arm. It was just too ridiculous really. Sure, the secret areas in the building was interesting but all because of black arts? Nah. The reason this element doesn't work is because it's supposed to be a horror/drama not sci-fi horror. Although the film does give early implications that the explanation for everything may be otherworldly ie the ominous music when Nell looks at the symbol near the start of the movie, it just doesn't work.

Overall, the film isn't a complete waste of time and doles out a few guilty pleasures to horror fans easily pleased, but for those, like me, who like their horrors well-done, this just isn't one of them.

This remake was surprisingly enjoyable, despite the low IMDb rating, and perhaps Tobe Hooper's best work since The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Mix some elements of Polanki's Apartment Trilogy with some from TCM, and throw in a few inventive, violent kills à la the original Toolbox Murders, and you have a rather enjoyable horror movie. Also adding to it is the good performance from up and coming horror starlet Angela Bettis. The killer was pretty cool too; I liked how giddy he was after sprinkling lye on some guy's face, held down by a vice, Casino style! I can only wish I enjoyed my work so. Of course, it's not a flawless movie. The plot maybe could have used a bit more work but if you just go with it, it's really a minor complaint. The DVD has two commentaries (one with Hooper!), deleted scenes (mostly more graphic shots of the kills), a short interview with Hooper, and some trailers, including the great one for High Tension! I'm glad I bought it, despite a hefty $20 tag.