DON’T
LOOK IN THE BASEMENT (1971)
Directed by S.F. Brownrigg
Brentwood DVD
Reviewed 01.03.04
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
I’m half and half on this
one. It seems to have quite a reputation.
On the one hand, Don’t
Look In The Basement arrives with a genuinely
eerie feel -- claustrophobic, intense,
and a nightmarish final half hour.
On the other hand, you have to wade
through the groan-inducing overacting,
inappropriate music cues, and endless
dialogue to get there.
There’s a small sanitarium
run by a Dr. Stephens. Nurse Charlotte
Beale arrives to work there and
finds out that Stephens has died
under mysterious circumstances.
For the rest of the film, the viewer
is subjected to various patient
hijinks as murders begin to occur
and things don’t seem to be
right. We’re also witness
to a TON of screaming. The film
slowly builds to an intense climax
with a twist ending that I actually
didn’t see coming.
Don’t Look has a lot to like. As the film progresses,
its got an otherworldly quality
that really ropes you in. We never
leave the sanitarium setting and
it gets pretty bloody towards the
end. Unfortunately, the first hour
of the film contains too many poor
distractions (I still don’t
understand what would compel Nurse
Beale to work at this place after
her first five minutes there) to
make it a bonafide classic.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
The full frame print here is ok.
However, there’s really bad
compression and ghosting present
on the transfer. Not that it’s
unwatchable, but I’m sure
this film could look much better.
EXTRAS
Don’t Look is part of Brentwood’s "Evil
Places” box. The four movie
set also contains Silent
Night, Bloody Night, Satan’s
School For Girls,
and House On Haunted Hill (horrible print and transfer of
this Vincent Price classic).
FINAL THOUGHTS
I enjoyed finally seeing Don’t
Look In The Basement. While
my initial impression was that it
was...well, stupid, the last half
made up for that. I’d like
to look into more of Brownrigg’s
films. By all means check this movie
out -- just don’t expect a
masterpiece. |
The stage is set
Axe-celent
Miss Beale
Laisez Faire
|
