Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

"Don't Look in the Basement" is a 1970s drive in movie so tasteless it was actually banned in Iceland. Despite that lucid and revealing indictment from the world's oldest democracy, this is one of the better "inmates running the asylum" slasher movies from the era, with some genuine creepiness and an occasional good performance, notably from Bill McGhee as Sam, a well-adjusted lobotomy victim.

The asylum is run by Dr. Stephens who believes that it's important to allow patients to live out their fantasies, so a former army sergeant still dresses in fatigues and goes by "Sarge," a would-be mother carries around a doll as if it were an actual infant, etc. There appear to be no safety regulations at this particular sanitarium as Dr. Stephens gets killed in the first five minutes of the film by a patient participating in some ax therapy with predictably poor results. Stephens' assistant, Dr. Masters, a horrible older woman (Annabelle Weenick, a.k.a. Anne MacAdams) takes over for him. Beautiful psychiatric nurse Charlotte Beale (played by April 1972 Playboy Playmate Rosie Holotik) appears and is not welcomed by Masters, who wants to makes some changes at the asylum.

The film features a lot of atmospheric creepiness and interesting twists, and in that regard is superior to most of its contemporaries. There is more than a modicum of ambiguity in addition to the requisite lunatics, creepy dolls, and screaming in a movie of this ilk. The background for the bulk of the film is set during a lengthy exposition-laden scene in which Masters and Beale review the patient cases (there's Allyson, a nymphomaniacal woman with a rejection issue; Oliver W. Cameron, an appellate court judge; Mrs. Callingham, a woman who thinks flowers are her children; a redheaded idiot named Danny who has just about the most annoying screen presence in history, etc.) To develop the characters, the patients are seen interacting with each other for a while before the plot gets back in gear. I was especially amused by the scene where Allyson attempts to seduce Judge Cameron with poor results, though with some deliciously bad dialogue ("Ripe strawberries are the color of blood!")

After a bit of character familiarization, someone cuts the phone line, and strange things start to happen. First, Mrs. Callingham's tongue gets cut out. Dr. Masters believes she did it herself while hallucinating, which Charlotte totally buys into (she is beautiful, but not that bright). When a phone repair guy shows up to fix the line, Dr. Masters goes absolutely bonkers at the intrusion, and the phone repair guy gets an unhealthy exposure to Allyson.

Sharp implements are not carefully controlled at this facility and Allyson soon finds a gigantic butcher knife, which she wields maniacally. After one patient gets a meat thermometer in the eye, Allyson reveals to Charlotte that Masters is actually a patient at the asylum: Stephens was merely indulging her medical control fantasy by letting her pretend to be a doctor before his untimely demise. This sets Charlotte to thinking about a means of escape. Unfortunately for our dense heroine, Masters has told the other patients that Charlotte is actually a patient, so a struggle for control of the minds of the crazies ensues.

Sam, who has started approaching Charlotte about messages from Dr. Stephens, tells Charlotte to go look in the basement. Given the title of the film, I bet you're thinking that's a bad idea. You would be right. In an extremely confusing revelatory moment, Charlotte finds Stephens in the basement, but she is so startled by him (here's an idea: turn the lights on) that she hacks him to death. This enrages Sam, who carries Charlotte back up the stairs where Masters is preparing to lobotomize her. Flashing back to his own lobotomy, Sam has a moment of clarity, realizes that Charlotte is good and Masters is evil, and carries Charlotte outside while the other patients turn the ax on Masters. Sam then proceeds to vent his aggression via the ax on all his fellow inmates, and then in a completely unexpected and incongruous moment, calls Masters "Mama" repeatedly. (I didn't take this literally, though lobotomized patients normally don't speak figuratively.) Ultimately the film concludes with blood-spattered Sam enjoying a popsicle while a nice trumpet solo drifts across the soundtrack.

I must admit that I'm not a particular fan of slasher films, and despite its placement in the horror genre, there is not that much gore by contemporary standards in this film. Most of the torment is emotional and mental, which I think makes the film more scary than if it was simply a gorefest. The film has certain flaws; the first half is slowly paced, some of the acting is embarrassingly poor, and the screaming got very annoying very quickly as it wasn't saved for when something actually scary was occurring. "Don't Look in the Basement" is not a prizewinning piece of cinema by any means and is sometimes downright distasteful, but as an example of 1970s early drive in horror, it's better than average and should be to the liking of fans of horror and slasher films.

what great actors....what great drama....what great suspense...
this is a can't miss movie from the 60ties and a treat to watch....big curve ball at the end....ENJOY!!!