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Low-budget slasher/gore films became a staple of the horror genre in the Seventies and Eighties, and most of them were cheap time-killers that weren't worth the stage blood expended on them. But there was the occasional exception. The following film under discussion is one such exception, a drive-in staple that's about as low-budget as anything that actually got picked up for theatrical distribution, yet a film that still delivered the gory goods with a bit of flair and genuine acting talent...in other words...
By RAYMOND L. BLAKEY In today’s often expensive and, in my opinion, often rather lackluster horror films there is a standard formula. This formula dictates that some type of evil sets upon a young person in either their late teens or early twenties. This evil may take on a variety of forms from the supernatural to the mundane, almost run of the mill, knife wielding, serial killing maniacs. But, in almost every instance the evil is very singular: one very particular menace with one very direct means of destroying it. But, that is now. In another time, in the not so distant past, classic horror films offered us many more twisted creatures that might at any time tear the lead characters to shreds or at the very least shred their sanity. In a world where we have most often been taught to fear one Michael Myers, imagine being set upon by half a dozen or more.
The story centers around Nurse Charlotte Beale (Rosie Holotik) a very attractive redhead who has left her job at another hospital to take on a special assignment at a rather unique institute treating the insane. Unfortunately, one of the patients accidentally kills Doctor Stephens whom she was supposed to be working for.
Suddenly, Nurse Charlotte finds herself forced to work under the Doctor’s second in command Dr. Geraldine Masters (Annabelle Weenick). Masters seems to want no part of Nurse Charlotte working for her, especially following the original doctor’s untimely demise. But, she eventually acquiesces to her former employer’s wishes and takes Nurse Charlotte onboard. It is at this point that we meet the patients of the facility. An Axe wielding psychotic who was a judge before going mad, a woman who is obsesses with a baby doll that she is convinced is a real child, a love starved nymphomaniac (with emphasis on the maniac part), a paranoid soldier that still thinks he is in the military and at war, and finally a large man-child named Sam (Bill McGhee). Sam tells Charlotte that he is contact with Doctor Stephens and that she should get out of there before its too late. It’s a very eerie moment that gives the film an almost Shinning level of creepiness before the movie really takes off.
Indeed it takes no time at all for the film to jump right in and prove why it has become something of a famous drive-in classic. People start getting maimed and killed in more and more brutal ways. However, in almost every case it’s clear as to who committed the acts. Yet behind every murder there still seems to be something hidden, some secret. Even some poor phone repairman comes to fix the non-functioning phone lines, only to end up in a most grisly state. Slowly, and yet also in a very uneasy way, the movie seems to be unraveling right before the viewers eyes. It begins to seem like Nurse Charlotte and Dr. Masters are loosing more and more control over the patients. In the meantime the patients are clearly loosing more and more control of their most psychotic urges and desires.
The film does end with a unique and actually surprising twist that I will not spoil here. I will say that the last 10 minutes of the movie feature the finest in shocks and gore. There is an eye gouging, a scene of very creepy necrophilia, and a mass axing of almost every character before all is said and done. Now, what sets this film apart as one of the finest Creepy Cheapies that I have seen is the acting. For a $1.98 budget of a movie, the acting in this film is above and beyond many other films shot and produced for more money. The acting is so superb that the thing almost feels like it was shot in a real asylum with real crazy people. There is almost not a weak performance to be had in the entire film. Even the guy playing the phone man delivers a first class performance and some of the best humor in the movie.
Now, this is most important when you consider that this film precedes One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by two years. Very often when talking about films set in insane asylums Nest is the film that people talk about. Also they discuss the riveting true to life performances of a cast that perfectly seems to be mentally ill. Well in my opinion, Don’t Look In the Basement does this just as well and perhaps even a bit better than its more famous counterpart. Especially when you consider that there is not one famous or big named actor in Basement. Each character comes to stark, insane, life within moments of introduction; from the confused and often sociopathic judge (who repeats his full title in a most disquieting way throughout the film), to Sam who has the perfect mannerism of an eight or nine-year-old child. Ever afraid he is going to get in trouble for doing something in the same way a child might. Each character also gives off an intensity that always makes you wonder what they might do next. You wonder at every turn if one of them is going to suddenly go off the deep end and kill Nurse Charlotte.
Holotik plays Charlotte with a wide-eyed doe quality that could be argued is the weakest performance in the film. Frankly she seems a little two naïve and even a bit dim to be a real nurse, especially a nurse that was chosen to work in that particular environment. Instead of taking professional control of some of the weirder or more violent situations, she actually gets reduced into a weeping mass on more than one occasion. In all honesty it’s extremely hard to believe that she couldn’t see the problems the asylum was having before it was to late. However, all that aside, Holitik has all the makings of an exploitation movie victim and it doesn’t at all hurt that she is easy on the eyes. In the end she works fine as a cipher for this movie’s actual intent, which is first and foremost that of a shock film. She helps to round out what is easily one of the finest low budget film casts I’ve ever seen.
At the end of the day, Basement has become a well-regarded and well-remembered Creepy Cheapie. It’s loads of fun to watch and is actually re-watchable despite having a twist ending. It is not easy to make a film with a twist ending something that can be enjoyed more than once, but director S.F. Brownrigg and writer Tim Pope put together a film that has enough novelty and strong performances to make it a fun film once or even several times viewed. So, if you are looking for a fun and exceptionally well made Creepy Cheapie that you can surprise your movie-watching friends with, I highly recommend Don’t Look In The Basement. The film is public domain these days and is therefore available in many fine horror and shock film collections. Seek it out; you’ll be more than glad you did. (To discuss more Creepy Cheapies, you may join the Creepy Cheapies E-mail list here.) Thanks, Ray. Of course, Don't Look In The Basement is as cheap as they come, with muddy color, poorly lit scenes, awkward movements between the actors (indicating little or no rehearsal in some scenes), and so on. But the film also creates a real feeling of dread and maintains a palpable tension that many much bigger-budgeted films can't seem to achieve. And the actors themselves truly are convincing in their roles. In fact, the actors, most of them complete unknowns, carry this horror show and make it well worth a look. Article copyright © Raymond L. Blakey |
