Rating: 3/5
Hooptober 8.0 | 31/34 | Tobe Hooper
Every year thousands of people come to Hollywood to pursue their dreams. Some succeed. Some move back home… And some just disappear.
Daisy (Sheri Moon Zombie) returns to her apartment inside the Lusman Arms, a renovated hotel. Once home, she pours a glass of wine, checks her messages, and changes into a robe. A man in black, wearing a balaclava, forcefully smashes the door with a hammer. He pins Daisy down and beats her skull with the hammer’s back.
In another apartment, Nell (Angela Bettis) laments to her husband, Steven, about their new place. Nothing works. The walls are paper thin, and it’s hard to tell who is fighting, fucking, or practicing lines. Byron, the building manager, tries to answer questions but dodges all complaints, saying to send those to Ned, the on-premise maintenance worker. He also shows them the intercom system that can reach the doorman anytime. Byron shows them some unique architectural elements, including strange plaques with mysterious runes.
Nell runs into Ned, who the movie wants us to think is the killer. She also meets Chas, an older man who has lived in the building since 1947. Chas knows the man who built the hotel and tells Nell about his mysterious disappearance.
Nell finds a small box with another symbol on it. Inside are human teeth. Strange noises come through the intercom system. Nell hears screaming and calls the police. The killer used a nail gun to attack the woman next door. However, when the police arrive, they find the apartment empty, leading them to dismiss the situation.
The mystery deepens when Nell discovers a note instructing her to check room 504. For one, there is no room 504.
It's not about what gets in — it's about what's already here
I have not seen the original Toolbox Murders from 1978, but I assume it is very similar in tone to this movie, considering this feels like a ’70s throwback. But that’s not a bad thing. It’s cozy with its familiarity.
Angela Bettis is always fully dedicated, so her energy is essential to this movie’s charm.
The gore is brutal and effective without feeling too indulgent.
The metaphor isn’t brilliant — Hollywood consumes the people who can’t make it — but the movie doesn’t “hammer” it home (pun intended).
The third act gets clunky in how it fits together. It bothered me initially, but it gets so silly that it’s hard not to laugh.
This movie is well-paced, decently acted, and has several of my favorite horror elements. Sure, we’ve seen it before, but it’s difficult to dislike when it works so well.
** Stray Thoughts / Spoilers **
- Drucilla!
- No, not Julia! She and Nell had a legit bond.
- I doubt that kid erased those videos on his hard drive.
- No *04 room on every floor is fucking weird. The fact no one cares is maddening.
- Fuck yeah, occult architecture. It makes me think of Archive 81.
- Yep, the kid has the videos.
- WELP, there goes Ned
- His name is Coffin Baby??
- As the killer takes the bolt cutters to Bryon’s back, he complains, “Just kill me!”
- I know some critics didn’t like the supernatural component, but once those runes showed up, you should’ve known.