The Toolbox Murders



"Bit by bit... by bit, he carved a nightmare!"

- 1978 Tagline

"If you lived here, you'd be dead by now."

- 2004 Tagline

The Toolbox Murders is a slasher-esque film and Video Nasty released in 1978.

Set in California in 1967, the film follows Vance Kingsley, an apartment complex owner who, several months prior to the events of the film, lost his teenage daughter Kathy in a car wreck, a tragedy which sent him spiraling into seclusion and a deep depression, which eventually led to religious mania. Convinced that God took his daughter due to her purity, and that it is ultimately a Crapsack World, Vance dons a trenchcoat, leather gloves and a ski mask and embarks on a killing spree through his apartments, gruesomely murdering female tenants who he views as "unsavory" and deserving of punishment with the assorted nasty contents of a toolbox, such as a drill, hammer, screwdriver and nail gun.

Midway through his rampage, Vance becomes enamored with fifteen year-old Laurie Ballard, a reserved and studious girl who lives in an apartment with her mother Joanne, and older brother Joey. Soon enough, Vance abducts Laurie, and holds her captive in his daughter's old bedroom, which resembles a little girl's. As Vance grows increasingly psychotic, and comes to believe Laurie really is his dead daughter, Joey begins to search for his sister, after the police prove unreliable in both their investigation of the murders, and Laurie's disappearance. Helping Joey out is Vance's somewhat odd nephew, Kent, who has been hired by his uncle to help with all the repairs and clean up needed around the apartments in the aftermath of Vance's nightly forays.

The film had a remake, simply titled Toolbox Murders and directed by Tobe Hooper of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame, in 2004. Besides being set in an apartment complex and having an antagonist who kills with the contents of a toolbox, it was largely In Name Only, and went as far as featuring supernatural elements. After simmering in Development Hell for several years, a sequel, tentively titled TBK: The Toolbox Murders, began production in 2011.

As a point of trivia, Stephen King has mentioned the original is one of his favorite horror films.

The original film provides examples of the following tropes:

 * Afraid of Blood: Vance claims to be when he first introduces himself to Detective Jamison.
 * Alliterative Name: Kent and Kathy Kingsley, and Dee Ann DeVore.
 * Amateur Sleuth: Joey.
 * Ambiguously Gay: Deborah.
 * Babies Ever After: The epilogue mentions Laurie married, settled down in San Fernando Valley, and had one child in 1975.
 * Badass Longcoat: Vance.
 * The Bartender: Al.
 * Based on a Great Big Lie: The film claims to be based on a true story, but probably isn't.
 * Bath Kick: Done by Dee Ann.
 * Bath Scene
 * Berserk Button: Kent making Kathy out to be a slut drives Vance completely Ax Crazy.
 * Boom! Headshot!: How Vance finishes Dee Ann off.
 * Bound and Gagged: Laurie.
 * Bloodbath Villain Origin: In the span of a few minutes, Vance commits a gory triple homicide.
 * Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The initial victims; Mrs. Andrews and Deborah are blond, Maria is brunette, and Dee Ann is the redhead.
 * Blood Spattered Innocent: Maria getting covered in Deborah's blood, right before she's attacked.
 * Bloody Handprints: Mrs. Andrews leaves them all over the place after being drilled in the arm.
 * Break the Cutie: The epilogue states that due to the events of the film, Laurie spent at least three years in a mental institution.
 * Bury Your Gays: If Deborah actually was a lesbian.
 * Cat Scare: Some dark clothing hanging in the shower, behind a translucent curtain, plus an actual cat yowling and hopping out as Joey and Kent stop by Vance's garage.
 * Caught With Your Pants Down: In the film's most infamous sequence, Vance walks in on Dee Ann masturbating in the tub.
 * Chase Scene: Vance going after the naked Dee Ann in her apartment.
 * Chekhov's Gun: Kent stabs Vance with the knife he had earlier used to make a sandwich, while Laurie kills Kent with the pair of scissors he used to cut her bonds.
 * The Coroner: He has the responsibility of plucking the nails deeply embedded in Dee Ann out.
 * Creepy Basement: Garage, actually.
 * Cruel and Unusual Death: Well, it is called The Toolbox Murders.
 * Daylight Horror: Joey and Vance's deaths.
 * Deadly Distant Finale: The epilogue mentions Joanne died in a car accident in 1974.
 * Dead Person Impersonation: Laurie tries to manipulate Vance by pretending to be Kathy, but it doesn't really do any good.
 * Death By Falling Over: The death of Vance's daughter, Kathy. She apparently crashed her car, but from what we're shown, it just looks like she fell out of a stationary one and cracked her head on the pavement.
 * Death By Sex: If masturbation and rape count, Dee Ann and Kent.
 * Dramatic Pause: Used in the tagline, for some reason.
 * Drop the Hammer: Deborah's death.
 * Drill Before Entering
 * Eureka Moment: Joey concludes Vance is the killer when he realizes he would know the area, the habits of the tenants, and would have no trouble getting inside their apartments.
 * Evil vs. Evil: By the end, Vance and Kent turn on each other. Kent wins, stabbing Vance in the gut.
 * Fan Service: We see Deborah's breasts, and Dee Ann masturbating.
 * Fan Disservice: Dee Ann is still naked when Vance attacks her.
 * Final Girl: Laurie.
 * Flashback Echo: Used to show the ways Dee Ann's death mirrors Kathy's.
 * Flashback Effects: Flashbacks to Kathy's death are tinted piss yellow.
 * Flower in Her Hair: Vance sticks one in Laurie's.
 * Follow the Leader: Producer Tony DiDio actually admitted the film was only made due to the success of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
 * Freudian Excuse: Kathy dying drove Vance to insanity and religious mania.
 * Giallo: The film seems somewhat inspired by these, going as far as having Vance wear black leather gloves during his murders.
 * Gorn
 * Grievous Bottley Harm: Mrs. Andrews tries defending herself with a broken bottle, but Vance easily disarms her.
 * Groin Attack: Vance gets a knee to the crotch, courtesy of Maria.
 * Gory Discretion Shot
 * Hair of Gold: Laurie.
 * Halfway Plot Switch: It starts off slasher-esque, then becomes a thriller and character study of sorts, showcasing Vance's mental decline while Joey searches for him.
 * Hope Spot: Kent sneaks into Vance's yard, looks in the window of the room where Kathy is being held, but seemingly fails to spot her. It eventually turns out he knew what Vance was doing, anyway.
 * Improbable Weapon User: Vance.
 * Improvised Weapon: Laurie stabs Kent to death with a pair of scissors.
 * Jerkass: Detective Jamison.
 * Kissing Cousins: Kent and Kathy, who apparently had sex whenever the chance to arose.
 * Lady Drunk: Mrs. Andrews, and probably Joanne.
 * Large Ham: Vance.
 * Los Angeles
 * Malevolent Masked Men
 * Man On Fire: Joey's death.
 * Menacing Stroll
 * Missing White Woman Syndrome: Averted. The police don't initially suspect Laurie was kidnapped, or that her disappearance really had anything to do with the murders.
 * Monster Misogyny
 * Motive Rant: Vance explains to Laurie that he views the women he murders as filthy degenerates who deserve punishment for their transgressions, also telling her that he is ultimately making the world a better place by killing them.
 * Ms. Fanservice: Dee Ann.
 * Nail'Em: Dee Ann's death.
 * Nothing Is Scarier: Laurie getting raped, and Kent being killed with the scissors.
 * Not Now, Kiddo: Detective Jamison doesn't bother to listen to Joey's theories about the killer.
 * Police Are Useless: They asks questions, act somewhat Jerkassy, and that's about it.
 * Porn Stache: The coroner.
 * Porn Stash: Deborah has a large number of pornographic magazines... which appear to only feature naked women.
 * Psychopathic Manchild: Vance.
 * Rape As Drama: After killing Vance, Kent rapes Laurie.
 * Reaction Shot
 * Really Gets Around: Dee Ann, it's implied.
 * Replacement Goldfish: Vance abducts and holds Laurie captive because she reminds him of Kathy.
 * The Reveal: Kent has seemingly known all along what Vance has been up to, and had an incestous relationship with Kathy.
 * The Scourge of God
 * Serial Killer: Vance is the mission-oriented kind, as his above Motive Rant reveals.
 * Shirtless Scene: Kent gets one, after raping Laurie.
 * Sinister Minister: Vance listens to a ranty, fire, brimstone and damnation-type on his car radio in the opening.
 * The Sixties: While the film was made in The Seventies, the epilogue reveals it actually took place in 1967.
 * Soundtrack Dissonance: Used for the first four deaths.
 * Tap On the Head: Vance is quite adept at knocking people out with a single blow.
 * This Is a Drill: Mrs. Andrews's death.
 * Token Minority: Maria, and the elderly black couple who discover the bodies of the first three victims.
 * Too Dumb to Live: None of the victims really put up any kind of struggle, try to escape, or even scream too much.
 * Trailers Always Lie: It mentions victims not actually featured in the film.
 * Vader Breath
 * Video Nasty: The film was probably labeled one due solely to the title and Dee Ann's death.
 * Villainous Breakdown: As the film progresses, Vance grows increasingly unstable, eventually coming to believe Laurie really is his dead daughter.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: "When all the evil is gone, all that's left is good."
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: While generic radio music plays over most of the murders, a creepy suspenseful score is used for several completely mundane scenes.
 * What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic: Seemingly promiscuous women are violently murdered with extremely phallic makeshift weaponry. In order, they're drilled, hammered, screwed and nailed.
 * What Happened to The Mouse?: They set something up between Joanne and Detective Jamison, but it doesn't go anywhere.
 * What the Hell Is That Accent?: Kent.
 * Where Are They Now? Epilogue: It shows what happened to Laurie and Joanne.

The remake provides examples of the following tropes:
""No fucking way! That's just freaky!""
 * Abandoned Area: Segments of the building.
 * Alien Geometries: Possibly. According to Johnny, the building's design (at least the in regards to the secret portion of it) is somewhat impossible, or just really Mind Screwy.
 * All There in the Manual: According to a Deleted Scene, Chas is a spirit of some kind. Even more questions.
 * Amateur Sleuth: Nell.
 * Ambiguously Jewish: The Sterlings.
 * Awesome McCoolname: Daisy Rain.
 * Badass Longcoat: Coffin Baby.
 * Bandaged Face: Coffin Baby.
 * Bastard Boyfriend: Hans.
 * Bastard In Sheep's Clothing: Byron.
 * Black Magic
 * Blinding Bangs: Ned.
 * Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The first three victims (Daisy, Saffron and Julia).
 * Buzzsaw Good: Ned's death.
 * Cassandra Truth: Nell, due to several 911 calls that turned out to be nothing early on.
 * Cat Scare: Innumerable.
 * Caught With Your Pants Down: Close call with Austin.
 * The Cavalry: After discovering Coffin Baby is not dead, Officers Stone and Clark track him down and burst into Nell's apartment Just in Time to shoot him out the window.
 * Chase Scene: The last third or so is just one long one.
 * Chekhov's Gun: The runes Nell draws on her arms.
 * Chewing the Scenery: Byron, when Coffin Baby stabs him in the back with a pair of bolt cutters.
 * The Chosen One: Nell, at least according to Chas.
 * Cluster F-Bomb
 * Creator Cameo: Writer Adam Gierasch plays Ned.
 * Creepy Basement
 * Crusty Caretaker: Ned.
 * Cruel and Unusual Death
 * Cult: The Talman Lunar Cult, which building founder Jack Lusman was associated with.
 * Curtain Camouflage: Right before Julia's death.
 * Cut Phone Lines: Coffin Baby possibly unintentionally severs them while attacking Ned.
 * Dangerous Windows: Coffin Baby somehow comes crashing through a multi-story one.
 * Death By Cameo: Sheri Moon Zombie's character Daisy.
 * Developing Doomed Characters
 * Dramatic Thunder: At the very beginning.
 * Dramatic Unmask: Coffin Baby pulls off his ski mask, revealing his fucked up, Cenobite-like mug.
 * Drop the Hammer: Daisy's death.
 * Dutch Angle
 * Enemy Rising Behind: Right before Saffron's death. So subtle you probably won't notice it at first.
 * Expy: Coffin Baby kinda looks like a live-action version of the Rat King.
 * Everyone Is a Suspect: Ned being the most obvious Red Herring.
 * Evil Elevator: It's kind of a piece of crap, and crushes Hudson's body when Nell heads to the top floor after Coffin Baby drags him through the maintenance hatch.
 * Evil Telecom/Harassing Telecom Call: On random occasions, they make weird noises.
 * Eyes Open: Despite being pumped full of nails, Saffron turns out to be somehow still alive... for a little while, at least.
 * Facial Horror: Luis getting his face melted off with lye.
 * Fan Service With a Smile: Daisy, presumably.
 * Fetus Terrible: Coffin Baby's origin.
 * Final Girl: Nell.
 * Fingerless Gloves: Coffin Baby.
 * Fingore, Impaled Palm: Coffin Baby really went to work on Saffron with that nail gun. Later, Luis gets a much bigger nail through the hand.
 * Flash Back: Nell has one to her father's funeral.
 * Formerly Fat: Julia.
 * Genki Girl: Saffron.
 * Giallo: Like the original, the film seems to take some inspiration from them.
 * Girly Run: Nell in one scene, where she's going down a hall.
 * Girlish Pigtails: Julia sports them twice.
 * Girl-On-Girl Is Hot: Oddly averted. Austin is squicked when Nell asks to see his secret recordings of Julia.


 * Girls Love Stuffed Animals: Julia has a little seal.
 * Gorn
 * Hair of Gold: Nell.
 * Half The Woman She Used To Be: A female corpse that is completely split in half is found in Coffin Baby's lair.
 * Hollywood Acid: Used to melt Luis's face off.
 * Hooks and Crooks: Throughout Coffin Baby's lair.
 * Horror Hunger: Coffin Baby possibly needs blood to survive.
 * Implacable Man: Coffin Baby.
 * Improbable Aiming Skills: Unlike in the original, Coffin Baby doesn't have the excuse of using that nail gun at close range.
 * Improbable Weapon User
 * Improvised Weapon: Daisy tries to fight Coffin Baby off with a pair of scissors, but he easily knocks them from her grasp.
 * I Was Quite the Looker: Chas.
 * Karma Houdini: Saffron's Bastard Boyfriend Hans survives.
 * Large Ham: Johnny.
 * Lingerie Scene
 * Los Angeles
 * Magitek: The leader of the Talman Lunar Cult experimented with it.
 * Malevolent Masked Men: Outside of it being a Mythology Gag, Coffin Baby has discernable reason for wearing that ski mask.
 * The Man They Couldn't Hang: Coffin Baby is shot out a window, and is hung by a lamp cord that got wrapped around his neck while struggling with Nell. He proceeds to nonchalantly free himself.
 * Meganekko: Whenever Nell wears her glasses, it's very cute.
 * Mind Screw: More and more questions are raised as the film progresses.
 * Mirror Scare: It looks like they're setting this up, only for Coffin Baby to come crashing through a window instead.
 * Missing Rooms: All apartments ending with the number four.
 * Mr. Exposition: Chas and Johnny.
 * Mythology Gag
 * Nail'Em: Saffron gets attacked with a nail gun, and is even nailed to the ceiling with it.
 * Neck Lift: Done to Steve.
 * Neck Snap: Hudson's death.
 * New Age Retro Hippie: Saffron.
 * Nice Guy: Luis.
 * Offscreen Teleportation
 * Off-the-Shelf FX: Most of the tools belonged to Tobe Hooper.
 * Off With His Head: Ned's death, partially.
 * Only a Flesh Wound: Steve getting stabbed with a chisel.
 * Peek a Boo Corpse: Coffin Baby's lair is overflowing with bodies.
 * Punny Name: It might just be a coincidence that Ned Lundy sounds like Ted Bundy.
 * Reaction Shot
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: Coffin Baby.
 * The Remake
 * Right Through the Wall: "Jesus, these walls are cardboard."
 * Room Full of Crazy: One of Coffin Baby's secret rooms is plastered with old newspapers, and even includes false windows showcasing images of Hollywood circa the 1930's.
 * Salt and Pepper: Officers Stone and Jacobs.
 * Saved From Development Hell: The sequel, which was in it for several years.
 * Sequel Hook: Along with Coffin Baby escaping, a lot is left frustratingly vague and unexplained.
 * Sinister Hammering Sound
 * Slashed Throat: With a claw hammer, no less.
 * Snuff Film: Turns out Austin unknowingly recorded Julia's death via her hacked webcam.
 * Strapped to An Operating Table: Happens to Nell.
 * This Is a Drill: Julia's death.
 * Thousand-Yard Stare: Ned.
 * Tongue Trauma: Along with taking her teeth, it looks like Coffin Baby also removed Saffron's tongue.
 * Torture Cellar: Coffin Baby has a pretty creepy one.
 * Trap Door: Turns out an entrance to Coffin Baby's lair is one on the roof.
 * Turn of the Millennium
 * The Unintelligible: Coffin Baby, who only lets out pained-sounding moans and yells.
 * The Undead: According to Chas, Coffin Baby was literally born dead, clawing his way out of his buried (hence the name) mother's womb.
 * Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Byron, when some of Coffin Baby's old victims are found.
 * We Were Rehearsing a Play: They actually were.
 * What Happened to The Mouse?: Daisy is never brought up after her death, which occurs in the opening.
 * Wrench Whack: Attempted by Coffin Baby, but he's warded off by the runes Nell had drawn on her arms, to remember what they looked like.
 * You Have Got to Be Kidding Me!: Said by Hudson, when the elevator goes crazy with him inside.