The Toolbox Murders
A serial killer, plagued by the memory of a fatal car accident, uses various tools to murder female tenants of a Los Angeles apartment complex, then abducts a teenaged girl who lives there with her family. When the police express doubt that the murders are connected to the girl's disappearance, her brother sets out to search for her on his own.
Why it matters
A grimy proto-slasher that predates *Halloween* in theaters, serving up brutal kills with a grimy, low-budget edge that captures late-70s exploitation’s seedy underbelly.
- One of the earliest American slashers to lean hard into graphic, inventive kills using everyday tools—practical effects that still unsettle.
- Cameron Mitchell’s unsettling turn as a zealot killer adds a warped religious fanaticism layer ahead of the genre’s obsession with twisted motives.
- A time capsule of late-70s Los Angeles grit, mixing exploitation nudity and violence with a creeping sense of dread rather than polished suspense.
- Not for those seeking tight pacing or deep character work—but a must-see for fans of slasher origins and exploitation’s raw, unvarnished scars.
Director
Cast
Horror DNA
Gore
100
Slow Burn
50
Psychological
57
Supernatural
0
Creature
0
Disturbing
100
Fun Factor
17
Cerebral
14
Survival
66
Slasher
