...for
most avid cult film fans, public domain movies...the amassed number of which tends to rise and fall, like some unstable stock market entity, based upon...on one end of the spectrum, occasional, flavor-of-the-moment interest in the film's renewal...in-between, a whole lotta stale, albeit tasty cheese...and on the other end, total lack of interest, whatsoever...are, for lack of a better term, 'embraceably negligible' classics. Recognized classics, to be sure...but negligible, in the sense of the now-invariable ho-hum standard that they once set...many of them set on the path to obscurity, once relegated to mere truncated late-night TV viewing, and now, generically found on countless multi-movie collections (...these days, a la 'Echo Bridge' and 'Mill Creek', just to name a couple of the 'majors', in the venue)...
...Alas...Forlorn. Abandoned. Forgotten (...eh, nudge, nudge)...
...and yet,
some...given an attentive study of a numerous select few...seem hardly worthy of the misfit, nary-hand-waving, matter-of-fact abandonment and ignorance, which coins a large number of those films...with certain and resignated finality, relegated to the 'public domain' category, and as such, have been underliningly rallied and championed by their equally eclectically select fan bases; and let's face it: knowing that certain films are, in fact, public domain...well, is genuinely jaw-dropping, upon close examination (...in a revelating 'for instance', it's probably no secret that the grand pooh-bah 'holy grail' of all flesh-gnashing zombie flicks...yes, director George Romero's immortal 1968 horror classic, "Night of of the Living Dead" is indeed one of them...sliding in and out of the public domain realm, all the time...Go figure, right??)...
...hell, it's even more so intriguing and fascinating to make the acquaintanace with someone who respects and appreciates a PB movie so ardently...for whatever reason...that in their creatively keen sense of vision, a 'so many years later' follow-up, might well prove amiably in order; take, for example...
...for those un-privy, unfamiliar, or perhaps merely need an aptly-injected jostle of memory, with regards to the harrowing events of...well, setting the way-back machine to...say, some 40+ years' past...there's some rather unconventional goings on, taking place over at the Stephens Sanitarium...some might even go as far in suggesting that they are more-so disturbing. Seems that the practicing psychiatric head physician there, Dr. Stephens, has initiated a rather unusual form of patient rehabilitation, whereby he openly allows his patients to assume the roles dictated by their inner disillusioned realities, with hopes of said delusions, clashing with actual reality, and the doctor's invariable theory that this clash would knock some sense into his troubled patients. Unfortunately, in the midst of this rehabilitative recourse, the doctor falls victim to one of his patients, who takes the role play too far. And a concerned, seasoned nurse...witness to the attack on the doctor...who herself is very much put off by the unorthodox treatment, and wants to end her tenure...is also fatally dispatched by another of the disturbed patients...
...soon after...enter, a rather attractive, ambitious, albeit naive young nurse named Charlotte, who arrives at the reputed mental rehabilitative facility, supposedly at the hired beckoning of Dr. Stephens, some time earlier. She is met and tended to by Dr. Masters...the lead nurse at the facility, and now head physician...who initially attempts to deter Charlotte from taking the position, which was offered her, but eventually and reluctantly takes her in. Masters introduces Charlotte to the whole of the patient lot...among them , a loved-starved nymphomaniac...a rather lumbering, mentally disturbed ex-judge...a crazed young woman, overly possessed of a doll, which she believes is her actual baby...a burnt-out, mentally skewed ex-sergeant, reliving his time during the Vietnam war...a bizarrely recitive elderly woman, tending to a garden, as if the flowers were her children...and a seemingly gentle & childish, mentally retarded man, with his sole pleasures, being...frozen pop-sickles, and an obsession with boats...
...and as Charlotte begins to settle into her position...slowly being accepted by the patients...she begins to get progressively wary and uncomfortable with their behavior and talk, as unbeknownst to her, they are privy of certain secrets, which they are unable to fully illicit, due to their mental deliberation and derangement. And when some of them get too close to revealing these hallowed, mysterious and sinister secrets, well...let's just say that some of this cast of characters herein, are not necessarily who they present themselves to be, and shockingly gruesome mayhem, mutilation & murder become the invariably standard running order, as poor Charlotte begins to afford doubt to her own sanity...as well as finding that she is unable to escape the madness, taking place at this ghastly sanitarium...
...and that, boys and girls...purposefully barring the reveal of the surprise left-field twists, turns and surprises...is the whole of the horrific and oh-so disturbing events that take place in director S.F. Brownrigg's classic, independently produced, drive-in flavored flick, from 1973...entitled "The Forgotten"...or more prominently, for the purpose of outright exploitation, "Don't Look in the Basement" (...released and alternately titled, on the heels of the violent and maniacal Wes Craven/Sean Cunningham production of "Last House on the Left", it even borrowed the intimidating, albeit alluring and irresistible advertising campaign, which grimly read, "...to avoid fainting, keep repeating...it's only a movie...it's only a movie...only a movie...only a movie..."). Indeed, a deliciously macabre-flavored, simmering potboiler cross between edge-of-your-seat mystery, and uncomfortably disturbing psychological horror, which draws in and captivated the hapless viewer, with it's creepy, unnerving and serpentine-unraveling fervor, is the salaciously sinister stuff that entrances hapless and unprepared witnesses to "...Basement"...the grotesque and gruesome imagery of which, well-lingers in daring audiences' minds, as it has done so, for many years previous...
...barring the long-winded, though matter-of-necessity 'I told you
that story, in order to tell you
this one' (...but then, as the saying goes, "...why ask why??", right?? Heck...herein, you're virtually getting two reviews, for the price of one), we now fast-forward through countless...and quite well edited, glow-in-the-darkened-room, over-the-air-&-into-your-home cathode-tube broadcasts, as well as the inevitable...and seemingly even more countless (...though fortunately, for the most part, unedited) incarnations of the classic cult film, on every home video medium, up to & including that of today's most recent digitally-rendered medium...we find ourselves ever so abruptly deposited, some 40-plus years later, and...well, since we're all here anyways...what the heck, right?? Let us peer in on some rather sinister and arcane developments in this particular story, shall we?? (...uh, can you say, 'famous last words'??)...
...wasting no time in cutting to the chase, "Don't Look in the Basement 2" draws open curtain on the gruesome, grisly, brutal and bloody aftermath of events...a violent crescendo of massacre, which...in not really giving too much away...took place at the end of the original film. To that affect...we fade out, then fade back in, some 40-plus years, into the throes of the in-progress routines and rehabilitative activity of Greenpark Institution...a psychiatric facility, servicing it's own unique cadre of mentally deliberated residents. And in attendance, a seemingly ragtag crew of physicians and facilitators...including Dr. Lucy Mills (Adrianne Martin), who's approach to her position, is one of a yawningly ho-hum, matter-of-fact and indifferent fervor...Dr. Lance White (Frank Mosley), a self-serving opportunist with certain underlining motivations, having little patience, rendering very unconventional methods of treatment, and exploiting any opportunity to step ahead & call attention to himself, above all others...there's Bishop & Billy (Scott Tepperman, Jim O'Rear), a clueless and bumbling pair of orderlies, who unbeknownst to all others, seem privy to some of the dark secrets & grim history of the facility, where they are haplessly employed...and finally, there's Emily (Camilla Carr), the strict and uncompromising seasoned facility administrator, who is harboring sinister secrets of her own, some of which threaten to haunt her from a dim past, and as such, she becomes mysteriously drawn to an undefined, albeit compelling calling, by someone, or some
thing unknown...
...and into this eclectically odd fold of characters...enters an unwary Dr. William Matthews (Andrew Sensenig)...dedicated, intentful, open-minded and inquisitively curious...recommended into to Greenpark facility, after having served a well-reputed physician's residence in New York...not to mention, now engaging a much needed change of pace, in the aftermath of his recent divorce. And no sooner in settling into the new position afforded him, Dr. Matthews finds himself taken aback...not merely as the result of the growing and incestuous buzz of the arrival of a 'star' patient, which the facility is almost ceremoniously preparing the arrival for...but the suggestion, by none other than Emily herself...for whatever reason or motive, yet to be revealed...that Dr. Matthews take exclusive and personal charge, in the reception, orientation and rehabilitation of this new and oh-so special resident...
...and just how 'special' is this newly-instilled patient, you might ask?? Well, his name is Sam...initially silent, grim-looking and expressionless...grizzled with age...quite simple-minded and mentally retarded...eventually finding voice, he joyfully speaks of his passion for boats, and his love of frozen pop-sickles...assuming a childish innocence and knowledge of what he may or may not have done in the past. You see, it seems that Sam is the last surviving soul of the massacre at Stephens Sanitarium, those many 40-and-change years ago...a massacre, which Sam...having long since been incarcerated into a life of perpetual observation and rehabilitation...is nonetheless reputed and documented to have been the sole perpetrator of...
...and though Sam begins to get comfortable with his newly-assigned residence, and it's seemingly able-bodied medical staff...well, despite his simple-mindedness, there's no denying that Sam progressively begins to feel...well, feel something oh-so terribly familiar. A sinister, underlining familiarity, as far as his surroundings, even that of the very building, itself...as if there were ghosts incestuously present, to which he is the only one privy to...a gnawing, inescapable familiarity, in regards to how people all around him, are becoming affected, since his arrival...especially the medical staff...the
staff, mind you,
not the patients...some of whom start exhibiting initially odd and strangely reminiscent behavior. Behavior, which quickly shifts from odd & strange, to uncomfortable...to outright psychotic, maniacal, blood-curdling and murderous...
...and so, with an underlining, albeit festering diabolical intent, rearing it's head, menacingly among the Greenpark Institution residents...if indeed, going in,
that is the facility's
true namesake...it seems that ghosts from the past, have clearly not rested easily, despite so many years, passing...as the Stephens Sanitarium Massacre picks up and resumes it's bloody legacy, from where it once left off...albeit, with a vengeance.....
...well, now!! Isn't
that special!! Have to admit...it'd be so damn easy to dismiss "Don't Look in the Basement 2" as some negligible piece of sleaze, running the same story, albeit so many years later, and solely produced to snatch up that quick buck, and run away with it. On the contrary, such a thing is far from the truth, as though the film most assuredly re-captures the flavor of the original film's unnerving tension (...that is, despite the passing of time in the storyline, as well as the film's more contemporary filmmaking sensibilities and production values)...it's best facet, to be sure..."...Basement 2", nonetheless does succeed in picking up the ball and running with it, in a wholly unexpected, yet sensible direction, and in considering that observation, "...Basement 2", in of itself having very little to criticize, richly deserves more on the 'praise' end of this review, and less on the 'critical' side; one might even go as far to say that the follow-up film is actually better than it really deserves to be, considering it's oh-so sleazy and provocative predecessor...and well, nothing wrong with that, right?? The film
does harbor
some flaws...eh well, maybe 'flaws' might be too potent a suggestion; think more along the lines of eyebrow-raising 'quirks', which nonetheless, prove hardly the fault of the film, itself. To back-burner that suggestion for the moment, it should be elatingly said that "Don't Look in the Basement 2" is, in being more specific, a nice little chilling and engaging piece of psychological horror, which...very much like the original film...intricately weaves and interlaces it's macabre & horrific proceedings, at an almost restrained and inescapably captivating slow pace; it's not unlike a book that takes a bit to get into, but once things start to get rolling...with an uncomfortably chilling, albeit eyebrow-raising intrigue & interest...a subtly heightening, unnerving and creepy embrace, from which there's no escape...and well, there's just no putting this one down, folks...
...but then, in spotlighting the talent behind the making of "...Basement 2", it's quite relevating to know that...in rolling out that dusty, old and cliched, though still quite aptly-coined-when-necessary mantra, 'the apple doesn't fall from the tree'...the film's writer and director is none other than Tony Brownrigg, the filmmaking jack-of-all-trades offspring of the original "...Basement" director, ol' S.F. Brownrigg himself. Then again, with the film sight unseen...call it a first impression, so to speak, upon seeing the trailer (...as was the case with this unwary, albeit suspicious reviewer, upon previewing the trailer, nearly two and a half years ago, at the Texas Frightmare Weekend horror film convention), one might suspect that 'junior'...whether by intent, or not...might be riding the coattails of his seasoned, albeit very under-appreciated father's work. Well, one can lay those concerns and suspicions to rest, for with "Don't Look in the Basement 2", S.F.'s son, Tony, has not merely 'taken the ball', run with it, and re-captured the flavor and spirit of his father's original classic film, but to his own credit...in applying some of today's more slick & streamlined filmmaking sensibilities, technological resources and much higher production values...thus infusing a somewhat greater depth of character, as well as adding to the mix, a hint of humor, as well as a subtle, supernatural feel to the macabre proceedings..."...Basement 2" easily comes off as an embraced and fitting tribute to S.F. Browning, and at the same time, plays out as a slyly written and logical continuation of the original film, as well as an invariably unique piece of work, in it's own right...
...but the downright compelling and entrancing effectiveness of "Don't Look in the Basement 2" hardly rests solely upon Anthony Brownrigg's keen & able-bodied manipulation of the material; the film's eclectic, albeit well-rounded cast...whether new to the "...Basement" fold, seasoned in having been featured in the original film, or having embraced & ably rendered characters, last seen some 40-plus years previous, with the younger counterparts seemed almost seamless, as compared to the older, present-day renderings...genuinely brings the material up to a level, well above that which might have been initially assumed as generic 'slasher film' dreck, produced merely for quick bank...
...actor Andrew Sensenig...noted for a wide variety of eclectic movie and television roles...headlines herein, as Dr. Matthews, the inquisitive, brandee-newbee of the group...his portrayal, a rather relatable mix of determination, frustration and witnessed horror...an irresistible character, in the sense that, despite the unnervingly repulsiveness of the horrors, occurring all around him, he is nonetheless compellingly drawn into the mystery, despite the adversity and horrors. Frank Mosley, also having derived from an exceptionally wide-spectrumed field of film and television work, seems the exclusive brand of character actor, by which his face is destined to be more familiar to most, than his name; as the underliningly self-serving and self-granduous Dr. White, actor Mosley exudes, in an over-the-top performance, in which White character flaw proves to be a definitive weakness...a weakness that is exploited by...by...uh, whoops!! Wouldn't want to let
that cat outta the bag, would we??...
...a couple of interesting surprises...as far as performances...in having viewed "...Basement 2", include the addition of well-seasoned, carry-over actress Carmilla Carr...one of S.F. Brownrigg's cast 'regulars', who was not only featured in the original "Don't Look in the Basement" (...in the original film, she was one of the disturbed patients; in the new film...well, let's just say that we wouldn't want to give
that secret away, either...right??), but also starred in latter Brownrigg films, such as 1976's "Keep My Grave Open", and 1974's "Scum of the Earth". In "...Basement 2", Carr's character, the stern and immovably dictative facility administrator Emily, haunted by past events of violence and horror...on the surface, believes that she is righting a great wrong, in bringing in a 'star' patient into the facility, with whom she has had a heavily veiled past with, but instead, haplessly finds herself inadvertently opening a sort of Pandora's Box, in being manipulated by forces considerably greater and more sinister than anything she might have considered...
...the other surprise characterization in the film, comes from veteran actor Willie Minor's performance as the naive and simple-minded Sam. Minor's rendering of the Sam character, as compared to the same character, played by the late William McGee, in the 1972 film (...whom we unfortunately lost, in 2007), is amazingly seamless in the new film...seamless, in the sense that of the kind of aged, carry-over character portrayal, which one might expect, given the passing of 40 years-plus between the younger caricature, and the new one. Despite his innocence and simple-mindedness, Sam seems to know...nay, Sam outright
feels the terribly familiar, albeit intangible sinister presence...
feels the horror...once he first steps foot into the Greenpark rehabilitative facility...a presence that goes well beyond his scattered and faded memories of what had happened in the dim past. Yes, despite his mental deliberations, Sam invariably knows all too well that the ghosts from the past, are hardly finished with their reign of terror and bloodshed...
...we earlier suggested the film's 'flaws'...or rather, the film's rather unusual quirks, so to speak. For starters, those who have caught the "...Basement 2" trailer...well, many will recognize that the filmmakers who put this capsule tease of the film together, they chose to borrow the exploitative and now-rather cliche ad-line, originally used by the first 'Basement'...the foreboding warning of "...to avoid fainting, keep repeating...it's only a movie...only a movie...and so on". Well, in all honesty, that line mainly served to help amplify the almost 'forbidden' provocativeness of the original film, much as it did when originally used in the previous year's terror excursion, Wes Craven's "Last House on the Left". And although the "...Basement 2" filmmakers
do have a sort of maniacally grim, albeit giddy fun in using the ad-line in the trailer of their film...well, the film
itself, despite the new & unexpected twists & turns, the bits of comedy relief, the film's updated production values, not to mention...hey, the film
is a potent one, and at times quite unsettling...though really isn't any more, or any less provocative than the original 'Basement', when laid in side-to-side comparison. Not necessarily saying that this is a bad thing, per say, as to raise the film's overall provocativeness to today's almost taboo level of 'whoa...they actually went
there' (...and without a doubt, that 'line in the sand' has been drawn and moved oh-so many times since the original 1972 film), would genuinely take away from the more aptly subtle and restrained flavor, as reflected in the original film. In other words, the fine folk behind "...Basement 2", keenly knew to leave well enough alone, in that respect. Hey, good for them...
...another aspect of the new film, which might draw out from viewers, an eyebrow-raising 'hmmmm'...are things and ideas carried over from the first film, which...for the sake of the storyline...aren't really made privy to the characters in this terror play, and in fact, seem exclusively notable by the film's audience alone. For instance, when things start to go psychologically awry, and the medical staff starts acting...well, to put it mildly, 'not themselves'...they take on the personalities and behavior patterns of the various institutionalized residents of the original Stephens Sanitarium setting of the original 'Basement' (...i.e., one of them is shell-shocked, another adapts a doll as a 'real' baby, still another takes on an uncontrollably nymphomaniacal fervor, and so on); even the structure setting of the new film, at least at first, seems an exclusive domain to those witness to the film, as it is obvious that the same building was used in both films (...another secret associated with that, though one of the more predictable ones, to be sure). Interestingly enough, this approach to the story development is actually more appreciative, then merely putting off, as it makes the film viewer something more than merely 'one who is watching a movie'; the audience is unconventionally placed more in the position of 'witness'...even going as far as suggesting a sort of 'voyeur'. In other words, to a degree, the audience genuinely gets involved, and in a way, feels a part of the proceedings. And once again...hey, ain't nuttin' wrong with that...
...Distributed by Legless Corpse Films, the multi-disc blu-ray edition of "Don't Look in the Basement 2" contains a plethora of extra goodies, over and above the pristine-looking print of the new film. There's the expected trailers and commentaries, of course; however, two of the more amusing extras in this set, include an almost day-by-day-documented video journal of the making of the film, with the film's comedy relief duo of Scott Tepperman and Jim O'Rear, furthering their character amusings, in covering the behind-the-scenes doings & antics of the film's inception and production. In addition, on the second disc of this set...like, whoa!! An actual print of S.F. Brownrigg's original 1972 masterpiece of terror...namely "Don't Look in the Basement"...is featured here, for the first time, on blu-ray. Left merely at that shoulder-shrugging matter-of-fact, the inclusion of a print of the original 'Basement' is hardly cause for a rousing 'yippy', considering that one can get the original film, just about everywhere, courtesy of the film's public domain status. However, all is for naught, boys and girls...as the print of the film, included on this blu-ray set, is an exceptionally degraded, scratchy, color-faded and well-worn print of the film...far and above weathered in condition, as compared to any of the infinite number of public domain prints out there. In other words, this is a deliciously satisfying addition, as the trashy and extremely degradated condition of this special print, recalls the appearance of the overly well-worn prints, which were repeatedly filtered though projectors from town to town, at one's favorite drive-in or grindhouse theater. All in all, an extraordinary package, well worth seeking out...
......let me put it this way: in twistedly torrid terror film terms, "Don't Look in the Basement 2" is not unlike that of the kind of skewed, oddball 'friend' or 'relative' that many of us have, at certain times in our lives. It's a comfortable feeling...that is, if the definition of 'comfortable', is synonymous with 'disturbed', 'crazed mad' and outright 'insane'. 'Despite long periods of time, from which, for whatever reason, one hardly ever sees such an odd, misfit friend...when, after so long, one does get back together with that friend, it's like no time at all has passed, and one just embraceably picks up where one left off. Sure, that 'friend' might have changed a bit with the times...gotten older...a bit stranger and weirder around the edges...stranger...and weirder...stranger...and weirder. B-B-B-But...ahem...overall, it's the same old 'friend', as if was always there...always there...always-s-s-s-s-s-s....
...then again, it's 'head cocked to the side, with droll streaming from the corner of the mouth' commentary and logic like that, which might well assure me reserved psychiatric residence in the hallowed and haunted halls of ol' Stephens Sanitarium, among the mentally tainted maniacs...er, I mean, masses...
...and, oh what fun
that would be...hmmmmmm??
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