The Toolbox Murders [Bootleg] (1978)

Tracklisting: [00:00] Main Title [04:30] A Quiet Neighbourhood [05:25] Holding A Captive [07:03] Trespassing [09:09] Camelot 21115 [11:47] Searching the Toolbox [12:22] Protect My Family [14:08] The Last Stand [18:27] Pretty Lady (Vocal) [21:36] The Toolbox Murders Trailer The Toolbox Murders is a low‑budget American exploitation film directed by Dennis Donnelly. It stars former porn star Kelly Nichols (as Marianne Walter), Canadian actor Nicolas Beauvy, former child actor Pamelyn Ferdin, actor‑director‑producer‑singer Wesley Eure, Aneta Corsaut, film, stage, and television actor Cameron Mitchell, Don Diamond, actress Kathleen O’Malley, and Tim Donnelly. The film was clearly inspired by Italian giallos, with its whodunnit structure, focus on a string of savage sex crimes, and a twist ending. It even features veteran actor Cameron Mitchell, who starred in Mario Bava’s 1964 classic Blood and Black Lace. The film has gained a cult following over the years due to the outrage it originally generated, and in 2004 Tobe Hooper directed a remake simply entitled Toolbox Murders, which veered considerably from the original plotline but was ultimately better received. The plot follows a mad killer wearing a ski mask who takes out his hate‑fuelled rage on the amoral and sexually impure women of an apartment complex. The killer is determined to hammer, nail, drill, and screw the filth out of these women if it kills him. He then kidnaps a teenage girl, Pamelyn Ferdin, and keeps her bound and gagged as things take several nasty turns. The police are baffled, so it’s up to teenager Joey (Nicolas Beauvy), whose sister is missing, to unravel the crimes. While on the surface there’s nothing terribly unique about the film, it is elevated by competent direction from Donnelly and cinematography by Gary Graver, and features a stellar performance from Mitchell, who adds a layer of eeriness to his character by constantly humming quietly to himself as he goes about his work. The film is accompanied by a score that thrusts the listener into the killer’s nightmarish world courtesy of haunting compositions, distorted voices, strange throbbing atmospheres, and a scratchy, easy‑listening song that adds a curious juxtaposition to the acts of violence enacted onscreen. The song “Pretty Lady” was performed by George Deaton and Terri Stubbs, who was apparently only fourteen years old when she recorded it. Not much is known about Deaton, and his brief flirtation with film music only produced this one score. He released a handful of singles and EPs during the 1970s and had appeared in minor roles in the films The One‑Man Jury (1978) and E.S.P. (1983).