The Toolbox Murders – Blue Underground (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1978
Director: Dennis Donnelly
Writers: Robert Easter, Ann N. Kindberg
Cast: Cameron Mitchell, Pamelyn Ferdin, Wesley Eure, Aneta Corseaut, Marianne Walter

Release Date: January 18th, 2022
Approximate Running Time: 93 Minutes 54 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Atmos English, DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $49.95

"In a quiet apartment complex in Los Angeles, a deranged handyman goes on a killing spree, savagely murdering 'immoral' women with the tools of his trade - claw-hammers, screwdrivers, power drills and even a deadly nail gun!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "newly scanned in 4K 16-bit from its uncut original negative."

The Toolbox Murders comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 61.3 GB

Feature: 58.3 GB

The Toolbox Murders comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 38.6 GB

Feature: 26.7 GB

Though the transfer for Blue Underground’s 2010 Blu-ray looked very good. This new 4K transfer is a noticeable improvement that is superior to that transfer in every way. Areas of greatest improvement include shadow detail, color saturation, and grain, which is better managed.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with three audio options: a Dolby Atmos mix in English, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English, and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. The DTS-HD 5.1 and the DTS-HD mono mixes are ported over tracks from the Blue Underground 2010 Blu-ray release. For this review, I watched the film with the Dolby Atmos track. For a remix track, the Dolby Atmos track is a solid track that does a great job of expanding upon the original mono source. Included with this release are three subtitle options: English SDH, French, and Spanish.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD include a poster & still gallery (111 images), theatrical trailer (2 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), TV spot (32 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), radio spot #1 (34 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), radio spot #2 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with producer Tony DiDio, Director of Photography Gary Graver, and actress Pamelyn Ferdin and an audio commentary with film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson.

Extras on the Blu-ray include a poster & still gallery (111 images), theatrical trailer (2 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), TV spot (32 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), radio spot #1 (34 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), radio spot #2 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an interview with Director Dennis Donnelly titled Drill Sergeant (20 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Wesley Eure titled Tools of The Trade (26 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Kelly Nichols titled Flesh And Blood (31 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Kelly Nichols titled I Got Nailed in The Toolbox Murders (8 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with David Del Valle who remembers Cameron Mitchell titled Slashback Memories (24 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a video essay by film historian Amanda Reyes and filmmaker Chris O'Neill titled 'They Know I Have Been Sad' (19 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with producer Tony DiDio, Director of Photography Gary Graver, and actress Pamelyn Ferdin and an audio commentary with film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson.

Other extras include a limited-edition slipcover.

Included with this release is a Blu-ray that contains The Toolbox Murders and all of the extras.

Summary:

The Toolbox Murders is a late 1970’s horror film that features many elements that would become synonymous with slasher films. Though the slasher genre would be overstretched by uninspired films by the mid-1980’s. It was interesting to see a film that was released at the beginning of the slasher film cycle that began with John Carpenter’s Halloween.

The Toolbox Murders starts off with a flurry of murder set pieces before it settles into a more psychologically driven story about a grieving father whose daughter died in a car wreck. Though the bulk of the carnage occurs in the film’s first act, the rest of the film does a good job of keeping things moving along and interesting. The most memorable moment also happens to be one of its kill scenes. In which a young naked woman is pursued by a masked madman who uses his nail gun as a weapon against her.

From a production standpoint, The Toolbox Murders does a great job of exploiting its resources. A creative opening credits sequence where a car crashes perfectly sets the foundation for what follows. Another strength are the flashbacks that give a glimpse into the killer's mind. All of the kills are inventive; the killer uses various tools from his toolbox, and the kill scenes have an ample amount of gore. The most enjoyable aspect of The Toolbox Murders is watching Cameron Mitchell’s portrayal of a grieving father. He delivers a convincing performance that is equally menacing and eerie. Ultimately, The Toolbox Murders is a solid slasher film that never strays away from its bread and butter: bloodshed and T&A.

Blue Underground continues to impress with their 4K UHD releases. The Toolbox Murders is another example of 4K UHD from Blue Underground, with a new 4K transfer, a solid Dolby Atmos audio track, and a slew of new extras to go along with the extras ported over from their previous Blu-ray release; highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer