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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Don't Open the Door! (1974)

...aka: Don't Hang Up

Directed by:
S.F. Brownrigg

Amanda Post (Susan Bracken), a defensive young blonde, moves into the same roomy mansion where she witnessed her mother's brutal murder 13 years earlier to help care for her dying grandmother (Rhea MacAdams). Claude (Larry O'Dwyer), a weirdo who delights in nasty phone calls, voyeurism and mannequin play time, torments her, hides out in the house and kills a guy while dressed in full drag. Other greedy characters are involved in the murder-for-the-inheritance plot. Sounds like this couldn't miss, right? Texas-based filmmaker S.F. Brownrigg (best known for DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT) again manages to get strong performances from his mostly unknown cast (including supporting bits for Basement stars Gene Ross and Annabelle Weenick) and throws in some decent camerawork here and there, but the budget is low, the film is dark, dreary and oppressive without really being scary or building any suspense and his own uninvolving, talky script never elevates this over the ordinary.

★★

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