The Forgotten (1973) User Reviews

Over-achieving B grade shock-horror tale

[mstomaso · 5/10 · 11 August 2006]

Take an ensemble cast of good B grade actors, give them a good script, a somewhat original premise, and unobtrusive directing, and you may end up with a film that over-achieves as much as "Don't Look in the Basement" did.

The film takes place in a large house which is home to several psychotic individuals. Before the plot even begins, the head of the hospital is chopped up by one of the patients with an axe. Then Rosie Holotik enters the hospital looking for the axe victim and finds that the hospital has a new head who is not at first willing to honor her agreement with the deceased Dr. Stephens. Soon, however, Dr. Masters reconsiders and Nurse Beale (Holotik) is hired. The rest of the film builds tension and successfully develops the individual psychoses of the in-mates. After a while it becomes very unclear who is a patient and who is a doctor.

In the end, Don't Look in the Basement is a cleverly plotted film which benefits from generally good acting and directing and not-overly-ambitious camera work. A must-see for B horror fans, and an interesting diversion for those interested in psycho-dramas and psychological thrillers. Be warned, however, this film is slightly more gory and sexy than the average horror film of its time.

As far as the low budget horror movies go, it could be much worse...

[markovd111 · 6/10 · 4 July 2021]

Considering budget, time and talent put into making this movie, it actually isn't so bad, but don't go into it expecting much. It's a work of passion and is probably only interesting to fans of the horror movie genre who aren't picky about their poison. Everybody rest has absolutely nothing to look forward to from this movie. I give it 6/10 and recommend it to fellow hardcore horror movie fans. The rest, avoid it...

The basement not as big a factor as the title implies...

[Aaron1375 · 5/10 · 11 October 2016]

This is a film that if you watch it today and you have seen a more than a couple of horror films, you are going to know exactly what is going on. By the title of the film and by the description on the box I figured out what was going to happen before I even saw a minute of the film, and if it is not obvious then it will be during the first five minutes of the film. There are no real surprises to be had here, suffice to say. It does play out somewhat interestingly in areas and there are a couple of pretty good kills, but it is simply too obvious what is going on and how it is going to play out. I see the original title of this one is apparently, "The Forgotten" and perhaps that would have made for a better title, because as I have said, you read the description for this on and you will probably figure out what is going on or if you do not, you will still know how it is all going to go after you watch about five minutes of it with its title of, "Don't Go Into the Basement". Still, there are a couple of surprises as I was not quite expecting the way it ended and there was even a rather funny scene involving a phone repair guy, so I would say while not a particularly good film, it is not terrible either.

The story has a house for those who are crazy in the middle of nowhere. At this facility, the doctor in charge allows the patients to roam free and employs some very questionable methods to help his patients. A nurse there has had enough as the only one she seems to like is Sam, a man who has the innocence of a child. The others are getting on her nerves and after she is threatened by one of the patients she is ready to leave! The doctor doesn't take this news well, and he takes what is coming to him next even less well as he is hit with an ax. A new nurse is soon seen coming to the place and a new doctor has taken over saying the previous one has been killed. Well the new nurse is quickly warned to leave the place by one of the patients, but she sticks with it, but things begin to unravel quickly as the patients start losing control!

Like I said, it has its moments, but just not enough for me to really say it was an okay film. Some things were cool in it, but at other times things going on were a bit perplexing, such as the new nurse being unable to find the exit to the house. The people being treated did okay for a low budget film my favorite being the super sexed up woman who simply wanted the love of a man and was stuck in a place where the guys all seemed to pass on her despite her being rather attractive. The one dude who would just scream and grab stuff was my least favorite as he just seemed to be doing a stereotypical crazy person. One thing that also surprised me was that during the course of the entire movie, no one told the nurse to no look in the basement...I was kind of expecting that within the first few moments she arrived.

actually pretty good

[peterc-8 · 11 June 2003]

I was surprised how good this film was. The IMDB rating is so low. I'm not sure why it rates so poorly.

The biggest problem with the flick is that it had a miniscule budget. The overall look is fairly shabby - a very thin production. BUT it has everything else you want in a cheapo horror flick...the script is original, the acting is actually decent, bordering on pretty good for a few characters. The camera work is creative. The heroine is a babe.

A bit of gore and a bit of suspense. Seasoned horror junkies may be able to guess the main gimmick after the first couple of scenes, but it is still worth watching. The film does provide a couple of minor twists that you won't guess though.

If you are looking for bland and well produced then perhaps you should stick with Phantom Menace. If you want to watch a nifty little throwaway horror flick, try Dont Look In The Basement.

Low budget axe horror has some merit

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 14 October 2015]

DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT may be an ordinary-looking exploitational grindhouse movie, but it's actually worth a look for fans of cult cinema. It's entirely cheap with a scuzzy look, but it's also actually a pretty interesting look at mental illness and it doesn't just rely on gore shocks and axe murders to make it work. It has more plot than that, including a fine ending which is something of a mini-classic.

The setting is a cheap, run-down old asylum populated by a group of distinctive characters: there's a the girl who cradles a doll and thinks of it as her child, the former judge who goes around dispensing law, alongside a handful of sympathetic characters. Soon enough a series of gore murders are taking place, and it's up to the pretty young heroine to solve the crimes before she herself becomes the next victim. Director S. F. Brownrigg gets the most out of a clearly non-existent budget, and the film becomes most impressive at the Grand Guignol-style climax, which has something of FREAKS about it.

Nicely plotted and structured, the rest is pure "amateur hour"

[lemon_magic · 5/10 · 24 August 2007]

I will say one thing for this film; the screenplay works very hard to package and properly deliver its big "twist" 20 minutes from the end, and it actually plays fair with the audience in the process. The nature of the twist is actually thematically consistent and springs out of the the setup in the first five minutes. I saw the twist coming almost immediately, but I still have to give credit to the director and the screenwriter - they took an old, stale premise and gave it a good (if somewhat contrived) setup, and then they milked the story for all it was worth. Two extra stars for the plotting and the story arc.

As for the rest, well...the cinematography is strictly from poverty, but it sort of works in the context of this claustrophobic setup. Similarly, the acting is barely community theater level, but it might have been a little better if the director had the budget for a few more takes. The actors at least seem to know their lines and deliver them with conviction and energy; and whoever dubbed the various screams and shrieks on the soundtrack knew how to get the most out of their vocal cords. The actress who plays the nurse is a fox, but her character doesn't seem to have a whole lot of wattage running through her blockhouse, if you know what I mean...if someone cames out my bedroom closet with a knife, I would be OUT of there no matter WHAT anyone said.

The plot does supply the occasional jolt of energy, (especially when one actress - NOT the Playboy playmate - pops her breasts out for various male onlookers - )but the whole thing generally just drags after the first 10 minutes and can't really sustain the mood. Fortunately, the big twist and the Grand Guignol finish are a fair amount of fun, and are almost worth the extended scenes where the patients get on each other's nerves and harass the nurse.

The title "Don't Look In the Basement", while intriguing, is misleading, and costs the movie at least one of the stars the screenplay earned it. When the nurse finally goes into the basement, it turns out to be the nicest place in the house. Yes, there IS an unpleasant surprise down there, but it is hardly the gut-wrenching shock implied by the title. (This might be why the movie was also released under several other titles).

In summary: nice little plot, nice tits on the nymphomaniac, decent moments here and there, but nothing to go out of your way to see. I had this on a "Drive In Movies Classics" 50 pack, and it ranks firmly in the middle of all the "classics" I've seen so far.

Kind of place where even the staff is a little bonkers

[dfranzen70 · 4/10 · 25 November 2019]

A comely blonde nurse, wearing a microskirt but otherwise looking quite professional, shows up at a remote sanitarium at the behest of the doctor in charge and finds that the doctor is now deceased and the whole place is in an uproar. Nurse Beale (Rosie Holotik) is quickly informed of the doctor's demise by a Dr. Masters (Annabelle Weenick), who declares herself in charge. But this isn't your typical asylum; no, the patients wander the halls, mingling with the two-person (!) staff. The staff even have rooms right next to those of the patients! And these patients aren't the benign type that just need a little freedom to cure themselves of what ills them - they are crazed pests, nymphomaniacs (back when that was an actual mental illness), ax murderers, and delusional. Our Miss Beale tries her best to work with Dr. Masters, but of course - with a title like this - the bodies begin to pile up. I can confirm, however, that there is indeed a basement in this movie and that one should not look in it. One should find cause to avoid said basement. Interestingly enough, though, the basement doesn't even make an appearance until the movie's mostly over, and even then it's sort of incidental to the plot (such as it is). Is this a bad movie? It is not a good movie. But there is a twist at the end that elevates oh so slightly from being a one-dimensional slasher pic to something a little more devious and weighty. I'd still stay out of the basement, though.

I looked in the basement, and found that I liked it in there!

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 12 January 2015]

Super sexy Rosie Holotik plays Charlotte Beale, a psychiatric nurse who goes to work at the isolated Stephens Sanitarium. She gets there to find that the Dr. Stephens who (loosely) ran the place was murdered by one of the patients. Geraldine Masters (Annabelle Weenick), who seems to have inherited the supervisory position, has her misgivings about Charlottes' presence, but agrees to take her on as an employee anyway. Among the unbalanced people Charlotte meets are the gentle giant Sam (Bill McGhee), the desperate-for-love Allyson (Betty Chandler), former military man Sgt. Jaffee (Hugh Feagin), and possessive "mother" Harriet (Camilla Carr).

This is actually a pretty good, if overly talky, effort from regional filmmaker S.F. Brownrigg. The low, low budget merely enhances the overall atmosphere. This is a grim, gritty film that goes far based on the personalities of the characters and the performances. Holotik is appealing, but it's Ms. Weenick who takes the acting honours. Things get appropriately gory, especially in the disturbing ending. One great scene takes place between Dr. Masters and the Sargeant, as she insists on asserting her authority.

We know early on that we're going to be in for something amusing. Dr. Stephens, who had an unorthodox way of treating mental illness, is just foolish enough to give Judge Oliver W. Cameron (Gene Ross) an axe in order to work through his aggressions. People who saw this film back in the 70s must have gotten a real sense of deja vu if they ended up seeing "Friday the 13th: A New Beginning". One of the major delights is the refrain spoken by the cackling old lady Mrs. Callingham (Rhea MacAdams).

Deliberately paced and very moody, "Don't Look in the Basement" (a.k.a. "The Forgotten") is an affecting exploitation-horror flick.

Seven out of 10.

A dull and lifeless exercise in trashy tedium

[Afracious · 1/10 · 6 March 2000]

I watched this film because it was on the DPP's original video nasties list, but how it was included on there is a mystery. It doesn't have hardly any nasty scenes, just one at the end. The film is about a group of ludicrous inmates in an asylum who begin to take over it. The inmates include one who thinks he's a judge, one who thinks he's a soldier (and is strangely allowed to dress as one), another who is besotted with a toy boat in a bath, a nymphomaniac, and an old lady who says some unusual things. A nurse is assigned to the place and witnesses all these characters' behaviour and more. But the film is so cheap and lifeless, it doesn't hold your attention. It ends up being risible and absurd, and can't escape the asphyxiation of its low budget.

Far better than you'd expect...and far better than the current IMDb score would indicate.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 19 June 2013]

"Don't Look in the Basement" is a very, very cheaply made film. Nothing about it seems very professional….yet, oddly, the film is quite entertaining. Is it really good? Nah—but very entertaining providing you are the type person who can appreciate such an odd film!

This movie is set in some sort of sanitarium for the mentally ill—the very, very, VERY mentally ill. No attempt is made to make these folks seem real and it has about the same level of insensitivity you'd find in "Birth of a Nation". I have worked in a psychiatric hospital many years ago, and it was NOTHING like this place! It's pretty obvious they did not film it in a real hospital and just looks like an old house was used. And, for the parts, the 'patients' were told to act very stereotypically insane—like you might expect folks to do on "Whose Line is it Anyway?"—subtle, it ain't! When the doctor (whose methods seem no saner than his patients) is killed by one of the patients, another doctor takes his place. Soon, a new nurse arrives—and she's shocked at how ineffective and stupid the treatment is for the patients. Eventually, more folks start dying and only then do you learn some very interesting secrets. I'd say more, but I really don't want to spoil the suspense.

This engaging film looks like if you were to remake "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and had it rewritten by an actively psychotic individual! It's bloody, it's scary and, what I really like is that you really have no idea who, if anyone, is sane in this film! It's one of those ultra-low budget films with no-name casts that manages to work in spite of all the many strikes against it! Clever, strange and probably not for all tastes! If you like "Carnival of Souls", "Night of the Living Dead" (the original one) or "Spider Baby", then this film is for you!

Absolutely horrible snoozefest.

[daniel_berdugo · 1/10 · 22 February 2007]

I actually had to watch this movie in 5 sittings. Getting through 20 minutes of this garbage without turning it off is a tedious chore that I

assume very few will accomplish! I heard this was supposed to be a thriller. I even read somewhere that it was gory. This isn't the case, as it's obviously some sort of low budget drama more akin to a bad Mexican soap than to an actual horror or thriller flick. The acting isn't bad at all, but those boring, rambling dialogues that just drag on forever will easily put you to sleep. In the end what was supposed to be a gory horror movie turns out to contain about 3 or 4 murders, all taking place during the last 3 minutes of the film, in which some red paint is sprayed onto the wall and the actors' shirts. If you're looking for any sort of horror, gore, murders, etc, just stay away from this crap.

A lovely little low-budget chiller

[Casey-52 · 10/10 · 28 June 1999]

Charlotte Beal arrives at an isolated country mental hospital to become a full-time nurse there. She is confronted with a motley group of crazies and a seemingly crazier supervisor. Is Dr. Masters all she seems to be?

DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT is one of the best low-budget movies in the genre and why people always put it down is beyond me. The acting is excellent, my favorite performance being by Betty Chandler as Allyson the nymphomaniac. The chills just jump right off the screen. You probably won't have to say "It's only a movie, it's only a movie", it isn't that scary, but it should appeal to any horror fan who respects the low-budget horror genre, which I do. It is very hard to make a creepy film on a low budget and few actually succeed. AXE is another cheap film that is looked down upon. Maybe people are so spoiled by the big budgets of recent films that any movie that doesn't have excellent effects and/or isn't considered a classic doesn't have a chance with an audience. But I think that after people see this movie, they will see how important the low-budget horror genre is and this movie is a classic that stands out among the other rubbish.

Shoestring thriller with high aspirations

[drownsoda90 · 7/10 · 28 May 2015]

"Don't Look in the Basement" (how's that for a gimmicky title?) has an attractive young nurse taking a job at a remote insane asylum that is known for its experimental approaches to psychiatric treatment (such as letting the patients simulate their own delusions, no matter how demented or dangerous). Upon her arrival, she is notified that the head doctor was murdered by one of the inmates, and is geared to run the asylum with the help of the head nurse, but finds herself receiving increasing hostility from the patients.

Also known as "The Forgotten," this deceptive and dreary grindhouse flick was apparently a staple of drive-in horror in the mid-1970s, and has been put through the shredder by audiences online. The truth is that this is actually not nearly as bad a film as many reviews would lead you to believe.

Make no bones about it, this is a low-budget production on all counts— it looks as though it were filmed inside a large farmhouse haphazardly made up to appear as a hospital, and the special effects are definitely minimalist, but there is something about the low-budget awkwardness that makes this film strangely effective. The narrative is admittedly slow-going early on and the film does feel a bit like a psych ward drama throughout the first forty minutes or so, but some well-played sequences and decent and sometimes disturbing performances from the inmate cast and the foxy, likable heroine elevate the proceedings from potentially dull to surprisingly engaging. Add to that a clever narrative twist that may or may not be easy to read between the lines, which may be the film's greatest asset.

Overall, "Don't Look in the Basement" is an effective and atmospheric low-budget horror offering that aspires to greater heights than its budget could clearly afford. In spite of this, the quirks resulting from the production's monetary shortcomings add a raw edge to the film, and it boasts a decent cast of unknowns playing up the hysterics of a '70s psychodrama. What the film does well, perhaps inadvertently, is weave a drab and unsettling atmosphere that infects the entire production, up to its uncompromisingly gruesome conclusion. 7/10.

Cheap Little Horror Film

[compact-2 · 3/10 · 14 June 2007]

The Forgotten (AKA: Don't Look In The Basement) is a very cheaply made and very old looking horror movie.

The story is very slow and never really reaches anything worth getting excited about.

The patients at the asylum are embarrassingly funny especially Sam and the old woman who always quotes an old saying to everyone. (Look out for the bit when she gets close to the camera, tell me you can watch without laughing!).

Now the gore is very poor looking, with the blood looking pink in many scenes so it doesn't really deserve its place on the video nasties list!.

Overall if you aren't looking for a fantastic horror film and have some time to spare then it's worth a watch.

Surprisingly Good!

[Krug Stillo · 1 June 2003]

Some can call it cheap, others can call it stupid and some may even call it pointless, but these are all adjectives once attributed to classics such as Night of the Living Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Last House on the Left. As the latter was also distributed by Hallmark, they obliged to reproduced the same tag line here - `To avoid fainting keep repeating: ‘It's only a movie…only a movie…only a movie'.'

Don't Look in the Basement tells the story of Charlotte Beale (heartstoppingly gorgeous Rosie Holotik and Playboy covergirl, April, 1972), a young nurse whose arrival at her new position coincides with a dramatic change within the Stephen's Sanatarium for the mentally insane. The unusual treatment here involves allowing patients to roam free around the hospital, allowing them to express their repressed inhibitions to cure their madness. The patients are a truly frightening gathering. One girl shuffles around with a doll she believes is her baby and if you offend her you'll die; A chap believes himself to be a judge, constantly preaching courtroom jargon; A nymphomaniac wanting love from anyone who lunges at all men; An ex-Vietnam vet watches over the premises, assuring nobody escapes…etc. Soon, poor Charlotte realizes that all is not as it should be and '...a sense of unease creeps over her...' Will she solve the mystery of the Sanitarium before she too is driven insane?

If you allow yourself to get with the flow of this low budget horror film, then you might even see the twist in the tail. I won't spoil it for you here

Warning, only watch if mentally disturbed.

[steelcorpfilms · 4/10 · 3 September 2001]

This movie was pretty bad. First of all, I have to say, the title has really nothing to do with the actual movie. No one ever says, `Don't look in the basement.' The basement isn't even referred to or gone into until an hour and 20 minutes into the movie. And even then, the basement segment is only about a minute long.

The acting was pretty horrendous. Although there were a few interesting characters, it was more silly than frightening. It reminded me of a cross between `Spider Baby' and `Texas Chainsaw Massacre.' `Spider Baby' because of all the weird characters, `TCM' because of all the screaming. Both of those flicks beat this one by a mile.

The music was kind of weird, but not in a good way. It sounded as if it was pulled off of re-runs of `The Prisoner.' And maybe it was just my DVD, but there was an annoying trail coming off of things when they moved that made the movie almost painful to watch.

As for the story, like I said, there were some interesting characters but the basic plot seemed to be written by some sort of crazy person that should've been in the film. Very rarely did it seem to be going in any coherent direction and when the story finally got around to making some sort of sense, it was very predictable.

`Don't Look in the Basement' is a painful movie to watch with no real rewards afterwards. I wouldn't recommend it.

Good idea, average execution.

[poolandrews · 3/10 · 30 November 2004]

Dr Stephens (Micheal Harvey) runs a mental asylum. He has a different approach to the insane. He conducts unorthodox methods of treatment. He treats everyone like family, there are no locks on the patients doors and he lets some of the inmates act out their twisted fantasies. He lets Sergeant Jaffee (Hugh Feagin) dress and act as a soldier and Harriet (Camilla Carr) be a mother to a doll, including letting her put it to bed in a cot. Dr. Stevens is outside letting Judge Oliver W. Cameron (Gene Ross) chop a log up with an axe, it turns out to be a bad move as once Dr. Stevens back is turned the Judge plants the axe in his shoulder. Soon after Nurse Charlotte Beale (Rosie Holotik) arrives at the Sanitarium having arranged an interview with Dr. Stevens about a possible job. She is met by the head Nurse, Geraldine Masters (Annabelle Weenick as Anne McAdams) and is offered a trail position. She gets to know and becomes well liked among the patients. However things eventually start to turn sour, the phone lines are cut, an old lady named Mrs. Callingham (Rhea MacAdams) has her tongue cut out and she starts to get a strange feeling that things just aren't right somehow. Then, one night all the Sanitariums dark secrets are violently revealed. Produced and directed by S.f. Brownrigg this film has a great central idea which builds into a cool twist ending, but ultimately is a bit of a chore to sit through because of it's low budget restrictions and a rather slow script by Tim Pope. There are just too many long boring stretches of dialogue by the inmates, not a lot really happens until the final twenty odd minutes. The film has no real visual quality as it's set entirely in the Sanitarium and it's grounds which is basically just a big bland house in the middle of nowhere. There's no graphic gore in it, a few splashes of blood here and there and thats yer lot. There's a bit of nudity, but like the gore not much. The acting is pretty strong, especially Holotik and Weenick. The photography is flat and unexciting and I can't even remember what the music was like. The twist ending is great, but it just takes far too long to get to it. A film that had a lot of potential that was probably held back by it's budget. OK I guess, but I think it would have worked a lot better if the story had been turned into a half an hour 'Tales form the Crypt' episode.

Insane people everywhere should revolt

[manicgecko · 2/10 · 5 June 2006]

The tag line is correct - remind yourself it is only a movie. This movie has no excuse for its problems. First of all why did they change the title of the version I was watching from "the forgotten" to "don't look in the basement"? Come on - spoil the movie right there - it was so slow I kept yelling at the screen - go on look in the basement already - make something happen. It wasted so much film watching Charolette fill up her coffee cup, watching the patients stare off into space, or just wander up and down the stairs, that this is one of the slowest gore/horror movies in existence. They bring in the one non-sanitarium related character in the entire movie and he is a babbling idiot i.e. "How come you people didn't call about your telephone - It can't be working". I was sick of the flute and organ music before the opening credits and it got worse from there. The patient/staff interactions were the best part of the movie too bad they couldn't relate them anyway to the plot. And every now and then the director remembered this is a horror movie so they cue Danny in to jump out and scream at random intervals. Never mind the fact that they over-steroetyped every mental illness to the point where I actually feel sorry for anybody with a psych problem watching this ridiculous farce. There was no human in any of these patients only the disease. Don't bother watching this more than once - unless you want to make 90 minutes last all day.

Prepare to scream!!!

[emm · 7/10 · 18 January 1999]

You'll either love or hate movies such as this thriller set inside a lonesome asylum in a far off lonesome land. It's not so much of a horror show, but a concoction of frightening imageries and wackozoid mental patients. "Scream" is the best term to use in what was obviously a popular drive-in classic noted for some strange and wicked behaviors. Notice the "judge", who's about to put on the ax from behind the doctor! Brr-r-r-r!!! Not much else can be described here other than some bloody tasty goodness, but when you get a chance, remember the familiar old saying by the hag lady: "Get out! Get out! And never ever come back!". Don't you wish you haven't looked in the basement?

To avoid fainting keep repeating....it's only a movie...it's only a movie....it's only a movie...

[preppy-3 · 1/10 · 7 February 2004]

That was the tag line used to sell this movie back in 1973. It played at mostly drive-ins along with "Last House on the Left" and "The House That Vanished". This triple feature was so incredibly popular it kept playing at drive-ins into the mid 80s! Never saw "House That Vanished" but "Last House..." was sadistic trash. This is boring trash!

A "horror" film about inmates at a sanitarium who are getting a little out of control. Young, beautiful nurse Charlotte Beale (Rosie Holotik) comes to work there. She finds a new administrator under control--Dr. Masters (Annabelle Weenick). The former one had been killed by one of his patients. But things are fine now...or are they?

There is a plot twist in this which you'll probably see coming from a mile away--but I still won't reveal it.

This has a nice murder at the beginning and turns into an all out bloodbath at the end---but everything in the middle is dull! It just has a bunch of horrible bad actors portraying mental patients--and very badly too. Padded endlessly with repititous scenes, pointless dialogues, horribly unfunny "humor" and some really gratuitous nudity. Basically a 30 minute feature dragged out to 90 minutes.

There is some good acting by Holotik and Weenick and also Betty Chandler as Allyson--but that's about it. ALMOST worth seeing for the incredible gore at the end...ALMOST.

For drive-in cultists only. Otherwise avoid.

Who are the patients and who are the staff, and should the staff be the patients?

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 10 July 2020]

It comes down to a sudden revelation that who should be a patient is running the asylum, a troubled doctor (Annabelle Weenick) who burns a letter in a patient's hand to keep something from being revealed to the public. She witnessed the violent murder of her boss (Michael Harvey) by one of the patients as he was informing long-time nurse (Rhea McAdams) that she could not leave even though the weight of her job was starting to get on her nerves. One of the female patients (who keeps a doll around, thinking that it is her baby) murders McAdams (who could pass for Mary Wickes' sister) and obviously hides her body because everybody seems to think that she has left the hospital. At the right moment, young nurse Rose Holotik (with the soapy name of "Charlotte Beale") shows up and talks her way into a try-out, and boy, will she have her hands full when she gets a load of the small number of patients that this hospital treats.

Everyone loves Danny (Jessie Kirby), the big black man with the sweetness of a child, only wanting to be liked by everyone, and on occasion, having an adult sized version of a child's temper tantrum. There's a nymphomaniac who gets violently angry when men turn down her advances an old lady whose rants that all visitors need to leave NOW, and a judge who seems to do nothing but recite the law in his mentally handicapped state. Other patients have varying problems, but it is the two dark haired young women who commit the bulk of the horrific situations, one of them Camilla Carr whom smart 'Designing Women" fans will recognize as the nasty Ima Jean who declared that "AIDS was killing all the right people".

Don't go into this (or the basement) thinking that this is your typical cheapo 1970's gore fest. Certainly there are many moments when it does go down that alley, but the writers seem to have wanted something a bit more profound than just another slasher film. Each of the characters are well developed, and the performances are startlingly realistic. Hotolik quickly becomes the leading character, someone wiser than the self-proclaimed head of staff (Weenick), and the detail makes this mighty interesting in spite of its low budget, lack of any actors of name, and the sometimes slow pacing. It's quite different than other films about mental institutions (certainly no "Cuckoo's Nest"), and it is the originality that makes this stand above others with the varying themes that this film utilizes.

Aimlessly crazy

[cyberknight · 1/10 · 1 October 2017]

This film starts really crazy (well, it's a sanatorium), with a patient handling an axe repeatedly and a stupid doctor staying too close to him... Until he gets close enough and is beheaded (no actual gore is shown). That is just a sample of the rest of the film. People dumbly do random things, for dumb random reasons (when there is any). There is no actual plot, but a bunch of weak excuses for people to kill and/or get killed, until only one is left. With almost no character development, it becomes impossible to care for anyone. Also, the random violence makes the film uninteresting, as there is no build-up of anything. The ending is ridiculous, one of the patients (a giant with a child-like mind) simply kills everybody that was left, for no particular reason (I don't know, maybe in his mind, everybody left was evil, so they deserved to die or whatever).

Considering the year this film was made, I guess the production staff thought something like "everybody nowadays love to see people getting killed, so let's make a movie where everybody kills everybody", and that's more or less what goes on there, except there are not so many characters to begin with and most deaths happen only in the last few minutes (and in just a few seconds, mind you!)

Even if you are a fan of gore, stay away from this one, as there is almost no special effects (I really don't remember any, and I won't watch it again just to check that!) People are alive in one shot, someone attacks them, then they are covered in red syrup the next shot, playing "dead", and that's the extent of the special (d)effects.

With no thrills or plot, no memorable characters or acting, no good soundtrack or effects, no remarkable deaths or moments, and no anything or whatever, this film has no entertainment value, even if it's the only thing on television, on a rainy day, without Internet connection, with the batteries on your portable dead and no compatible recharger (plus, you can't sleep...!) I've seen worse films than this one, but they don't redeem this aimless mess.

A real drive-in clasick!

[Drive-In-Freak · 9/10 · 10 January 2005]

If you love drive-in cheeze from the early '70s you will just love this one.How could you go wrong with a low budget film about bloodshed in a lunatic asylum? You can't! Crazy folks and sharp objects are always an entertaining combination.

The film looks like it was shot inside someone's house for about $320.65. For me that just ads to the fun of watching this type of stuff.The gore is a bit mild compared to others of this ilk,but there is enough to keep us bloodthirsty sickos (like myself)happy.Some horror films drag in parts and leave you waiting for something to happen.That's not the case here.The characters are entertaining enough to make every frame quite enjoyable.There is never a dull moment from start to finish.The mind melting climax at the end that is just unbelievable. I liked it so much that right after the end credits I watched it a second time.It's an absolute must see for any self respecting drive-in horror nut.

9.5/10 on the Drive-in-Freak-O-Meter...required viewing

Yea I love you..I DO love you...now take your Thorazine and put your clothes back on...please....8)

Smart Script, Pretty good film

[katarn11 · 6/10 · 5 July 2005]

Like the review before me, people were a little too critical on this film. Delivered very well with a great cast. My friend and I watched it a few days ago and he guessed the plot early in the film, and said "It would be awesome if this happened" Which it did, so it was really cool- It has a good story and twists and keeps you guessing. Sometimes it's a bit humorous, but the setting and mood was delivered well. This is a good film to watch with some buddies or a special someone. It will keep you interested until the very end, and will give you that good IL' Horror feeling. If you're looking for a pretty gory, weird movie- Don't look in the Basement is definitely it.

Drive-In Freakshow

[crozfc · 5/10 · 4 June 2017]

I happened to catch this on a channel on my Roku as part of a "Drive-In" double feature. Although it is a bit slow moving, and the background music can get annoying, it seems to have some sort of cult cheesy appeal. I had to stop the movie to go to bed, but I just couldn't rest until I finished it. Which I did the next morning. All this to say, if you like cheesy drive-in 70s thrillers, watch this one.

Croz.....