Charlotte has been hired to work at Stephens Sanitarium by Dr. Stephens. Unfortunately for her, he is murdered by one of his patients before her first day. When Charlotte finally arrives, she's greeted by the strict Dr. Masters who is now the head doctor of the sanitarium. Her patients include an axe wielding judge, a sergeant with apparent PTSD, a nymphomaniac, a lobotomized man with the mind of an 8 year old, an angry old lady, and more. The entire operation is so understaffed that it's only a matter of time before the inmates start running the asylum.
Don't Look In The Basement is full of insane characters that are basically just walking around being crazy. There is hardly any depth to them beneath their mental illness. But I suppose that's to be expected from the kind of 70's Drive In B Movie this is. The wealth of colorful characters makes for a satisfying bloodbath during the climax. So it all works out in the end.
The acting is above average for this grade of film. The cast all do a good job portraying their illness and making their characters memorable. Murder scenes feature a decent amount of blood. The special effects aren't exactly good or anything. But I'm sure each murder could get a cringe out of casual viewers just based on whats implied and how much blood we see.
Overall Don't Look In The Basement is a fun way to spend an hour and a half. You can watch it with friends or even alone. Their isn't much action to be seen until the last 20 minutes. But even while the plot stagnates the characters are always engaged in some sort of scene that will hold your attention. The ending is fun and makes it all worth the wait.
Body Count:7
SideNote: Don't Look In The Basement is originally titled The Forgotten. Probably a more appropriate title because the basement isn't really a factor until the end of the film.
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