Blazing Mother: Don't Go In The House (1980)

Don't Go In The House (1980)

Rating: ****

Starring: Dan Grimaldi, Charles Bonet, Bill Ricci

An underrated grindhouse classic of sorts, Don’t Go In The House (1980) is a sad strange little bodycounter that tried its luck as a grim character study. Tainted in cinema cheese and shlocky horror.

Donny is a man with a rough childhood; his mum abused him as a kid through various methods of fire torture whenever she thought it's necessary (meaning, all the time), traumatizing Donny to the point that he grew up both frightened and fascinated with flames. On one work night, though, Donny discovers his mum passed away in her sleep; not sure how to react to this, he's first delighted from the fact that he is now free from his abusive parent, only to soon realize that he is unable to move on from the torture he went through in her hands.

Literally following the voices he is suddenly hearing in his head, Donny proceeds to take out his frustrations by building a fireproof room, purchasing a flame thrower (with bonus fire retardant suit), and kidnapping women for him to set ablaze. Unfortunately for him, his murderous ways begin to haunt him horribly, all the while a few people around town are taking notice of his odd behavior and couldn't help but feel a little worried for Donny, unaware of the monster he has become behind his closed doors...

Structure-wise, Don’t Go In The House (1980) is only a slasher for the first half before gradually devolving into a psychological thriller; as a bodycounter, it has its unnerving and distressful moments such as an infamous scene where an innocent woman gets stripped naked and chained up before being set on fire, which is grueling, sadistic, and over all uncomfortable to sit through. Oddly enough, while Donny did went on killing more girls, the rest of the murders were done offcamera and through heavy implications, which eventually made way for the film to start tackling the psychological horrors of being a deranged murderer.

By the time the film reached its half-mark, the tone shifts and focuses more on Donny's descent into madness as he becomes troubled by his own actions, visualizing walking corpses of his victims that may or may not be real apparitions. This is where the movie begins to blur the line of sane and insanity, as well as hinting some bit of the supernatural, though the latter isn't that heavily implied until the last act.

More or less, the film made itself entertaining with its odd mixing of dread and B-grade camp, which is something that's already done by other villain-centered slashers such as The Driller Killer (1979) and Maniac (1980); Don’t Go In The House (1980) attempts to play all of this with a straight face, but the late-70s/early-80s cheesiness, along with some bit of bad writing and acting manages to find its way on some scenes. (Such as Donny's first taste of freedom involving him jumping on a chair while loud Jazz music is playing and he smokes a cigar) Thankfully, this isn’t that big of a distraction as the movie’s tone and gritty grindhouse look bring out the sullen creepiness of Donny's situation, which seems to be the real meat of the movie, explaining the low count of exploitative murders.

Though most slasher fans will be disappointed at the direction Don't Go In The House (1980) took, its bothersome cheesiness and/or its lack of a satisfying kill count, it is still nothing short of an underrated cult classic worthy of some attention just for its strangeness alone and the attempt to do things differently for its killer. Those who enjoy a fair grindhouse flick (and, too, open-minded slasher fans) are welcome to try this oddity out. Who knows? Perhaps you can find the hammy charm of this weird little title and see why some people come to appreciate it.

Bodycount:
1 female found dead in her sleep
1 female set ablaze with a flamethrower
1 female burned offcamera
1 female burned offcamera
1 male caught inside a burning house
Total: 5