Director Tobe Hooper’s 2004 remake of the ’70s horror film The Toolbox Murders turns 20 this year – so it’s time for it to be Revisited
A new episode of the Revisited video series has just made its way online, and with this one we’re celebrating the birthday of the late, great director Tobe Hooper (who would have turned 81 today, but sadly passed away in 2017) by looking at one of his more underrated horror films: the 2004 release Toolbox Murders (watch it HERE)! You can hear all about it in the embed above.
Toolbox Murders is technically a remake of the 1978 film The Toolbox Murders, but it’s very different from the source material. Written by Jace Anderson and Adam Gierasch, this one has the following synopsis: Young couple Steve and Nell move into a once fashionable, but now decaying, apartment block in Los Angeles, and soon realise that a number of young female residents have met unusually violent deaths. Before long, Nell makes some disturbing discoveries about the building’s manager and her fellow tenants.
The film stars Angela Bettis, Brent Roam, Marco Rodríguez, Rance Howard, Juliet Landau, Greg Travis, Chris Doyle, Adam Weisman, Christina Venuti, Sara Downing, Jamison Reeves, Stephanie Silverman, Alan Polonsky, Charlie Paulson, Eric Ladin, Price Carson, Carlease Burke, Ralph Morris, Bob McMinn, screenwriter Adam Gierasch, and Sheri Moon Zombie – making a rare appearance in a film not directed by her husband, Rob Zombie.
In addition to Toolbox Murders, Tobe Hooper’s directing credits included The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Eaten Alive, Salem’s Lot, The Funhouse, Poltergeist, Lifeforce, Invaders from Mars, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Spontaneous Combustion, Body Bags, The Mangler, Mortuary, and more.
The Toolbox Murders episode of Revisited was Written, Narrated, and Edited by Lance Vlcek, Produced by Lance Vlcek and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.
Two previous episodes of Revisited can be seen below. To see more of our shows, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals channel – and subscribe while you’re at it!