DONT GO IN THE HOUSE (1979)
Label: Severin Films
Region Code: A
Rating: R, Unrated
Duration: Theatrical Cut (83 Minutes), TV Cut (90 Minutes), Integral Cut (92 Minutes)
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio: English LPCM 1.0 Mono (Theatrical), DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono (TV Cut, Integral Cut), ENglish DTS-HD MA 2.0 Descriptive Audio (Integral Cut) with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Joseph Ellison
Cast: Dan Grimaldi, Charles Bonet, Bill Ricci, Robert Osth, Ruth Dardick
In the notorious Video Nasty Don't Go In the House (1979) a loner named Donny (Dan Grimaldi, The Sopranos) works in incinerator room of a local factory where he witnesses a coworker engulfed in flames after an accident. Strangely, he only stares at the tragedy unfolding before his eye but does not attempt to help in any way whatsoever. Through flashbacks we learn that the withdrawn Donny is a bit of a fire-bug who has been mentally and physically scarred by a childhood wherein his cruel mother abused him by holding his outstretched arms over the open flames of a kitchen gas stove to "burn the evil out of him" when he misbehaved.
His inaction at work earns him the ire of his co-workers, all except for a guy named Bobby (Robert Osth, Mother's Day) who is constantly trying to befriend him and bring him out of his shell. Returning home to his mothers dilapidated Victorian mansion that evening he finds that his elderly mother (Ruth Dardick) has died in her bedroom armchair. At first he is overwhelmed with anguish but it soon turns to elation, relieved to be free of his mother's control. He celebrates by smoking in the house, throwing his spent match onto the rug and blasting disco music throughout the house - but the party is interrupted when he begins to hear a disembodied voice that could be that of his mother.
With continuing shades of Psycho Donny does not report the death of his mother and leaves her corpse in her upstairs bedroom, and urged by the voices he sets about constructing a steel-lined fire-proof room on the second floor of the house. He then sets about luring women to the home, the first being a stranded florist named Kathy (Johanna Brushay) in need of a ride, whom he chains nude by her arms from the ceiling in his newly fabricated fire-proof torture chamber, dousing her in gasoline, and setting her on fire with a flamethrower while wearing a flame retardant fire-suit!
As the story unfolds Donny continues to lure young women to his home where he repeats the burn 'em alive flamethrower routine. As the bodies pile up he arranges them into a charred dead-man's party inside one of the rooms where he tells them stories about his life while also seemingly engaging in some potential necrophilia, while seemingly being haunted by the burnt corpse of his mother and having dreams of being attacked by the zombified corpses of his victims.
Like Psycho and later Maniac after it Don't Go In The House is a psychodrama that paints a grim yet not unsympathetic portrait of a man scarred by abusive maternal behaviors that have shaped his own cycle of abhorrent and violent behavior, with the death of his mother his own pyromaniacal and murderous tendencies having been fun unleashed in a most heinous way. IT's a flick that while not siding with the killer does show that he is compulsed to do what he does, he feel's remorse about it, and a certain point he seeks out local Priest Father Garrity (Ralph D. Bowman), but only manages to confess the abuse he suffered under his mother, and not his own crimes. Later accepts an invitation to the disco to go a double date with co-worker Bobby, but an incident involving a candle triggers a flashback to his abuse as a child resulting in a hair-burning outburst that sets up a final confrontation between Donny, the priest and his co-worker at his home, with the fate of two women hanging in the balance.
It's a very grim and down spirited bit of exploitation that is eerily well-made and rather disturbing still do this day, it maintains an air of derangement that gets under the skin. The elements of childhood abuse that manifests in adulthood, the whole idea of creating a fire-proof room where one can immolate his victims, its all very dark stuff and delivered in a way that doesn't ease up or let you off the hook, it's a gripping and deeply disturbing bit of exploitation that explores the deranged mind of a murderous fire-bug, definitely a video nasty that lives up to it's reputation, even 40 years on.
Audio/Video: The flame-roasted video nasty Don't Go In The House (1979) gets the truly deluxe 2-disc treatment from Severin who present the film with three cuts, all in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1) and all three versions are sourced from a new 2K scan of the original camera negative. We have the Theatrical Cut (83 min), the TV Cut (90 min) and the Integral Cut (92 min), all sourced from the new 2K scan of the OCN. I only have the Shriek Show DVD to compare it to as I never upgraded to the Scorpion Blu-ray, and its a significant upgrade in the expected areas, with better resolved grain structures, increased depth and clarity, and improved black levels. Overall its also brighter with richer colors and textures throughout with much better contrast, but while grain is better resolved the low-lit darker scenes do carry heavier grain. There's also some minor print damage by way of light scratching and speckling but far less than the Shriek Show DVD. Audio on the theatrical cut comes by way of uncompressed English LPCM 1.0 mono while the TV cut and integral version get uncompressed English DTS-HA MA 2.0 mono with optional English subtitles. Interestingly, the integral cut also includes an audio descriptive track for the blind, which is worth a listen, especially during the notorious flamethrower scene!
Onto the extras, Severin carryover the archival Audio Commentary With Actor Dan Grimaldi for the theatrical cut, as well as the 12-min Playing With Fire: Archival Interview With Actor Dan Grimaldi. We also get a pair of new commentaries, the theatrical cut gets an Audio Commentary With Director Joe Ellison And Producer Ellen Hammill, while the integral cut gets a fantastic Audio Commentary With Stephen Thrower, Author Of Nightmare USA.
On the first disc we we also have the 20-min "House” Keeping: Interviews With Co-Producer Matthew Mallinson and Co-Writer Joseph R. Masefield, and the 19-min We Went In The House!: The Locations Of Don't Go In The House. Not to be outdone over on disc two we get the 29-min Burn Baby Burn: Interview With Director Joseph Ellison, and the 34-min - Grindhouse All-Stars: Interviews With Filmmakers Matt Cimber, Joseph Ellison, Roy Frumkes and Jeff Lieberman which is an absolute treat for cult-film fans. The set is buttoned-up with a Trailer Gallery an Image Gallery, plus a fun 13-min Don't Trailer Reel with Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Don't Look in the Basement, Don't Open the Window, Don't Answer the Phone, Don't Go in the House, Don't Go Near the Park, Don't Open the Door, Don't Go in the Woods, and Don't Open Till Christmas! The 2-disc release arrives in a dual-hub black Elite keepcase with a sleeve of artwork featuring the U.S. and German poster artworks with unique artwork on both Blu-ray discs.
Special Features:
Disc 1 (Theatrical Cut) (83 min)
- The Burning: Alternate TV Cut (90 min)
- Audio Commentary With Director Joe Ellison And Producer Ellen Hammill
- Archival Commentary With Actor Dan Grimaldi
- “House” Keeping: Interviews With Co-Producer Matthew Mallinson and Co-Writer Joseph R. Masefield (20 min)
- We Went In The House!: The Locations Of DON’T GO IN THE HOUSE (19 min)
- Playing With Fire: Archival Interview With Actor Dan Grimaldi (12 min)
- Trailer Gallery
- Image Gallery
Disc 2 (Integral Cut) (92 min)
- Audio Commentary With Stephen Thrower, Author Of Nightmare USA
- Minds On Fire: Video Essay By The Reprobate David Flint (15 min)
- Burn Baby Burn: Interview With Director Joseph Ellison (29 min)
- Grindhouse All-Stars: Interviews With Filmmakers Matt Cimber, Joseph Ellison, Roy Frumkes and Jeff Lieberman (34 min)
- Open Matte Flamethrower Scene (4 min)
- Don't Trailer Reel (13 min)
Severin's 2-disc edition Blu-ray of Don't Go In The House (1979) is the definitive HD platter for this grim video nasty, offering a new 2K scan of the OCN with three cuts of the film and marathon of deep-dive extras that make this an essential purchase for any exploitation/video nasty fiend looking to upgrade.
Screenshots from the Severin's Films Integral Cut Blu-ray:
