Don’t Look In The Basement Collection — Don’t Look In The Basement Collection ( blu ray)

Don’t Look In The Basement was one of the bleaker, well acted, and at times unsettling exploitation films of the 1970’s.  Here, along with its surprisingly good sequel, we get the first ever Blu Ray release of the film.

Released in 1973 Don’t Look In The Basement (originally and more fittingly titled The Forgotten) told of a young psychiatric nurse turning up at an isolated asylum to start a new job, after the head doctor is killed by one of the patients. The film is a particularly stark & tension building blend of edgy character study, horror & suspense- with some fairly bloody & brutal moments. The film is often seen as one of the great regional US  low budget horror films of the 70’s- it was the directorial debut of Texas-based S.F. Brownrigg, who went on to direct a handful of similar bleak though well made horror films in the 70’s such as Keep My Grave Open & hillbilly horror Scum Of The Earth( not to be confused with the 60’s Herschell Gordon Lewis roughie of the same name).

I always had a soft-spot for Don’t Look In The Basement, and it’s great to have it on Blu Ray- the scan/ look of the film it’s sadly not up the standard of some 2k scans you may have seen, and I’m guessing this is down to the lack of original negatives. The film's quality has always looked very rough & pocked-marked, and while this new release is still pretty aged & damaged-  it looks certainly better than the lo-budget DVD pressings I’d seen in the past.

The second film on the blu ray is the 2015 sequel to the film Don’t Look In The Basement 2. And when I saw this was also on the disc, I’ll have to admit I rather worried about the quality & reasoning for doing a follow-up to a film 40 plus years after the original. And I’m pleased to say it’s up to the standard of the original, and once again it’s a well-acted horror film, that nicely builds tension & has some quite intense & disturbing moments. The films directed by Tony Brownrigg- the son of S.F, and apparently a sequel had been in the works for a few years, with  this film also taking on plot elements that S.F wanted to add in- so you certainly get a good feeling of continuity & passion to keep the same vibe of the first film alive, but with some slightly more modern edges.

Also, keeping in with the feel of the original film- it’s all filmed in the same building as the first film. Its plot tells of Dr. William Matthews( played by Andrew Sensenig), whose recently started working at the asylum- and one of the new arrivals has a real connection to the goings-on in the 70’s, and somehow both patients & staff are taking on traits of patients from the original film. I won’t delve any further into the plot, as it would spoil the original film, but it’s certainly a very well thought-out & cleverly done follow-up.

And one of the things, aside from the story & setting that really makes the film successful is the great acting from pretty much every member of the cast. Sensenig is great in the lead role- balancing likeability, great dramatic chops, and touches of sly humor. I’d loved him in 2015’s We Are Still Here- the great 70’s/80’s vibe haunted house film, and he’s just as good in Don’t Look In The Basement 2. He’s surrounded by a great cast- we have well balanced comic relief from Jim O'Rear & Scott Tepperman, as the asylum's orderlies. And the stern-to-unsettling performance from Camilla Carr( who appeared in the original film) playing the head of the hospital.

Extras wise we get commentaries on both films, and they are both by Tony Brownrigg- I started listening to the one for the first film, but sadly he was saying too little to keep my attention. The second film's commentary is better- through there are gaps once again. I can understand why the first track might not have been as interesting- as Tony was only a child when the first film was made, it would have been much better-having someone like Stephen Thrower do the track on this film, and of course he covered S.F. Brownrigg in his excellent 2007 book Nightmare USA: The Untold Story of the Exploitation Independents. Topping off the set we get a slip sleeve, and a short inlay booklet featuring reviews/ discussion about the first film.

So all in all this is a great double release- with one of the bleak classics of the golden age of exploitation sitting alongside a great sequel. And the blu ray disc is region A, B, and C- so pretty much where ever you are you’ll be able to watch this.