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First of all, I consider myself the luckiest girl in the
world because I’m watching Don’t Go In
The House on VHS in my boyfriend’s full blown theater on a huge screen, in
theater seating, and I’m alone except for the projectionist (who is a super
dude, although he isn’t watching the film with me). Released in 1980 and directed by Joseph Ellison, Don’t Go In The House is known for
emulating Psycho (1960). I’m watching the film for the first time
right now, so as we go along, I will discuss whether or not I think that’s
true. I’ve always wanted to see this movie – I remember the
VHS box on the shelves of my childhood rental house, Jumbo Video. I didn’t have
much say in what we – my three brothers – and I rented back then because I was
the middle sibling and my older brothers knew what the best horror films were. For whatever reason, we never rented
this one, or if we did, I don’t remember it.
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Donny Kohler (Dan Grimaldi of The Sopranos) is mentally disturbed. He hears the voices of a strange woman inside his head (okay
– so the Psycho comparisons begin)
and he talks to her out loud – but I have a sneaking suspicion that mother is
dead. Danny is bringing her tea
and – yes, she’s definitely dead. Don't
Go in The House was influenced by the very true story of Ed Gein which
basically means that comparisons to Deranged
and Psycho are inevitable. Throw in a
bit of Maniac (which opened the same
year) with a new weapon of choice- fire - and you've basically got Don't Go In The House.
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Donny is deeply disturbed individual who was emotionally and
physically scarred by burns inflicted on him by his mother. As a child, whenever he did something
she saw as sinful, she would hold his bare arms over a gas stove in an effort
to burn clean his evil doings.
Burning him was his mother’s version of penance. Due to this he has developed
a secret obsession with fire and human combustion. During his job at an
incinerator, he observes a co-worker catch on fire. Instead of going for help, he stares at the burning co-worker
mesmerized and completely under the spell of the fire.
When he returns home he finds his mother has died. While he
is free from her possessiveness, the only life he has ever known is gone, and
with it his chance for revenge against her. He sets out to avenge himself on
every woman who bears a resemblance to his hateful parent.
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Donny is deeply disturbed – he poor head is getting pulled
in two different directions – by the strange woman’s voice who encourages
“sinful” behavior like playing music loudly and dancing, and his mother who
encourages him to be chaste.
Flashbacks of Donny’s torture on behalf of his mother are shown – and
it’s very upsetting watching a mother force her child’s arms over the flames on
a shove. The child isn’t a very
good actor, so the pain isn’t as convincing as it could be – but the scene is
still upsetting, nonetheless.
Donny meets his first victim in the flower shop. Even though the shop eis closed, he
claims that he needs to buy flowers for his sick mother, and the storekeeper,
Kathy Jordan (Johanna Brushay) lets him in. When she misses her bus, Donny offers her a ride home. Grimaldi is a great actor, and he’s
very convincing as the sociopath psycho killer. Psycho comparisons
aside, he really is a perfect Norman Bates for the late 70s/early 80s. Donny convinces Kathy to come into the
house (which can’t be good, hence the film’s title). As spectators, we fear for Kathy the minute she walks into
the house because we know how messed up Donny is. Kathy begins to catch on fairly early when Donny keeps
making excuses for not driving her home.
As she calls a cab, Donny knows her out cold and she is chained naked in
a tiny room in Donny’s house. The
musical score sounds gialli influenced, like something Claudio Simonetti would
have written.
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In what is one of the most upsetting horror kills of all
time (so claims the Video Nasties list), Donny pours a bucket of gasoline over
Kathy’s naked body and TORCHES her.
In a shot that includes full frontal nudity, Kathy burns to death,
screaming as she goes up in flames.
Donny keeps her burnt and crispy body in his house where he can keep an
eye on her, but her image continues to haunt him – she appears in his house,
still alive – demonstrating how Donny’s grasp on reality and mental sanity is completely
slipping away from him.
Stylistically, the film is shot really well – making
excellent use of dark shadows and stark rooms in the house. One shot I particularly love is the POV
from Kathy’s perspective after she has been burnt. Donny sets her body up in a rocking chair and when he hits
her across the face for laughing at him (he’s hearing things), a POV shot is
shown from her perspective as she rocks back and forth, panning up and down on
Donny. Most of the film is shot in
the house, and all of the set pieces are very old – the wallpaper is peeling
off of the walls in Donny’s room, and the furniture looks antique and in bad
condition, which all adds up to give the film a really creepy feel.
The film also does a great job of exploring the inside of
Donny’s sick and twisted mind – in a nightmare, he sees explosions of fire and
burnt bodies reaching from the ground to pull him down into hell. Speaking of hell, Donny visits a
church, lights a few candles and stares at religious frescos. A priest approaches him and recognizes
him right away. Donny shows the
priest the burns on his arms, and confides in him that his mother was the one
who harmed him. Don’t Go In The House shows us the worst
that can happen if a child is raised in a strictly religious, dysfunctional and
misinformed household. Donny grew
up believing he was a sinner that needed to be punished, and as a result, he
has become the ultimate sinner – too far gone for the priest to help him. During the church scene, I almost feel sorry for Donny, seeing him
once again as a helpless little boy who still seeks the approval of his cruel
mother. Innocently, he still
believes that God and holy water can save them both. He begs God to help him forgive his mother before walking
out of the dark house and into the light of the day. Perhaps Donny can be saved?
Donny calls his friend, Bobby, who might as well be the
devil himself – he tells Donny he has two girls that are “dynamite”. Donny tells Bobby he’d rather spend the
night at a movie or talking, but Bobby wants to get down with the ladies. They decide to meet at 8 at the Palace
Disco, and we know that it’s all going to go downhill for Donny from here.
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Donny takes a moment to stare at himself in a glass window,
signifying his duplicitous nature.
Other than talking to his mother or the strange woman, Donny looks at
himself, longing for answers that come from within. He wants to be accepted and like so he buys a whole new
wardrobe before heading to the disco club. Don’t Go In The House
is definitely dated, but it’s a wide-open window into the world of boogie
wonderland in the late 70s. Donny even manages to fake normality inside the
club, other than the fact that he doesn’t like to dance. One of the girl’s Bobby has brought
along does a sensual disco lap dance for Donny and all of a sudden – I want him
to kill her because I simply can’t take this disco music much longer.
In another outrageous scene, as Donny is holding hands with
the girl, shots of his child arms being burned over the stove are
juxtapositioned with shots of them holding hands. Donny throws a flame onto the girl’s hair in the middle of
the discoteque and she screams out in pain. Donny manages to make it out of the club, driving home and
hearing voices once again – the disco dancer wasn’t enough, he picks up two girls,
Suzanne (O’Mara Leary) and Patty (Gail Turner) on the side of the road who are
looking for a ride. Both girls are
surprisingly really great actresses.
It’s because of movies like Don’t
Go In The House that hitchhiking has become a big NO-NO for modern day
women.
Bobby and the priest go over to Donny’s house because they
know that something is very, very wrong with him. They hear the crying screams of Suzanne and Patty, and find
them tied up in the same metal room where Donny burned Kathy to death.
This film gets better and better – I don’t want to spoil the
very last scene for you if you haven’t seen the film, but Donny’s past murders
come back to haunt him, and the flames that used to protect him and absolve him
from evil can no longer help him.
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Don’t Go In The House
is about the battle between good and evil and our internal human struggle that
occurs after a life that is wrought with abuse and misconstrued religion. In the final scene of the film, we see
another young boy being physically abused by his mother and it implies that the
cycle will continue. Don’t Go In The House is a true gem of
exploitation horror cinema – and a must see if you’re into obscure horror films
from this era.
xox
Lianne Spiderbaby
Donny Kohler (Dan Grimaldi of The Sopranos) is mentally disturbed. He hears the voices of a strange woman inside his head (okay
– so the Psycho comparisons begin)
and he talks to her out loud – but I have a sneaking suspicion that mother is
dead. Danny is bringing her tea
and – yes, she’s definitely dead. Don't
Go in The House was influenced by the very true story of Ed Gein which
basically means that comparisons to Deranged
and Psycho are inevitable. Throw in a
bit of Maniac (which opened the same
year) with a new weapon of choice- fire - and you've basically got Don't Go In The House. 
Donny calls his friend, Bobby, who might as well be the
devil himself – he tells Donny he has two girls that are “dynamite”. Donny tells Bobby he’d rather spend the
night at a movie or talking, but Bobby wants to get down with the ladies. They decide to meet at 8 at the Palace
Disco, and we know that it’s all going to go downhill for Donny from here. 
.preview.JPG)
