Friday, May 8, 2009

Robert R. Best - Don't Look in the Basement


A young nurse is hired at a privately-owned mental institution. Where she lives in the same house as the patients. Do such places exist? Who knows. If that's a serious question for you, though, you're expecting too much from this movie.

The movie isn't especially sensitive or realistic in depicting the mentally ill, but it doesn't come across as especially mean-spirited in that front, either. You have the wacky, sympathetic patients. And you have the mean, scary patients. And the stern woman running the institute. Patients start dying. The nurse is in danger. And so on.

It's all really rather dull until a surprisingly effective ending. Almost like they filmed a good, creepy short film, then filmed a bunch of filler to pad out the beginning. The low-budget 70's atmosphere also lends it a grime and sleaziness that helps it along.

If you find it as part of a cheapo box set, like I did, its worth a watch.

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