Crawlspace (1986)
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Duration: 80 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: David Schmoeller
Stars: Klaus Kinski, Talia Balsam and Barbara Whinnery
IMDb score:
5,3 (4.400)
Releasedate: 21 May 1986
Crawlspace plot
"Someone is watching ..."
A crazy doctor runs a seemingly quiet boarding house for aspiring actresses. His guests feel safe there, but are unaware that the house has a complex system of ventilation shafts through which the owner crawls to watch the ladies. In addition, some corridors lead to secret rooms with torture and murder tools.
Actors and actresses
Karl Gunther
Lori Bancroft
Harriet Watkins
Jessica Marlow
Sophie Fisher
Martha White
Alfred Lassiter
Hank Storm
Josef Steiner
First Victim (uncredited)
Reviews & comments
Valak
-
- 626 messages
- 407 votes
Recently watched on AMC, a bit of a forgotten little horror movie.
With a great enigmatic main character (Dr. Gunther) played by Klaus Kinski. - The first time I saw this brilliant actor appear in a film, but I am now extremely curious about the rest of his oeuvre. Man, what a fantastic, special (and scary) actor.
Perfect look for a role like 'creep'.
The film takes place in (or just outside) an apartment building (which in my opinion has a very nice, warm decoration), which also contributes very strongly to the oppressive atmosphere of the film, with the idea of 'there is no escape possible'.
The murders are not very graphic, (except for what we see afterwards), they almost all happen off-camera, but they still achieve their goal.
The strongest and most moving is the game that Kinski plays with himself: his own psychoanalytic diary, his belief in fate, and the confrontation with himself, including with regard to his dark past; all make for a very powerful character.
If there's one thing I learned from this movie, it's: Never ignore a tapping sound!
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
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- 11421 messages
- 6719 votes
Very mediocre.
I think Crawlspace owes its status to Kinski's infamous tirades behind the scenes. I also find it difficult to imagine that this film has acquired a status thanks to the images that are on the screen, because I thought it all looked mediocre with only a small number of highlights.
Despite the fact that he has behaved like a bag of hay behind the scenes and in a lot of other films, Kinski does a nice job here. His strange, almost alien appearance ensures that he creates a special character who knows how to keep you interested from start to finish. He doesn't have much competition either, because the other cast members all portray very uninteresting characters.
The visual style has its advantages, but director Schmoeller does not always know how to do much with it. The camera movements are probably the highlight of the film, because the film is less concerned with the traps, corridors and furnishings themselves. There are certainly some funny ideas, but these are only weakly brought to life and fail to intrigue.
The finale is performed at a slightly faster pace, but Kinski putting make-up on himself is actually too funny for words, which means that the film itself can no longer be taken seriously. Schmoeller also never really manages to create a feeling of claustrophobia, while these types of films are a good opportunity to do something cool with it and convey this phobia as much as possible.
Overall, this is a movie that could have been good, but lacks charisma, substance, flow and good acting. Kinski comes to an end with his strange behavior, and the finale is nice, but it lacks some extras on all sides and that is a shame, because with the right approach this could certainly have become a special and peculiar film.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Noodless
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- 10053 messages
- 6185 votes
We know that Klaus Kinski was not an easy actor and especially behind the scenes he was an annoying person with a lot of arrogance. In this film he is perfectly cast as a pathetic, nasty, crazy doctor who runs a boarding house for aspiring actresses as a landlord. He only rents out his rooms to ladies he manages to spy on from the ventilation shafts. The scenes where he moves through the system of ventilation shafts and uses his laboratory animals (rats) and small traps are nicely depicted. His secret room, which is full of all kinds of traps and recordings with references to Hitler and the Nazis also gives a nasty impression of the crazy personality of the doctor who is constantly looking for satisfaction from his own torture and murders. . An example is the recurring suicidal tendency with the gun from which he draws the strength to continue when he fails. So be it! This is also a link to the final scene when fate will overtake one of its intended victims. It's a bit of a shame that you don't see most of the murders of the female victims and only see their deaths through the eyes of the main character.
The most notable actress who provides some nude scenes is the sexy blonde Tane McClure, although it all remains very tame. Apparently also her first roll of film. Later she will mainly be seen in erotic thrillers. Thanks to Kinski and the complex system of ventilation shafts in the boarding house, a film that is sufficiently entertaining. 6/10
Translated from Dutch · View original
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