a_chinn I have a great affection for 70s rednexploitation/hicksploitation films, so my rating for this film may be a bit inflated in comparison to viewers who do not enjoy the likes of "Gator," "Walking Tall," or "Cockfighter." The story follows a young woman who moves into her grandmother's house only to find herself stalked by a madman. A madman with a creepy doll collection, which later figures into why he's stalking her. "Don't Open the Door" is an oddball low budget horror film that's best described an Italian Giallo crossed with "The Town That Dreaded Sundown." It has the low budget drive-in rural east Texas feel of a Charles B. Pierce film, but it also has some hints of Dario Argento and Mario Bava with colorful lighting schemes, inventive camera angles, and a whole lot of extreme close-ups. However, director S.F. Brownrigg is no Argento or Bava (or Pierce, for that matter) and this is certainly no "Bird with the Crystal Plumage." Still, the film does have some effectively creepy moments (including a creepy montage of dolls over the opening credits), but there's no escaping how amateurishly made the film is (and by amateurishly made, I mean badly made).

Coventry There certainly were a lot of "Don't …" horror movies made during the 70's and early 80's. If you obey all these titular commands, you're really not allowed to do a lot of things. Don't be afraid of the dark, don't turn out the light, don't look in the basement, don't look now, don't open the door … Another famous one is "Don't Answer the Phone" but, strangely enough, that's an early 80's movie and this gem is a mid-70's one, so the title wasn't taken yet. If I would have been in writer/director S.F. Brownrigg's shoes, I would have named my screenplay "Don't Answer the Phone" because there are lot of ringing phones and practically no doors that need opening. Anyway, that concludes my totally irrelevant rant as I'm sure you couldn't care less what the movie is called and why.Based on my pleasant viewing experience of Brownrigg's other obscure 70's shocker – "Don't Look in the Basement" – I had fairly high expectations for this one too, but sadly it isn't half as refreshingly original and morbidly engaging as the first. One could righteously claim that "Don't Open the Door" is an influential predecessor of stalk-thrillers like "Scream", but the plot itself is already a shameless variation on the quintessential 70's psycho-stalker classic "Black Christmas" and – let's face it – the subject matter is really too limited to revolve a whole movie on. The opening credits raise the (regretfully) false impression this will become a creepy movie with old and broken dolls, but they quickly turn out to be irrelevant scenery in a story focusing on a young woman returning to her town of birth after 13 years. Amanda receives an anonymous call to inform that her grandmother is dying, but when she arrives in the parental mansion she doesn't exactly get a warm welcoming. Two eminent town members, a judge and a doctor, almost refuse to talk to her and another one, the local museum's curator, just behaves plain awkward. Shortly after, Amanda receives creepy phone calls that gradually increase in length as well as in level of perversity. The voice on the other end of the line even claims responsibility for the death of Amanda's mother; a crime that never got solved."Don't Open the Door" is overall very atmospheric and occasionally even downright frightening. This is largely the courtesy of simple and cheap, yet effective exploitation tricks, like primitive photography and truly moody set-pieces. The phone conversations are long and quite often tedious, but I can't deny the hoarse voice and the slow talking rhythm sounded memorably haunting. Susan Bracken gives away a likable performance as the dame in distress but – as nearly all the other reviewers already pointed out – would it have hurt her to show a little bit of naked flesh? It's just not natural to take a bath in an empty house and keep the towel tight around your waist until the very last second you kneel down in the tub. Personally I much preferred "Don't Look in the Basement" (though admittedly I'm a sucker for horror set in mental asylums) but "Don't Open the Door" is definitely worth seeking out as well in case you're into unexplored 70's cinema. It comes particularly recommended to transvestites, terminally ill grandmothers, paranoid single women, bored museum curators and collectors of mannequin dolls.

ThrownMuse A young woman reluctantly returns to her home town to oversee her dying grandmother's final days. While staying in the house where she witnessed her mumsy's murder thirteen years earlier, she finds more than a few secrets from her past have come back to haunt her. I appreciate that this movie has such strange execution. It's structure is very different from the typical low-budget horrors of this era, completely eschewing things like mystery (the killer's identity is obvious from the get-go) and resolution. Plot-wise, it borrows from proto-slashers BLACK Christmas and SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT. While it's lesser than both of those films in terms of quality, I did find it undeniably charming, entertaining, and even creepy at times. While the acting in the movie is generally amateur, Susan Bracken is a hoot as the spunky lead who gets to spout some amusing dialogue. She quickly flips the switch from headstrong heroine to full-on basket case and there's not a moment she's on screen where my eyes weren't on her face. It's one of the most memorable horror performances I've watched lately. The movie's biggest downfall is the irritating soap opera-ish theme song in the opening credits that pops up way too often throughout the movie. The freaky dolls in the opening sequence (who also pop up at other points in the movie) sort of make up for it. DON'T OPEN THE DOOR doesn't make much sense and it isn't going to be for everyone, but I found it to be a bizarre and unique viewing experience.

joboyle Well, Scream ripped this movie off. Mother killed by slasher... check. Phone Calls... check. Stalking of daughter by killer... CHECK. Totally ripped this lame piece of s**** off!!!!! Grrrrrrrrr! I mean really, Scream was lame... but in a different way. This movie is worth watching for laughs only, no scares here, no horror. But if you like cheese and the eighties, find it and try to get it cheap! Try Dollar Video.