The people that worked on this movie may not have had a conventional idea of how a horror film works but they did a damn good job creating a character in the throes of madness. I say this because director Joseph Ellison only worked on one other film and it wasn’t a horror movie. Certain talented directors hone in on the roots of psychological terror and here it is presented wonderfully.
Donny Kohler is a pariah stuck in the midst of late 70s libertinism. He is a broken young man; a schizophrenic with a troubled childhood. As a kid his mother would pull out his arms across the burning stove and let the flames “purify” him from sin. He works at a garbage incinerator plant. Fire is all around him and it is only natural that when he snaps he would kill with that disastrous flamethrower. To add to the impact, he wears an asbestos suit (a suit that protects against fire) with the heavy hood and foggy glass visor. Arriving home from work one night he finds his mother dead and this opens up Pandora’s box, releasing pent up violence and wild delusion.
From here on out he stalks young women, luring them into his house (hence the title). Then he strings them up naked, by their hands, like a piece of meat on a hook. This all takes place in some kind of steel plated room he happens to have?!…in the house that he shared with mom?! You know I don’t really care about the how or the why because this scene is jaw-dropping fantastic. The beast stands with the full bulky outfit, big-ass flamethrower and a naked girl hanging like a pig. He douses the victim with paint thinner and burns them alive!! Unfortunately we only get to see the full murder scenario once. Although there is no blood in the film the burn effects and burn victim makeup is cool. He keeps the decaying, charred, corpses in the house and often has nightmares and hallucinations in which these zombie like victims rise up to get him. I would have wanted to see more flame thrower action but sometimes less is more.
A friend from work invites Donny to hang with some horny girls at a disco club. Donny doesn’t want to dance, and when pressed, he sets a fat girl’s head on fire with a table candle. Her brother catches up with Donny and pummels him saying “You scarred her for life.” I found that hilarious and laughed out loud! Donny flees in his pick-up truck and finds two drunk girls wanting a ride. He makes up something about throwing a party at his house, to which they reply “far out!” I wanted to see these women naked but we don’t because his murder ritual is interrupted by unwanted guests. All the excitement turns into a fearful hallucination where the zombie-like victims circle around him. Donny ignites the flamethrower INSIDE the house (not in the special steel room) and sets the whole place on fire and gets burned up himself. Those who live by the fire die by the fire.
After watching this movie I was not sure whether to assign it 2 or 3 stars. Everything that happens is cool and fun and creepy. But I couldn’t fully immerse myself in the story. I couldn’t get lost in the flames or in the killer’s psychological clockwork. In theory I should have loved this film, since I love serial killer profiles. Just writing up this review entices me to watch the movie again. I think about the zombie hallucinations, Donny’s complex character and the wonderfully original idea of having a serial killer with a flamethrower!! Quentin Tarantino selected this film to be included in his film fest in 1996! I’d certainly watch it again and definitively recommend this to you sickos!
3 / 5 STARS
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