By Stephen Pytak 

     This is Tobe's best film since...lemme 
think...ummmmm...1986.
     Yes. It's been that long.
     While it's not the most original thing
to come along (like Hooper's "Chain Saw" 
was back in 1974), and it's a remake of 
sorts, there's a lot of neat tricks in this 
"Toolbox."
     There are mysteries, a few decent
scares, some grizzly murders  and 
a twisted deformed maniac who ranks up 
there among some of Hooper's best.
     He's referred to in the credits as "Coffin
 Baby" and one character in the flick 
describes him as something "born of 
death."
     He resides on the fifth floor of a
run down apartment complex in 
Hollywood, but his suite is unique
because it's hidden inside the building.
     In there, we find darkness, a 
workbench, a table saw and bodies
and bodies and more bodies. It's like
he hired Leatherface to do his interior
decorating.
     There are shades of "Texas Chain
Saw Massacre" and "The Funhouse (1980)"
here. And, like the boogeymen in those
films, this guy's also a dependent.
     "Chainsaw's" Leatherface was tied
to his dysfunctional family. So was the
"Funhouse" freak. But "Coffin Baby" is
somehow connected to the building he 
haunts. There's a spiritual/supernatural 
element at work here. And, somehow, it 
keeps this strange dude walking around, 
among other things.
     The reason he's offing tenants with
the stuff in his tool box is because the
building is undergoing renovations.
     "It taps into something that keeps
him alive," one character explains. "If
they change the building, they'll 
destroy him."
     It doesn't make a whole hell of a 
lot of sense. But it was fun just the
same.
     I'd like to read an interview with the
filmmakers to find out more about this
guy's back story. In particular, I'd like 
to know why he looks the way he does. 
     It's almost like he's wearing people's 
faces, but he's not tying them on with 
leather straps. Looks like he's stapling, 
screwing or perhaps nailing them to his 
skull.
     Whatever his game is, he's definitely a
curious character.
     As I was watching this film on my 
computer monitor the other night, I kept 
asking myself if it was better than the 
original movie called "The Toolbox 
Murders (1978)"
     I like them both for different reasons. 
     This new version is the kind of weird 
Hooper is good at bringing to the screen.
He's revisiting old territory.
     Like his previous terror films, this
is a journey into the unknown.
     The story is about a young couple 
who move into this crappy apartment 
complex. Our main character is the
wife, "Nell (played by Angela Bettis.)"
     While she's exploring this strange
joint, she notices a lot of far out stick 
symbols on the walls.
     When one of her neighbors 
disappears, Nell starts a strange 
investigation, and it takes her into the 
bowels of this place.
     Meanwhile, the maniac gets his hands 
dirty again and again.
     There's a very effective murder at the 
top of the show with a claw hammer, and
Rob Zombie's wife is at the business end 
of it.
     Hooper also pays homage to the 
original "Toolbox" by staging a nail gun 
murder. But realizing there was no way 
to beat the one in the original film, he 
took a different approach. It's not as
effective, but the "Coffin Baby" used a lot
more nails than Cameron Mitchell did.
     There's also a cool kill where the top
of a guy's head gets severed clean off.
There's also a scene with a drill I liked.
Fans of splatter will at least appreciate
the film for that.
     The film was released on Region 1
DVD by Lion's Gate. It features two
audio commentaries: one with Hooper, 
writer/actor Adam Gierasch and writer
Jace Anderson; and another with the
producers. 
     There are also extras including some
cut scenes, including an extended version
of the drill murder. Very wet.