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her head, setting her hair on fire. Donny flees the disco, and en route home encounters two drunk women whom he convinces to come home with him. Bobby tries to find Donny and retrieves Father
Gerritty on his way to Donny's house. When no one answers the front door, they break it down and rescue the two women. Donny sets Father Gerritty ablaze with his flamethrower, but Bobby manages to put out the flames and rescue him. Donny takes refuge inside his mother's bedroom. The voices express their disappointment in him, and the burned corpses come to life and attack him. He frantically fights them but dies; they drag him to the floor as the house burns down around him.
369:
293:. The following day, Donny fails to show up to work, and instead kidnaps a stranded female motorist, again murdering her by immolation. He then proceeds to singe his mother's corpse before dressing it in her clothing. Donny repeats the same murder scenario that night with Linda, a woman he assails at a grocery store, and arranges her alongside his mother and the other two female victims.
485:"is one of those rare films that works really well despite the fact that rips off better-known movies" and "it's a bitter, ugly, and nasty little horror movie that doesn't pull any punches and is just as seedy today as it was when it was made. It's effective in that it gets under your skin despite its low budget origins and obvious flaws".
308:
Later, Donny accepts his friend Bobby's invitation to go on a double date at a disco. When Donny's date tries to pull him onto the dance floor, she inadvertently brushes his arm over the table's lighted candle, triggering memories of his childhood abuse. Enraged, Donny smashes the candleholder onto
281:
The following day, Donny calls in sick to work and spends the day lining an upstairs room with aluminum, effectively fireproofing it. That night, he visits a flower shop right before closing and is sold flowers for his mother by a florist named Kathy Jordan. Outside the shop, Donny witnesses Kathy
29:
426:
attracted controversy almost immediately because of its graphic depiction of the death of Kathy Jordan, Donny Kohler's first victim, and the central theme of childhood abuse. The film was cut by almost three minutes when it was released in
Britain in the winter of 1980, but an uncut version was
312:
Sometime later, a young boy named
Michael watches the news report about Donny's death. His mother scolds and beats him for not turning off the television as she asks him to. When she leaves the room, Michael hears the same voices as Donny did, and they tell him that they have come to 'help' him.
541:
announced they would be releasing a new special edition Blu-ray on
January 25, 2022. Arrow Video released a special edition Blu-Ray in the UK in February 2022 as 2 disc edition and a special "Video Nasty" 3 disc limited edition, giving viewers the chance to watch the original remastered uncut
277:
home he shares with his now-elderly mother, Donny finds that she has died in her upstairs bedroom. This spurs mixed emotions—initially of excitement, as he is finally freed from her—but alternately, fear, as he begins to hear a disembodied voice in the house that seems to be hers.
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of his burnt mother, who appears to stalk him inside the house. Donny spends hours regaling stories of his life to the four corpses, which he has arranged and posed in chairs in a bedroom. Riddled with guilt over what he has done, Donny visits Father
Gerritty, his local
260:
was released one year later in the spring of 1980, and was met with sharp criticism from film critics due to its graphic depictions of violence, particularly a sequence in which the protagonist burns a nude woman alive with a flamethrower.
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miss her bus before being harangued by a group of men. When Donny offers her a ride, she accepts. Donny talks Kathy into meeting his mother, but she grows nervous once inside and attempts to call for a taxi before Donny incapacitates her.
532:
on
November 29, 2005. Shriek Show would later re-release the film on February 5, 2008, as a part of its three-disk "Grindhouse Psychos!" film pack. American boutique home video label Scorpion Releasing then released the film on
273:—his fixation stems back to his childhood, during which his sadistic, abusive mother would burn him on their gas stove to "burn the evil out of him." After returning from his factory job one evening to the dilapidating
475:, Joseph Bensoua was critical of the film, writing that it "should be avoided at all costs unless, of course, you want to be bored to death. The entire movie lacks suspense or terror and follows a cut-and-dried plot."
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released on video by the Arcade label in 1982 – knowingly or not, they advertised the release as "a true 'nasty' from Arcade", and it quickly wound up on the
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Donny's friend Bobby phones him that night and warns him that their boss will fire Donny if he fails to show up to work again. Meanwhile, Donny is haunted by
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gave the film a similar rating, writing, "Grim is the only word for Joseph
Ellison's psychological terror movie" and "It's easy to forget just how
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felt the film was underappreciated, and called it "a dark, chilling, grim and gruesome depiction of the tragic repercussions of child abuse".
435:. The pre-cut British cinema version was released on video by the Apex label in April 1987, though the film was finally passed uncut in 2011.
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241:. Its plot follows a disturbed man who, after suffering an abusive childhood in which his mother punished him with burning, becomes a
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Kathy regains consciousness and finds herself naked and chained to the ceiling of the metal-walled room. Donny enters the room in a
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panned the film for its depiction of violence, writing: "I would love to be flip and sarcastic about a new horror picture called
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from
February–March 1979. At the time, the Strauss Mansion was in a state of disrepair and had been used as low-income housing.
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is a chilly reminder of times when practically anything went". In a retrospective, Dave J. Wilson from
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468:... But I can't. This movie is so sick and grotesque that it makes you spit nails." Writing for the
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much of
American genre cinema was as the 70s turned into the 80s (especially with the avalanche of
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written and directed by Joseph
Ellison, written by Ellen Hammill and Joe Masefield, and starring
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827:"Retrospective: Don't Go in the House (1980) - Ignore the Warning and Go In - Dread Central"
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holds a 50% approval rating based on 5 critic reviews, with an average rating of 3.75/10.
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in 2019 as a double LP, making it the first-ever soundtrack release for the film.
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673:"Retrospective: Don't Go in the House (1980) – Ignore the Warning and Go In"
632:"Slasher Classic 'Don't Go in the House' Gets First-Ever Soundtrack Release"
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version, the extended version as well as watching it in a retro 'VHS' form.
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881:"DELIRIUM and DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE Blu-ray Releases Unveiled by Severin"
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by DVD Ltd on December 2, 1998. It was later released on DVD by
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on May 15, 1988. The film was released for the first time on
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was originally given regional theatrical release, opening in
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gave the film a three and a half out of five, writing that,
537:, uncut for the very first time in 2015. In November 2021,
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American film distribution : the changing marketplace
289:, douses Kathy in gasoline, and burns her alive using a
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who kidnaps and burns alive any women who resemble her.
660:. April 6, 1980. p. 84 – via Newspapers.com.
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Donny Kohler is a withdrawn man in his thirties who is
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The film was shot in the Strauss Mansion in New Jersey
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Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
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1980 American horror film directed by Joseph Ellison
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379:was filmed on location at the Strauss Mansion in
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853:"Don't Go in the House (1980) - Joseph Ellison"
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654:"Don't Go in the House trade advertisement"
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422:Despite some respectable critical notices,
252:Filmed in the historic Strauss Mansion in
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752:. p. 35 – via Newspapers.com.
733:. p. E8 – via Newspapers.com.
893:from the original on November 21, 2021.
619:from the original on November 21, 2021.
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497:that was just round the corner), but
329:Colin Mclnness as Young Donald Kohler
7:
630:Thiessen, Brock (October 25, 2019).
744:Bensoua, Joseph (August 27, 1980).
562:; it was also alternately known as
558:The title is sometimes stylized as
593:. UMI Research Press. p. 294.
349:Ralph D. Bowman as Father Gerritty
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352:Joey Peschl as Bobby Tuttle's son
671:Wilson, Dave (October 1, 2016).
995:Obscenity controversies in film
975:Films scored by Richard Einhorn
723:Stark, John (August 14, 1980).
520:. It was re-released on VHS by
391:The film score was composed by
358:Eileen Dunn as Michael's mother
343:Johanna Brushay as Kathy Jordan
879:Evry, Max (November 5, 2021).
746:"'Don't Go In' is deadly dull"
697:"Don't Go in the House (1980)"
587:Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987).
381:Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey
254:Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey
1:
1015:English-language horror films
825:Wilson, Dave (October 2016).
763:Jane, Ian (11 January 2006).
725:"Don't go in the movie house"
431:'s list of banned titles, or
1020:English-language crime films
1005:1980s English-language films
960:American serial killer films
355:Christian Isidore as Michael
980:Films set in country houses
794:Kerswell, JA (2 May 2008).
346:Ruth Dardick as Mrs. Kohler
340:Robert Osth as Bobby Tuttle
151:Film Ventures International
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955:American independent films
256:from February–March 1979,
990:Films about mental health
950:1980s serial killer films
920:Don't Go in the House
909:Don't Go in the House
326:as Donald 'Donny' Kohler
33:Theatrical release poster
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985:Films shot in New Jersey
518:Media Home Entertainment
165:March 28, 1980
970:Films about child abuse
965:Films about Catholicism
514:Don't Go into the House
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658:Honolulu Star-Bulletin
560:Don't Go in the House!
461:San Francisco Examiner
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798:Don't Go in the House
767:Don't Go in the House
609:"The Strauss Mansion"
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22:Don't Go in the House
1010:1980s American films
804:hysteria-lives.co.uk
615:. October 30, 2018.
334:Charlie Bonet as Ben
685:on October 7, 2019.
233:is a 1980 American
458:John Stark of the
414:on April 9, 1980.
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337:Bill Ricci as Vito
271:obsessed with fire
141:Turbine Films Inc.
945:1980 horror films
831:Dread Central.com
806:. Hysteria Lives!
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439:Critical response
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90:Dan Grimaldi
773:dvdtalk.com
708:November 6,
564:The Burning
530:Shriek Show
298:apparitions
118:Jane Kurson
109:Oliver Wood
94:Robert Osth
75:Produced by
39:Directed by
940:1980 films
934:Categories
775:. DVD Talk
750:News-Pilot
638:August 11,
634:. Exclaim!
574:References
509:Home media
491:nihilistic
473:News-Pilot
418:Censorship
364:Production
243:pyromaniac
219:Box office
190:92 minutes
169:1980-03-28
134:Production
470:San Pedro
287:fire suit
275:Victorian
214:$ 250,000
115:Edited by
914:AllMovie
891:Archived
886:Fangoria
858:AllMovie
617:Archived
479:DVD Talk
447:website
203:Language
123:Music by
83:Starring
67:Story by
535:Blu-ray
443:On the
403:Release
206:English
195:Country
167: (
136:company
495:cheese
303:priest
211:Budget
173: (
810:3 May
779:3 May
546:Notes
387:Music
925:IMDb
866:2019
839:2019
812:2013
781:2013
710:2019
640:2020
317:Cast
265:Plot
245:and
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526:DVD
429:DPP
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