Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Over the years, various indie horror filmmakers have cult followings, sometimes for the low quality of the films (Ed Wood and Andy Milligan spring to mind). Probably because of the high profiles of these schlockmeisters, low budget horror films from the 1970s seem, almost without exception, to be synonymous with bad movie making. The movies of S.F. Brownrigg are not part of that group.Yeah, it's all opinion, but come on, look at his work. Or more specifically, THIS work, lensed in Jefferson TX and utilizing one of the most beautiful Victorian houses I've ever seen. I won't spend much time talking about the story because others have already covered that. A young woman returns to her childhood home (where her mother was murdered 13 years before) to care for her ailing grandmother. She's menaced by an obscene phone caller. That's it.Wait a minute. That's really just a springboard for something deeper. The plot hardly has any twists (or twists you don't see coming), but look at the various aspects of the production. Brownrigg had a dedicated stock company of actors, who gamely took on whatever role he gave them. The acting runs from competent to excellent--there's nary a bad performance in this, or any other Brownrigg movie. He had a penchance for casting gorgeous female leads, and Susan Bracken is no exception. Looking like a BABY DOLL-era Carroll Baker, Bracken is not only lovely, but feisty as well. You can't take your eyes off her. Larry O'Dwyer may have only appeared in this movie, but he turned in a performance that ranks up there as one of the creepiest in all of Brownrigg's oeuvre. It's both icky and believable; anyone who's lived in a small town knows somebody who fits this profile. Despite being filmed in Texas, there's a deep South vibe to this flick, one that lends itself to a suffocating, insane atmosphere. You can almost feel the humidity and deep, dark secrets festering in the shadows of tradition and heritage. And the house . . . Brownrigg utilized The House of the Seasons, an ornate Victorian confection that, as of this writing, is open as a B & B in Jefferson. The house boasts a cupola decorated by a stained glass dome, a setting that plays prominently in one action sequence. Don't think this film is competently made? Check out the tracking sequence that follows Bracken's character as she moves up the stairwell into the cupola. That's not the kind of thing you see in low-budget 1970s horror, and it's not the kind of shot attempted by a no-talent hack. Brownrigg didn't let budgetary contraints put the kibosh on a creative filmmaking.And those dolls . . . is there anything creepier? A real historical society museum and doll museum were used as filming locales, and Brownrigg was savvy enough to use some of the dolls in his title sequence. Accompanied by a harpsichord-heavy score, the sequence, a series of pans across the doll's faces on a black background, is suitable unnerving. I was reminded of Tobe Hooper's opening sequence for THE FUNHOUSE (which of course was filmed nearly 10 years later), in which the creepy automatons emerge from sliding panels. Atmosphere is as thick as the air on a mid-summer's Texas day. Good acting, creative camera angles, ingenious use of locals, a looming sense of dread--what more can I say? Way to go, Brownie!

"Don't Hang Up" AKA "Don't Open The Door" The first hour of this film felt like two hours or more worth of watching... it dragged and dragged. By the time there was 1/2 hour left I really didn't care who lived or died - I wished they would all just die. I wished a big meteorite fell on top of the house with all of them in it and it was over with... but it didn't happen that way so I fast-forwarded the film to see this "great ending" (please note the sarcasm).Most of the film is just about this Amanda Post girl that hardly ever checks on her sick grandma - the supposed reason for going to the house to begin with. At one point, the doctor came and asked how long has the grandma been asleep and airheaded Amanda says "Oh since I've been here... about 12 hours" then she realized she really hasn't checked on her grandma in all that time - she's been too busy enjoying the house, answering the phone and talking to people that keep running in and out of the home.Really just a stupid movie with an airhead as the so-called star of the show - she's cute but a real airhead.1/10

Don't Open the Door! (1975) * 1/2 (out of 4) Thirteen years after seeing her mother brutally murdered, Amanda (Susan Bracken) returns to her hometown when she receives a call saying that her grandmother is about to die. Soon after arriving Amanda starts to realize that something strange is happening and after receiving some prank calls she realizes she's not safe. Director S.F. Brownrigg made five films in his career and he's gained a pretty big cult following over the years and it's interesting to read reviews from his fans because all of them are mixed on what film of his is the great. The most popular is certainly DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT but it seems that this film has some calling it his best with others saying it's his worst. I think the film shows some growth from Brownrigg's 1973 film but at the same time there are still many problems here. First for the good stuff. The pacing of the film is certainly much better than what we previously saw from the director and it's really too bad that this more upbeat pacing wasn't used in earlier films because they could have been much better. The pacing certainly helps this film because the story is so lacking in many different ways. For starters, there's really not too much going on. You should be able to identify the killer before the twenty-minute mark so there's really no surprises as you work towards the end. Another problem is that we're often sitting through scenes that just drag on without any purpose and none of them really effect what's going on. The performances here are all rather mixed but I thought Bracken did a decent job in the lead and fans of DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT will be happy to see some of the patients from that film in roles here. Brownrigg once again makes some nice atmosphere but it's pretty much wasted due to the weak story.

I admit it. I love this film. True, it has it's drawbacks...like how in many scenes you hear a lot of camera noise and see the boom mike popping up here and there. Also, this thing is real low-budget. However, the acting is retty good (especially from Susan Bracken) and there are some scenes that are really chilling. The plot deals with a curvaceous blonde named Amanda returning to her hometown to care for her sick grandmother. Years ago her mother was stabbed to death there by an unknown slasher. Once she is back at the house, a freaked out transvestite starts axing random folks and calling Amanda, seducing her and whispering perverse lines over the phone. The music is cheesy but good and there are some really creepy scenes involving dolls and a lot of twisted little touches. The gore is low and the ending is somewhat disappointing, but overall this movie is quite watchable.