Don't Go In the House - Dan Grimaldi

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "The Burning" )

directed by Joseph Ellison
USA 1980

A disturbed man descends into an inferno of madness in this thriller. Donald Kohler (Dan Grimaldi) was raised by an... abusive mother who frequently punished him by thrusting his arms into open flame. As an adult, Kohler has developed a malign obsession with fire and works at a garbage incineration plant while still living at his mother's house. One night, Kohler returns home to discover his mother has died, but after a brief moment of freedom he begins hearing her voice commanding him to punish women who might tempt her errant son. Kohler builds a fireproof room in the house and starts luring women he meets at random to his home, where they're burned alive by the disturbed pyromaniac. Bobby (Robert Osth), one of his few friends at work, tries to help bring Kohler out of his shell and even fixes him up with a date, but an evening at a disco takes an ugly turn, revealing Kohler's deadly obsession. Don't Go In The House was the first film role for Dan Grimaldi, who later went on to play Patsy Parisi on the HBO series The Sopranos.

***

IN A STEEL ROOM BUILT FOR REVENGE THEY DIE BURNING... IN CHAINS

Most horror killers like to slash and slice their victims but little Donny prefers setting them alight in Don't Go In The House, a sleazy reminder of just how shocking horror movies could get in the video nasty era.

Donny is a disturbed kid... A mother s boy if you will. That is until mother expires and Donny s world crumbles in on itself. Now, lonely, adrift and enslaved to dark voices in his head, Donny seeks female companionship but drinks and dancing are the last thing on his mind. Mother s telling him he s a bad boy and the voices won t let him rest. Maybe if he just gets a girl home and into his steel lined burning chamber, the chatter might quiet down...

Now see Don't Go In The House complete and uncut and revel in the surreal sleaze, low rent Hitchcock melodrama, off Broadway acting and extreme, heat-seared violence of an independent horror classic that still retains its ability drop jaws, rattle cages and offend sensibilities over 30 years later.

Posters

Theatrical Release: 28 March 1980 (USA)

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DVD Comparison:

Shriek Show/Media Blasters - Region 1 - NTSC vs. ArrowDrome - Region 2 - PAL

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas and Gary Tooze for the Screen Caps!

(Shriek Show/Media Blasters - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. ArrowDrome - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Shriek Show/Media Blasters Region 1 - NTSC	ArrowDrome Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	1:22:54	1:19:39 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.79:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 8.13 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.8 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Shriek Show/Media Blasters
Bitrate: ArrowDrome
Audio	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
Subtitles	none	none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Shriek Show/Media Blasters Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.79:1 Edition Details: • Introduction by Dan Grimaldi (4:3; 0:11) • Audio Commentary with star Dan Grimaldi • Interview with star Dan Grimaldi (4:3; 11:24) • Theatrical Trailer (16:9; 1:35) • Teaser (16:9; 0:40) • Unmatted Scene 1 (4:3; 3:56) • Unmatted Scene 2 (4:3; 1:46) • Trailers for ONE DARK NIGHT, DEVIL DOG, ANTHROPOPHAGUS, and THE BEING • Easter Egg: Ad sheets for DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE DVD Release Date: 29 November 2005 Amaray Chapters 12	Release Information: Studio: ArrowDrome Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Teaser (16:9; 0:40) • Theatrical Trailer (16:9; 1:35) • Arrow Trailers • Reversible Sleave • Liner Notes Booklet by Anthony Thorne DVD Release Date: 26 March 2012 Amaray Chapters 12

Comments

Shriek Show's release wins hand down when it comes to the extras (including commentary and an interview with star Dan Grimaldi); however, Shriek Show has once again marred their dual-layer, high bitrate transfer by giving it an interlaced encoding (although sourced from a European master - courtesy of German sales company Atlas International - it runs at the correct 24fps projection speed). A note at the beginning states that it is presented at 1.85:1 as per the cinematographer's wishes. It's closer to 1.80:1, and it seems like a sliver of matte was added to the top and bottom of the frame to a 1.78:1 transfer since the Atlas logo is slightly cropped.

An unmatted version of one of the death scenes involving frontal nudity is included as an extra (a second unmatted scene during the disco sequence doesn't appear to reveal anything special).

Shriek Show's disc of DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE is also available in the thrifty 3-disc set GRINDHOUSE PSYCHOS with COP KILLERS and TENEMENT available HERE.

Eric Cotenas

***

Don't Go Into the House is more polished than I was anticipating. It is still a limited production but someone knew what they were doing here.

The single-layered transfer is fine - very clean and showcases some pretty smart visuals. There are plenty of dark sequences - but no untoward noise and a few scenes even display depth. There is a smattering of grain and colors are passive but not dull. I suspect at some point we will compare to an NTSC release but this Arrow DVD bested my expectations.

The audio is fairly clean and without major flaw. There are no subtitles offered - nor any significant extras - only a teaser and trailer.

Gruesome and exploitive but it has an air of cohesiveness usually not prevalent in the genre. This heightens suspense and brings some good drama to the film experience. Don't Go Into the House is not quite a classic but this for those keen it can offer some creepy pleasure in the Home Theater, The price is a give-away and we can easily give it thumbs-skyward for the right buyer.

Gary W. Tooze

DVD Menus
(Shriek Show/Media Blasters - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. ArrowDrome - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)