The Toolbox Reopens

2003’s The Toolbox Murders showed Tobe Hooper at the top of his form. He wrestled a semi-obscure piece of 70s filth to the ground and rebuilt it in his own image, with the aid of equally unhinged writers Adam Gierasch & Jace Anderson, unchaining arguably his best film since Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. The film rented and sold well, got raves from horror fans, and debuted a brand new, thoroughly rad, thoroughly franchisable new villain in Coffin Baby, a piecemeal abomination held together with staples, bandages, and embalming fluid. The future looked bright indeed for Tobe & power tools. Then he went and made Mortuary.

As bad as the notoriously uneven maestro’s worst efforts, Mortuary ended Hooper’s all-too-brief comeback, and the Tool Box closed it’s lid.

Until now.

TBK: The Tool Box Murders (which I thought was a ridiculous title until I reailzed it was a play on the BTK killer…watch the promo, you’ll see what I mean) has risen from the long smoldering ashes of Hooper’s initial mini-classic, and looks to kick more ass than this seasoned slasherphile thought possible. The official synopsis describes it thusly:

Picking up directly after the events Tobe Hooper’s 2003 version of The Toolbox Murders; TBK intensifies the terrifying exploration into one of Hollywood’s most twisted and morbid serial killers in the annals of American history.

Survivors Nell and Stephen continue their night of Hell as they’re rushed to the nearby Hollywood Memorial hospital. Meanwhile, next-generation , tech-savvy CSI detectives Cole and Barnes coordinate with a hard-nosed, LAPD criminal profiler McGavin to exhume TBK’s modern day tomb and uncover its origins, leading toward a shocking revelation involving old Hollywood’s seedy underground and one doctor’s secret past.

TBK will shock, sicken, and thrill you while pushing every envelope imaginable as it leads you into the darkest recesses of what is to become one of the classic horror films of the millennium.

With a powerhouse roster of genre faves that includes the likes of Jeffrey Combs, Lance Henriksen, and Tony Todd, and written & directed by SFX madman Dean Jones, this long-needed followup looks to fully live up to the promise it’s predecessor so amply displayed. That classic horror films of the millennium line? You might just believe it after you take a look at this insane promo trailer, featuring Jeffrey Combs best performance since his Empire Pictures days….

Those who crave more on this potentially spectacular slasher epic can check out the flick’s official website here, and just so we can get this rallying cry started good and early, say it with me, slasher nation….

I WANT MY DAMNED COFFIN BABY ACTION FIGURE!!!