Don't Go in the House
| Don't Go in the House | |
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Film poster
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| Directed by | Joseph Ellison |
| Produced by | Ellen Hammill |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Joe Masefield |
| Starring | Dan Grimaldi |
| Music by | Richard Einhorn |
| Cinematography | Oliver Wood |
| Edited by | Jane Kurson |
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Production
company |
Turbine Films Inc.
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| Distributed by | Film Ventures International |
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Release date
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Running time
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82 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $250,000 |
| Box office | Unknown |
Don't Go in the House is a 1980 psychological slasher film written and directed by Joseph Ellison, and co-written by Ellen Hammill and Joe Masefield. With the plot focusing on a traumatized adult man capturing women and burning them to death with a flamethrower, the film was notable for gaining notoriety as a video nasty and remains banned in some countries.
Donald "Donny" Kohler is obsessed with fire and human combustion, an obsession that stems from the severe abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother, who would hold his bare arms over a gas stove in an effort to "burn the evil out of him". When his mother dies, he sets out to avenge himself on every woman who bears a resemblance to her with the aid of steel chains, a flamethrower, and a steel-paneled bedroom crematorium.
Donny's first victim is florist Kathy Jordan (Johanna Brushay). Befriending the harmless-looking man, Kathy escorts Donny back to his mother's house, where he knocks her unconscious, strips her naked, and chains her arms and legs to the ceiling and floor of the steel room. Ignoring Kathy's screaming pleas for mercy, he burns her to death with his flamethrower. Over the next few days, Donny murders two other women by immolating them. Donny also burns his mother's corpse, and dresses it up in her bedroom along with the other three dead women.
During his killing spree, Donny hears voices in his mind which call him "the master of the flame" and urge him to punish "evil". Donny's only friend is Bobby Tuttle (Robert Osth) a co-worker who phones the house one day asking why Donny has been absent from work for nearly a week. Donny lies and claims that his mother is sick and needs attention. When Donny attempts to pick up another victim, he cannot go through with it, and begins to feel remorse for his actions. Donny goes to a church, where he tells Father Gerritty (Ralph D. Bowman) about the abuse his mother inflicted upon him, and about his urges to kill. Father Gerritty persuades Donny to try to move on with his life, and put the past to rest.
In an attempt to stop killing, Donny decides to accept an invitation by Bobby to accompany him on a double-date to a disco club, despite Donny's lack of social skills. After traveling to a men's clothing store and purchasing a new outfit, Donny shows up at the disco as expected, but is shy and awkward with his date. When the woman attempts to take Donny to the dance floor and inadvertently holds his arm over a table's lighted candle, the memories of the childhood abuse come back, and Donny sets her hair on fire.
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