JKlein9823
"The Forgotten", also known as "Don't Look in the Basement" (1973), was released on a double bill, primarily for the drive-in theatre market, with "Last House on the Left" (1972). Today this kind of bottom-of-the- barrel low budget film would be released directly to home video or an online streaming service. It borrowed the tagline from its companion film "Last House" - "To avoid fainting, keep repeating: It's only a movie. It's only a movie". That tagline was fairly good rationale for "Last House", but it is ludicrous with this sloppy, non-scary film. Do yourself a favor and skip this one. Some movies of this type are so bad, they are good. This is not one of them ... it's just DULL and promises more than it delivers.
Mr_Ectoplasma
"Don't Look in the Basement" (how's that for a gimmicky title?) has an attractive young nurse taking a job at a remote insane asylum that is known for its experimental approaches to psychiatric treatment (such as letting the patients simulate their own delusions, no matter how demented or dangerous). Upon her arrival, she is notified that the head doctor was murdered by one of the inmates, and is geared to run the asylum with the help of the head nurse, but finds herself receiving increasing hostility from the patients.Also known as "The Forgotten," this deceptive and dreary grindhouse flick was apparently a staple of drive-in horror in the mid-1970s, and has been put through the shredder by audiences online. The truth is that this is actually not nearly as bad a film as many reviews would lead you to believe.Make no bones about it, this is a low-budget production on all counts— it looks as though it were filmed inside a large farmhouse haphazardly made up to appear as a hospital, and the special effects are definitely minimalist, but there is something about the low-budget awkwardness that makes this film strangely effective. The narrative is admittedly slow-going early on and the film does feel a bit like a psych ward drama throughout the first forty minutes or so, but some well-played sequences and decent and sometimes disturbing performances from the inmate cast and the foxy, likable heroine elevate the proceedings from potentially dull to surprisingly engaging. Add to that a clever narrative twist that may or may not be easy to read between the lines, which may be the film's greatest asset.Overall, "Don't Look in the Basement" is an effective and atmospheric low-budget horror offering that aspires to greater heights than its budget could clearly afford. In spite of this, the quirks resulting from the production's monetary shortcomings add a raw edge to the film, and it boasts a decent cast of unknowns playing up the hysterics of a '70s psychodrama. What the film does well, perhaps inadvertently, is weave a drab and unsettling atmosphere that infects the entire production, up to its uncompromisingly gruesome conclusion. 7/10.
Rainey Dawn
"The Forgotten (1973)" is also known by it's more common title "Don't Look in the Basement". Don't Look in the Basement fits the film okay while The Forgotten seems to be a more appropriate title.Question why would Dr. Stephen allow a mentally unstable patient to use a real axe in therapy? A toy axe maybe but a real axe? Even if he thought it was therapeutic for the man to chop wood - a toy axe would have been the logical choice for therapy. Why was he so trusting in his obsession-development theory and creating a "family"? You'll have to watch the film to find the answers.The film is pretty good. It's worth watching if you like movies surrounding asylums.6.5/10
dolly_the_ye-ye_bird
Don't Look In the Basement is a movie I've tried to watch several times. While in college, I must have seen the first 10 minutes at least 10 times. Something always happened to prevent me from seeing the film from front to back. Finally, it was on television the other night and I was lucky enough to catch the whole thing. I'll start with it's good points: First, it's got a good, creepy atmosphere. The house it's filmed in in sufficiently run down and middle of nowhere. The inmates of the asylum are extremely entertaining. The plot is decent.Now for the bad: The film quality is quite bad as is the audio...but the budget being what it was and the times what they were, I can forgive that. Plus, I suppose it could be argued that the lack of quality adds to the atmosphere a bit. Even though the characters are quite entertaining...sometimes for such wrong reasons that you almost feel guilty for laughing at them...the actors are terrible. Except for Sam, the seemingly sweet, and innocent bear of a man with a heart of gold and the mind of a child....and a LOT of unresolved issues!!! He was actually really creepy and fairly well played. Although every time he picked up one of those popsicles, it reminded me of a Bill Cosby Pudding Pop commercial. Come to think of it, that's probably what made him seem so creepy! Even though the plot is decent, it's pretty predictable. I saw the 'twist' coming from the young nurse's first interview with the acting head doctor....although maybe that's because I saw a modern film last week that had the exact same plot and I assumed this one would be the same? Anyway, not a bad little slasher film. I'm glad I finally got to see it uninterrupted.
AD
