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The Toolbox Murders
Movie

The Toolbox Murders

1978 • Unknown

Woke Score
3
out of 10

Plot

A serial killer, plagued by the memory of a fatal car accident, uses various tools to murder female tenants of a Los Angeles apartment complex, then abducts a teenaged girl who lives there with her family. When the police express doubt that the murders are connected to the girl's disappearance, her brother sets out to search for her on his own.

Overall Series Review

The film is a raw 1970s exploitation/slasher movie, notorious for its graphic violence and perceived misogyny. The story focuses on Vance Kingsley, a man haunted by a car accident who begins murdering female tenants he deems 'sinful' in a Los Angeles apartment complex, justifying his actions with a warped, fundamentalist religious mania. His killing spree culminates in the kidnapping of a teenage girl, Laurie, whom he intends to keep as a replacement for his deceased daughter. The film then shifts its focus to Laurie's brother, Joey, who must take the investigation into his own hands when the police prove ineffectual. The narrative is driven by individual psychosis, sensational violence, and a morbid, dysfunctional family drama rather than any modern political or cultural commentary.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

Characters are judged by their actions and perceived 'sinful' lifestyles in the eyes of a psychopath, not by race or immutable characteristics. The casting is a reflection of the 1970s Hollywood standard and does not feature any forced diversity or vilification of 'whiteness.'

Oikophobia1/10

The narrative is contained to a specific crime within a Los Angeles apartment building and centers on the mental breakdown and religious mania of a single individual. The film does not frame Western culture or the American home as fundamentally corrupt or racist, focusing instead on individual depravity.

Feminism1/10

The core of the film involves the sexualized violence and exploitation of women, which critics widely condemned as misogynistic. The female victims are purely subjects of violence, which is the antithesis of the 'Girl Boss' trope. The kidnapping plot centers on an anti-natalist, perverse desire for a replacement daughter, but the overall message is exploitation, not modern feminist thought.

LGBTQ+2/10

The movie includes a lesbian couple as victims, who are targeted by the killer for their 'sinful lifestyle' according to his fundamentalist views. Sexual identity is not centered for political purposes, but rather included as an element of the killer's demented moral targeting. The central family unit (the Ballards) maintains a normative structure, and there is no discussion or promotion of gender ideology.

Anti-Theism8/10

The killer’s entire motivation is explicitly rooted in his ‘fundamentalist religious views’ and his desire to punish women he believes are living 'sinful lifestyles.' This frames extreme, traditional religion as the primary source of the character's evil, directly positioning it as the root of his murderous actions.