Rating summary

Movie		0.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		0.5

Toolbox Murders 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Been there, 'Saw' that.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 8, 2015

There’s a rather large disconnect between the impression a lot of film fans have of “life in Hollywood,” at least among the cognoscenti, and the actual facts of the situation, as anyone who lives in Los Angeles or who deals with a ton of film industry types will probably concur. Sure, there are the outsized mansions and over the top lifestyles of some at the very top of the food chain, but for a huge variety of people, both those who have attained fame in front of the camera, and those who toil behind it, things are surprisingly “normal” from an almost Middle America perspective, with neat little suburban homes and modest living accoutrements. This aspect includes the typically American angst of wondering where the next paycheck is coming from, and even some actors who have attained a certain status, not to mention some actual honest to goodness Academy Award nominations, have been known to fall victim to this feeling of anxiety. That may at least partially explain the otherwise inexplicable (in more ways than one) appearance of Bruce Dern in the bargain basement schlockfest Toolbox Murders 2, a film which doesn’t just traffic in so-called torture porn, it evidently suffered a somewhat tortured production history of its own, with more than evident signs that whatever the creative crew started with on this project, other hands and/or minds got involved, with the result being an often incoherent hodgepodge “enlivened” (en-dead-ened?) by some spectacularly gruesome kill scenes.

It’s pointless to even try to detail the “plot” of Toolbox Murders 2, for there really isn’t one. Suffice it to say the “new” victim is Samantha Forester (Chauntal Lewis), who is taken prisoner by the deranged Coffin Baby (Chris Doyle), and who is forced to not just be tortured herself but to witness various other hapless and/or helpless victims undergo various horrifying indignities which typically result in death. This is the sort of film where Samantha, the relative of a recent crime victim, is allowed to traipse through the crime scene, actually touching the detritus left by the carnage of the recent killing, with absolutely no thought given to “contaminating” the crime scene. Toolbox Murders 2 offers a contamination of another sort entirely: it’s a fairly tasteless and rote checklist of gorey kill clichés, delivered without a hint of irony or humor.

Toolbox Murders 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Toolbox Murders 2 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. A lot of the film is intentionally very dark, including long sequences of Samantha being held captive which are graded quite heavily toward the blue end of the spectrum. Detail is often masked by both of these approaches, though close-ups can still reveal substantial fine detail in elements like the bloody special effects work. When not artificially tweaked, the palette is natural looking and quite vividly presented. Though not at the level as some other Scream releases, this offering suffers from some of the same ugly yellow clumping artifacts in several of the more dimly lit sequences.

Toolbox Murders 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Toolbox Murders 2 features an occasionally quite aggressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, one which offers good use of the side and rear channels in effects placement, including the seeming necessary startle LFE moments. Dialogue (such as it is) and screaming (such as it is) are both presented very cleanly and with good prioritization. There is also a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix on the Blu-ray as well.

Toolbox Murders 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:42)

Toolbox Murders 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bruce Dern must have needed to make a house payment on either his sensible suburban bungalow or his outlandish Malibu beachside estate, for there's no other reason for him to appear in schlock like this (at least at this point in his career). His character just sort of shows up in this film, with absolutely no logical reason for being there, a tendency Toolbox Murders 2 repeats ad nauseam. Even those who go for this sort of troubling and derivative fare will probably find Toolbox Murders 2 an insufferable slog. For those who are considering a purchase, video has some occasional issues, but audio is strong.