Tobe returns to the haunted house genre. Nell and Steven move into a dilapidated but historic Hollywood apartment complex. From the start, Nell feels there is something wrong with the building.
As people disappear, nobody believes her that murders are happening. Of course, this leads her to watch the red herring, only to discover secret passages below the basement. So, you know a sub-basement..with sub-basements.
She finally finds that the real killer is a disfigured man in a ski mask. Apparently, it never occurred to him to wear a human face mask, but hey…we can’t all be Leatherface. I should say, I do think the look is the villain is pretty effective. Sadly, the rest of the film is less effective.
The film has laughably inept cops. In one scene, they leave an apartment, never noticing the body nailed right above the door. There are several character who exist to be dispatched at the end in a massive bloodbath of a final reel. The film lacks both suspense and scares.
This is a remake of an exploitation slasher from 1978 that, frankly, I remember nothing about. Well, except for that VHS video box in the horror aisle at Blockbuster and Hollywood Video.
This is definitely not one of Hooper’s most memorable films.
Tripping Through Gateways 
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