Crawlspace (1986)

Crawlspace (1986)

A few days ago, after I had gotten home from work, I settled down to eat dinner and watch a movie. I was scrolling through Amazon Prime and came across Crawlspace (1986). Honestly, I am not sure what I expected, only that Klaus Kinski was in it, so I knew it’d be enjoyable if nothing else. I did not expect to be on the edge of my seat for the whole of it, with certain moments where I could feel my heart pounding. By the end, I needed to turn on the lights for a minute and take a moment. I was not planning on reviewing this film for my blog, but after such an exhilarating scare, I must bring this film to the attention of anyone who will listen.

Crawlspace (1986) is set in a building owned by Dr. Karl Gunther (Klaus Kinski), who is looking to rent out a spare flat to a young woman. The building seems a small complex; the doctor lives there among the multiple flats he rents to other young women. To our heroine Lori Bancroft (Talia Balsam), Gunther comes across as a sweet yet slightly odd older man who is just trying to find the right tenant. However, as the viewers, we know better, because it’s been revealed to us that this kind doctor has a taste for murder and seems to have some type of torture chamber hidden at the top floor of his complex.

A grotesque room filled with all sorts of torture devices, and worst of all, he holds Martha. A brutalized woman in a cage with no tongue. It’s clear that he’s very fond of her, for he speaks to her as he writes his journal, of which, through these entries, we begin to learn more about the doctor. Namely, his past and how his affinity for murder flourished over the years. Gunther was the son of a Nazi officer, but he was sent to Argentina as child with his mother. As a practicing doctor he euthanized numerous patients and each time both his God complex and appetite for death grew.

Besides being an avid “journaler”, the doctor is quite the voyeur. When he takes break from inventing his macabre contraptions, he journeys through the vents of his building in order to spy on his female residents, especially when they are they are preoccupied sexually. He is not always a silent spectator; at times he turns slightly disruptive, creating weird tapping sounds, of which most of the residents rule out as just mice in the vents. The only sceptic is Lori, who is always apprehensive and a little scared when she hears the sound, unlike the other girls who learn to ignore it. Her concerns of him grow when a Josef Steiner shows up to share his own suspicions of Gunther with her. As all this takes place, Gunther’s heightened sense of self reaches it’s extreme, which surmounts into the final act of the film being a chase scene between Lori and the doctor. I am going to stop at that, as I do really want anyone reading this to give the film a go and see how it ends for themselves.

Gunther’s character is profoundly interesting. Throughout the film, we get scenes of Gunther playing Russian Roulette with himself. Every time he survives, he will punctuate the scene with a brief and cold, “So be it”. As a doctor/murder, Gunther sees himself as the taker and giver of life, but leaves the fate of his own up to chance. We also get plenty of scenes of Gunther watching tapes of Hitler and the Nazi regime while being dressed in an S.S. uniform. He seems to be trapped in this imaginary past where he is reliving the glorious-ness of the regime, especially through his murders. Or at least, that’s what I think the film is trying to tell us. The actual thematic connection between the murders and his Nazi tendencies are tenuous.

Additionally, this film is filled to the brim with really effective jump scares, and I have been very vigilant as to not spoil any. However, I think when you watch it, there will be some shots you may recognize. If you follow film pages on social media, then you may have seen them. I am purposely being vague, as some of these shots are the jump scares themselves.

I think what made this film so especially nerve-wrecking is that it is just a hair away from reality. Obviously, the Nazi doctor angle of it is a bit grandiose, but creepy landlords exist. I think, as a woman, this film taps into a very legitimate fear. The fear of being in the company of a horrible man and not knowing it. The possibility of being victimized by what you thought was a safe person. The realization that that “any man” was right next to you.

Highly Recommended.