Let me start out by saying that "Don't Look in the Basement" is a very low budget B-horror movie.  I realize that goes without saying, but I want you to keep that in mind so that when I tell you that this movie isn't all that bad, you'll take it with a grain of salt.  It definitely has that "hey, Joe, I gots dad's vidya camra - lets go to granmas and meck a movee" look, but the story is decent, and the acting is surprisingly good.  Yes, there's annoying background music, and scenes that seem to go on forever, and there isn't tons of gore, but I was still able to watch the entire film, and was actually interested in the outcome.  (Note, there's even a plot twist in the end!)

The main character arrives at a secluded country mental asylum, ready to start a new job, only to find out that the director of the institution (the man who gave her the job) had been axe-murdered by one of the inmates.  The director had given the patients an extraordinary amount of freedom, and after his death, things get out of control. 

I like how the box tells us "Blood, gore and violence highlight this low-budget HORROR THRILLER".  First off, they have to capitalize the genre of the film just in case you'd think a movie about insane asylums, axe-murdering and necrophilia was a kids film.  And what a novel idea - to have blood gore and violence in a horror movie - I would have never thought to put those elements into a horror movie.  Good thing for us those revolutionary minds at Camera 2 Productions broke through with that idea!

So, anyway, if you like low-budget 70's horror, (and I realize that is a rare breed), then you'll enjoy "Don't Look in the Basement".  It's surprisingly decent!
 

Quality: 3.5.  Visuals: 2.0  Intensity: 3.5  Laughability: 2.0 
OVERALL RATING: 2.8