Blu-Ray Review: Crawlspace

By Brad Henderson

Scream Factory has brought us another so-called gem from the horror vaults with Crawlspace. I wasn’t that excited when I found out about the release, but since it was from Scream Factory, I decided to give it a whirl. When I was younger I saw the VHS cover of Crawlspace wherever I went. It was one of those titles I never picked up because Klaus Kinski was in it. That might sound a little harsh but I’ve never been a fan. I don’t think he is a bad actor or anything; I just don’t like watching him on screen.

Crawlspace is one of those flicks that a lot of people haven’t seen including those in the horror community. You never hear anyone speak about it or praise it and it seems to have gone a little unnoticed. After seeing it, I will say that it would be my favorite Klaus Kinski film (which isn’t saying much).

The basic story of Crawlspace is about an insane landlord who only wants female tenants in his complex. What they are unaware of is that he uses the crawlspaces above to spy on them at his leisure. Upon renting to a new young tenant she learns quickly of his weird and maniacal ways.

The highlight of the film is how sinister it really is. The brutality comes out of nowhere because it doesn’t feel like it will go in that direction. It was nice to see a film just turn batshit and have a character who’s already off the deep end go further down the spiral. Kinski already looks insane and he gets crazier and crazier as the film progresses and that includes up until the final moment.

Crawlspace is another excellent release by Scream Factory. They included some interesting special features on the disc. We have the standard TV spots, trailer, and commentary, but more importantly we have an interview with the special effects artist John Vulich and a short documentary from the director called Please Kill Mr. Kinski, which is pretty great in a weird sort of way. Kudos to Scream Factory on tracking down the short and including it on this release of theirs.

Crawlspace was released by Scream Factory on December 17, 2013.