Crawlspace

In 'Crawlspace,' Klaus Kinski, one of the finest character actors to grace the screen, plays über-creepy and eerily unsettling Karl Guenther, a landlord to a small apartment building that only seems to rent to young, attractive women. His unique and strikingly distinct face alone can send shivers down the spine — a compelling and rather mesmerizing profile with large bulging eyes, a tough square jaw, very high cheek bones, and a slightly crooked, pointed nose. But Mr. Kinski brings with that his amazing talent for acting, especially when he puts those exceptional facial features to good use. And in David Schmoeller's low-budget horror thriller, the German-born actor gives one of his most hair-raising performances. 

As Mr. Guenther, Kinski acts the old, weird, sleazy building manager whose eyes ogle and practically salivate at the sight of his young female tenants, and who rudely slams the door at men inquiring about apartments for rent. When Lori Bancroft (Talia Balsam), who immediately strikes us as the story's eventual heroine, shows up asking about the same apartment, Kinski's demeanor and hospitality instantly changes. A cheerful, kindly Guenther is like a used-car salesman — incredibly friendly selling the best features but craftily forgetting to mention the various faults and drawbacks. And in this building, the major downside is a manager that intentionally burns his hand on the stove and spies on his tenants from the AC vent. 

Right from the start, audiences are made aware of this man's disturbing habits during his off-hours when a former renter walks into the attic and discovers a tongue-less woman (Sally Brown) in a cage. There is no mystery or masked killer in this plot written by Schmoeller ('Tourist Trap,' 'Puppet Master'). Guenther is completely bonkers and devilishly twisted, the lunatic son of a Nazi doctor who now performs his own sadistic experiments on people and invents odd, complicated contraptions throughout the building. In his downtime, he watches Nazi propaganda films while dressed in uniform and wearing makeup. Funny as that sounds, it's also rather creepy, which is thanks to Kinski's performance. 

In fact, the whole movie ultimately hinges on the success of Kinski's portrayal, because the story itself is only mildly interesting. Of course, there's Balsam's character as well, and her role is equally important, as she becomes Guenther's obsession. Kinski is already great playing a vile  evil sociopath with furious anger raging in his eyes, especially when the mysterious Josef Steiner (Kenneth Robert Shippy) arrives dredging up the past, but every time Balsam's Lori is nearby, his face softens with delight. However, in Kinski's genius, he can't hide the creepy factor. His smile, as friendly and animated as it may at first appear, is actually pretty fiendish, as if failing to disguise a darker, sinister intent. It's as if Guenther imagines what he'd do to Lori while she politely asks about the rat infestation. 

Though he doesn't do anything particularly interesting or impressive, Schmoeller nonetheless does reasonably well behind the camera, getting some good performances from his two leads. Still, he fails to make 'Crawlspace' into something truly unique and frightening, outside of Kinski's terrific portrayal of a former-Nazi lunatic. Except for a couple nice twists and turns in the final third act, the movie lacks suspense or any sense of apprehension. Holding the production together and making it the least bit worthwhile is ultimately the wonderful Klaus Kinski doing his creepiest best. He's a sick and twisted voyeur who loves to be watched, and he sure puts on a great show for everyone.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

Shout! Factory brings 'Crawlspace' to Blu-ray under the distributor's Scream Factory line. The Region A locked, BD25 disc is housed inside the normal blue case. At startup, the disc goes to a generic menu with full-motion clips and music playing in the background.