What this movie actually does is to pose the very controversial question as to whether a person's evil nature (in this case a Nazi war criminal) can be transmitted to their offspring. The answer to this question as far as the makers of the film are concerned, is given clear resolution, and of course this makes it far more disturbing than the usual serial killer fare. For some, this movie is probably too evocative of a past era which I am sure they would wish to forget.

From director David Schmoeller, who gave us the enjoyably offbeat slasher Tourist Trap, Crawlspace is an equally bizarre horror starring the inimitable Klaus Kinski as Karl Gunther, a mentally unhinged landlord who has developed an addiction to killing, satisfying his urges by luring his tenants into his deadly, booby trapped apartment. When he's not in a murdering mood, Gunther can be found crawling through the air ducts of his building to spy on the women who live there, writing about killing in his diary, playing Russian roulette, or wearing Nazi regalia while watching footage of Hitler (Gunther's father was a Nazi surgeon).For an '80s horror film, Crawlspace is fairly light on the gore and scares, but with its star in full on demented mode, the film cannot fail to entertain: whether it be carefully preparing a chair with a spring-loaded spike in the seat (nasty!), crushing rats with his bare hands, travelling at speed through the air ducts on a wheeled toboggan, smearing his face with make-up, or simply chatting to the tongue-less woman that he keeps caged in his room, Kinski's crazed performance is a delight to behold.6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

Meet Karl Gunther (played by legendary eccentric Klaus Kinski). He's the demented son of a notorious Nazi war criminal and a former doctor with his own shady past. He's now the landlord of an apartment building that strictly caters to young females. He regularly spies on the ladies from the buildings' hidden crawlspace area, and kills them as well. He even keeps a woman named Martha (Sally Brown) enclosed in a too-small cage. He keeps a diary of his thoughts and activities, to provide us with some exposition and insight into his character. After he brings in a new tenant, university student Lori Bancroft (played by Talia Balsam, the daughter of actor Martin Balsam), he begins to be visited by a Nazi hunter named Josef Steiner (Kenneth Robert Shippy).Kinskis' performance essentially IS the movie. Overall, this brief bit of nutty mayhem, written and directed by David Schmoeller ("Tourist Trap", "Puppetmaster"), is mildly amusing but quite forgettable. Kinski, of course, is anything but, and he does seem to relish portraying this character (although he did make life miserable for Schmoeller and crew). There are a bunch of rats in this thing, some entertaining makeup effects gags (but not very much blood), excellent production design (by Giovanni Natalucci) and music (by the great Pino Donaggio), and a very nondescript (if attractive) supporting cast, including Tane McClure, the daughter of Doug McClure. Balsam is a reasonably personable heroine, but Shippy is boring and unintimidating in his part. Schmoellers' direction lacks style, and his dialogue, for the most part, ain't so hot. (He does admit that the movie isn't particularly good.)Kinskis' presence and performance raise the rating by a point.Future "Tremors" director Ron Underwood was the associate producer here. Schmoeller has a cameo as a rejected tenant.Six out of 10.

Amusing film about an apartment with solely female tenants that suffers from an infestation of rats and pint sized Germans. Dr. Karl Gunther, the son of a Mengele-type Nazi doctor, is the superintendent of this complex with a predilection for renting only to women so he can of course spy on them via his completely dust-free airvent system all the while harassing them with his various rats-in-the-wall contraptions. I guess simply watching them in various states of undress was too lowbrow for this movie. Anyway, when a nosy tenant is dispatched by one of his rather creative but not too efficient killing devices it opens up a room for rent for another victim of the terror from tiny town. Enter Lori Bancroft whom the Dr. becomes instantly smitten with. After becoming acquainted with her fellow housemates (did I mention Tane!) she begins to hear strange noises from the airvents and becomes increasingly distressed. When Lori is visited by Josef Steiner, who by the way comes off less grieving brother and more creepy jerk, she is informed that Dr. Gunther was implicated in a series of multiple deaths while he was a doctor in South America with Josef's brother being one of them. This bombshell revelation leads Lori to investigate what's inside Dr. Gunther's apartment exposing his twisted reality. Woman in a cage with tongue cut out. Check. Nazi memorabilia. Check. Torture devices. Check. Backissues of Cat Fancy. None, though that would of been hilarious.Crawlspace needs to be categorized with movies like Chucky, Troll, and Puppet Master as films whose villains you must suspend belief in in order to watch. Klaus Kinski knows his limitations and doesn't try to play counter to that but the notion of this little man with his bizarre facial contortions as he speaks his lines as menacing to humans five feet or taller is laughable. Young children maybe but adults, come on! The concept of Dr. Gunther spying on the ladies is the kind of sleazy titillation that would of enhanced the watchability of this film since it is such a major component of the storyline yet it does no such thing. We get one topless scene by Tane McClure (see I knew there was a reason she was in this!) and that's it. Weak. Sauce. I did enjoy his bizarre killing techniques especially the chair with the built-in surprise as well as his sickening relationship with a woman he keeps in a cage. The final encounter with Lori and a lipstick smeared Dr. Gunther in full Nazi uniform is awfully silly, even for trashy films, and makes me wonder why the first forty minutes was so tame. Talia Balsam as the lead Lori Bancroft with her unflattering wardrobe is not a bad looking woman by any means (she was married to George Clooney) just not the perfect choice for this film. The lovely Tane! would have made a better object of desire. I guess Klaus couldn't see that high. Music is done by Pino Donaggio but really folks how many times have you left a movie and said "That movie really sucked but that score rocked!". That would be none. Tane!