The Refrigerator (film)

Background

The first draft of the script was written in 1987 and the film took four years altogether to make. The Refrigerator was filmed within New York in America, by production companies Connexion Film Productions and Avenue D Films. As an independent production with a limited budget, the filmmakers decided not to get the film rated by the MPAA and as a result it was released straight to video and promptly disappeared.

It was first seen in Germany at the June 1991 Munich Film Festival. On 25 September 1992, it premiered in New York and during 1993 it had a theatrical release across Germany via Impuls-Film Hans-Joachim Flebbe Co. The film was released on VHS in Germany via Warner Home Video on 25 February 1993. Later in the UK, on 10 July 1995, it had a limited release on VHS via the studio Mia (Missing in Action). In America, the film had a very limited video release in 1993 via Monarch Home Video. It has never seen an official DVD release.

The film is similar to the Filipino horror film Shake Rattle and Roll's episode: Pridyider, which was also remade in 2012, also known as Fridge.

Plot

The film opens with a couple drunk driving through the streets of New York. Upon arriving at their apartment, they make love in front of the kitchen. Afterwards, the wife walks into the kitchen whereupon the refrigerator opens up and sucks her in.

Steve & Eileen Bateman move to New York, renting the apartment with the killer refrigerator. Steve takes a new job, while Eileen dreams of becoming a performer. She pretends to receive an award then walks all over Broadway.

Steve, Nanny and Eileen begin to have nightmares about the refrigerator: Steve sees mini people inside the refrigerator (supposed victims) while Eileen sees unborn babies.

Steve is slowly driven to insanity by the refrigerator's influence, leaving Eileen to cope with her acting career on her own.

Juan, a plumber, comes to the apartment one night, warning Eileen that her refrigerator is from hell and the devil controls it.

Steve, Nanny and Eileen throw a party at their apartment one night. The refrigerator brings the other kitchen appliances to life and begins slaughtering the guests. Juan ties the refrigerator shut, and the surviving guests flee. Later, another couple is shown interested in buying the apartment.

Cast

Critical reception

The Fright Site writer Adam Groves wrote "This is, quite simply, the Citizen Kane of killer fridge movies. No, this cheapie will never be mistaken for Halloween or The Exorcist, but it is a fun, wildly imaginative treat for open-minded horror fans with a sense of humor. For those in search of primo evil fridge thrills, look no further than this 1991 comedic horror fest, which manages to wring nearly every variation you can think of from its admittedly ludicrous concept. The opening scenes, with their dumb-assed slapstick and dull attempts at "character development," are pretty sorry, but the film gets better as it goes along. Writer-director Nicholas Jacobs is adept at mixing comedy and horror in the manner of Peter Jackson's early films (such as Bad Taste and Braindead). The Refrigerator works best, surprisingly, as straight-up horror mixed with comedy, and not the other way around. Much of it is played for laughs, certainly, but the refrigerator is an authentically menacing, even eerie presence throughout, and the special effects are quite impressive considering the low budget."

Maynard Morrissey's Horror Movie Diary gave the film five out of ten and wrote "Undoubtedly one of the stupidest movies in horror history. I mean... a killer refrigerator? Come on. Whoever came up with this idea was probably drunk or high on drugs. Still it's a pretty enjoyable little indie-flick that gladly takes itself not too serious. The acting is crap, the script is badly written and it's often way too slow - but the fridge scenes and the kills are all pretty fun, it has some wonderfully atmospheric shots and the dialogue is often super-hilarious ("I am the waffle maker!")."

TV Guide gave the film two out of four stars, and stated "The Refrigerator is billed as a supernatural horror comedy which ultimately is its downfall - too many chickens in the pot. First-time director Nicholas Jacobs's juxtaposition of genres is compelling in thought, but unfortunately on film the results just don't measure up. While the basic premise of The Refrigerator - take a couple of dream yuppies and plop them into a world of madness and horror - is satirical and wry, the final results aren't very satisfying. The main failure of the film is that none of the separate entities work on their own - the funny scenes generally aren't funny and the scary parts, while original in idea, aren't scary, only overly gory. On top of this, Jacobs throws in a couple of ultraserious segments involving the mother-daughter relationship that are completely out of place. Mueller and Simonds as the jinxed couple offer up the right amount of exuberance and angst. Caban, though, as the plumber who looks more like an urban commando, best fits his role. Jacobs's eclectic use of music, from campy to melodramatic, is one of the highlights of the film. If he had put a little more punch in his screenplay, been more daring with his satire and put some real scares in the film, the end result would have made a lot more sense. Maybe his intentions weren't to make us laugh or get chills down our spine - it's a parody, after all. Perhaps he just wanted to make a statement about the inherent evil of domesticity. If so, it could have been done many other ways."