According to the quoted line on the cover of the VHS-box, The New York Post claimed this film is a nearly perfect and extremely tense amalgamation of "Poltergeist", "The Amityville Horror" and "Rosemary's Baby"
. What the hell? And that's an actual newspaper that said this? "The Refrigerator" isn't the worst 90's horror film out there, but it's VERY silly, totally incompetent and extremely cheap. The premise is retarded and seems to come straight from the over-imaginative mind of a flipping Marihuana-junkie. Dig this: a young couple (he strangely resembles Jerry Seinfeld and she looks a little like Heather Graham) invests their money in the crappiest apartment of the most pauperized New York ghetto area. The building's owner may very well be Satan himself and the fridge in the kitchen is actually a direct doorway to hell! Pretty soon after they moved in, the cooling device from hell causes Steve to hallucinate (he wakes up screaming he's the waffle maker, and similar crazy things) and begins to terrorize Eileen. The fridge then starts to kill random visitors and Eileen teams up with the flamenco-dancing janitor to defeat it. "The Refrigerator" features absolutely no horrific atmosphere of tension, but it's still warmly recommended to fans of cheesy & nonsensical 80-90's horror. Quite logically, if you spot a movie with this title, you know not to anticipate brilliantly written dialogs or intelligent plot twists. You get a couple of ridiculous situations, grotesque make-up effects and demented characters. Especially the climax is a total laugh riot. Preferably a movie to watch when there's beer and friends around.
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Coventry13 June 2007
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haz56711 September 2008Much more entertaining then it probably had any right to be, a couple of newlyweds move into a new apartment with... you guessed it, a killer refrigerator. The wife seems to have some issues with some incident involving her mother and a knife in the past, whilst the husband is increasingly seduced by the refrigerator into insanity. Neither plot angles are resolved or explained, but most funny of all is moustached plumber Juan who is dressed in chains and leather (even doing an exotic dance at one point), something of a hero though there is no climax for him to have done anything heroic, and the whole racial stereotyping of the Latino community living around the slum block of flats who are in constant contention with the husband who is typical 80's white go getter ego. This film has depth! There is absolutely no explanation to the motives of the refrigerator as far as I could tell, and the imposing, nightmarish focus on it is extremely campy. It's a fun watch, but it is a truly abysmal movie.
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RevRonster23 October 2015I'm one of those guys who really likes cheesy horror films. I find them to be some of the best examples of comedy out there so, naturally, I flock to films like "The Refrigerator." What's great about this 90s film is the fact it never tries to be a legit horror film but, rather, goes the dark comedy route. Occasionally, this formula works in its favor and I have a genuine laugh over what is happening but, when this is not happening, I got to enjoy all the things I love about poorly made cheesy horror films. It has bad acting, awful practical effects and a silly story that all come together to make something very amusing and entertaining in that special "this movie is so bad it's good" way. Then, to top it all off, the film just gets hysterical as it poorly attempts to craft action scenes where people are battling a fridge from hell. It's not a great film but it's definitely one of those fun ones where you can make a night of it by gather up the buddies and chuckling the evening away.
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horror777726 April 2001Low-budget cult films like this keep me alive! The acting is awful and so is the directing, but The Refrigerator is just such a hillarious killing machine. It just moves and grabs someone. This film was so funny and just plain wonderful. Ranks up there with one of the surefire cult classics. If this isn't a cult classic, I don't know what is. Try to find this film on video. If you can ever find it, buy it because it's rare and hard to find and A MUST HAVE for anyone serious interested in the horror genre. I found it for $2.00 in some mom and pop store in New Jersey, and I watch it every now and then. You'll get more then one or two chuckles! ***1/2out of****With writing that's so bad, it's good!
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Vomitron_G7 February 2011Geeez! Not nearly a quarter of the fun the title promises this movie to be. A refrigerator is terrorizing a couple who just moved into an apartment. Is the damn thing possessed? Is it just a freezing fridge-monster killing people? I have no idea... No explanation, no story, no gore... Just silly nonsense (and some occasional cheesiness that might have you cracking a smile or sigh deeply) in a flick that takes itself way too serious for whichever reasons I can't imagine. I mean, its title is "The Refrigerator" and it's a horror movie. What went wrong? I secretively was hoping this could just be as much fun as "The Slime" (AKA "Slime City"). Sadly, it's not. As soon as I figured that out, I started wondering if this was going to be a profound piece of art cinema filled with philosophical ponderings about frozen meat & vegetables and uplifted by loving musings at a temperature below zero. I think I just saw the wrong movie. Or something got lost in translation. Whatever.
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preppy-326 July 2005A couple of morons move to NYC. They end up in a VERY bad area (Hell's Kitchen I believe) and slowly realize their refrigerator kills and eats people. Really! That's the plot.
I saw this at the Boston Film Festival back in 1991. It sounded like it might be fun--but it wasn't. The acting is TERRIBLE--I mean look at the cast. Do you recognize any of the names? Probably not--there's a reason for that. The dialogue is lousy--the husband easily has the worst lines and--seriously--the plot is unbelievably stupid. The main problem is we're given a totally ridiculous premise and we're expected to take it seriously! If this had been played for laughs it MIGHT have worked.
The audience I saw it with just sat there in dead silence. There were a few snickers when the refrigerator--ummmm--"attacked" somebody but that was about it. It was called the worst film in the festival. They weren't kidding. Too dull to be accepted as bad/good. WELL worth avoiding. -
blurnieghey5 June 2022When I was a kid, there wad a movie called "Attack Of The Killer Refrigerator" that was thrown together by some no-talents in my region and, for some reason, was available to rent at many of the finer mom and pop video stores at the time. The movie was short, not-so-sweet, and basically a boring piece of crap, but served its purpose as a homemade piece of B-movie garbage. With that said, why I felt the need to watch another movie about a killer refrigerator can only be explained by the fact that I got it for free and, if anything, this movie is worse. The pacing is lousy and nothing much interesting happens until the end. None of the characters are likeable and you are pretty much hoping the fridge just hurries up and kills all of them throughout. As if the whole premise isn't stupid enough, they could have at least thrown in a segment of some family in the 50's who were devil worshipers and cursed the refrigerator or something, thus giving some sort of "reasonable" explanation for its behavior in the first place but, instead, you get pointless flashbacks of the girl's childhood that add practically nothing to the story. And the ending is terrible. I've seen worse meandering messes than this but it's still a meandering mess that I think would try the patience of many true horror fans out there. Just not that good.
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BandSAboutMovies7 May 2023I found this movie while looking for Attack of the Killer Refrigerator and man, it's wild. Steve and Eileen Bateman (Dave Simonds and Julia McNeal) have moved into a new place in New York City and as he works endless hours and she dreams of being on stage, the icebox in their kitchen shows them visions, whether they are future victims in Steve's case or unborn children in Eileen's.
Meanwhile, a plumber working on their apartment, Juan (Angel Caban), works on scenes with Eileen and warns her that the appliance is a gateway to Hell.
This took director Nicholas Jacobs - who also worked on The Adventures of Pete and Pete, the original MTV Jon Stewart show and You Wrote It, You Watch It - four years to make. He wrote it with Christopher Oldcorn and Phillip Dolin, who went on to direct B Movie.
It feels like everyone is working out their issues on film, because Eileen isn't all that great of a wife, complaining about Steve no longer being fun, all while he's killing himself to make a life for them. But she has her issues too, as her mother used to threaten to kill herself every single day and now that she's been through therapy, she wants to reconnect with her daughter who can't find the strength to forgive her.
Maybe it was never about a killer fridge.
Maybe it was about how alone we all truly are. -
lee_eisenberg30 May 2012This exercise in cornball depicts a couple who moves into a New York apartment...only to find out that it has a killer refrigerator! "The Refrigerator" seems like the sort of movie that they probably made knowing that they were making a totally silly movie. Personally, I thought that John Schlesinger's movie "The Believers" (starring Martin Sheen as a man who moves to NYC and comes across a demonic offshoot of santeria) was more interesting.
But even so, this movie is a lot of fun. The first time that the refrigerator acted up reminded me a bit of the scene in "Ghostbusters" where Sigourney Weaver finds the monster in her fridge. Not particularly worth seeing, but entertaining. -
benoitlelievre13 February 2005You can't watch this movie being yourself. You need to enter an altered state using some magic herbs if you know what I mean. There's nothing much to understand except absurdity from this movie. But I don't know why, this is just great. I don't think there's not much but absurdity that you can think about when it comes to this movie. There's a fridge, it's evil...pass the bong and watch that janitor dance the flamenco. Honestly I was too f*cked up to remember much about the movie, but if you're into magical herbs and you want something to transcend your sense of humor, that's pretty much the movie you need. You're in for a good laugh and for some very intriguing action. It's definitively a movie to watch if you just broke your head on a very long and arid movie like "Hitler" by Syberberg.
Sit back, relax and don't try to understand. -
Imagine you rent an apartment and the landlord neglects to tell you that the fridge is possessed and the gateway to hell. Okay, it sounds really bad but make no mistake, this low budget masterpiece is the business. The delivery is sometimes stilted, the characters are a little two dimensional and the script is over the top in places, but gloriously so. Jacob's direction is spot on, great camera work, smart lighting, good atmosphere and more than a few laughs to be had. plus: not since Brazil and House 2 have the plumbers/handymen of the world had such a hero to call their own, even if you hate schlocky horror films, watch this one for Angel Caban's impossibly smooth Juan, a hispanic Chow Yun Fat.
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Leofwine_draca26 October 2016A slice of low budget camp madness - but what more could you expect from a film about a killer refrigerator? At least the tongue-in-cheek approach works with this movie, and the producers have seen enough horror films to know when to spoof and when not to spoof. THE REFRIGERATOR is ideal viewing for cult movie fans, as it contains a little bit of everything, and the mixture of comedy and horror is just about pulled off successfully. Obviously this film is not going to be to everybody's taste, but for what it's worth I did enjoy it.
Although there is a little bit too much dialogue, the film still moves at a fair pace and never commits the ultimate sin of being boring. Although the acting is sometimes stilted and on an amateur level (especially with supporting cast members), it's nonetheless passable. I did like Dave Simonds' portrayal of the unlucky loser husband, thwarted at every turn by his strange neighbours and nasty work colleagues. Acting honours go to Julia McNeal, who is likable, beautiful, and believable as the housewife under attack, and I don't care what anyone says about her acting. Her character - an intelligent blonde - is a refreshing change in a movie world populated by stereotypes. Fans should also keep an eye out for Angel Caban's smooth turn as Juan, the apartment block's plumber, who saves the day at the end of the movie.
A smattering of gore will please horror fans, but most of it is played for laughs, like the hilarious scene where an apprentice plumber is murdered by being crushed in the fridge door. At the action-packed end of the film, another actor has his face mashed by an electric fan in an impressively gooey show of makeup and fake blood. Overall, this film tends to have good individual scenes rather than a good overall story; for instance, it has its up and downs. Sometimes it seems more like a string of sketches rather than an actual plotted movie. Imaginative nightmare scenes include zombies walking into the fridge and miniature people standing inside it. Although this will forever be neglected to minor B-movie status due to the low budget and the subject matter, it's still good for a laugh and worthwhile for fans who know what kind of film to expect. -
There's a whole world of horror films that are positively hilarious without intending to be...however, horror film parodies generally don't work well. This one is slightly better than most, and it's slickly made for a movie at this lowish production level. Still, THE REFRIGERATOR is as slight on laughs as it is on scares, and would probably have been more successful as a short subject than a feature.
The idea of a refrigerator being the Earthly gateway to Hell carries with it a lot of possibilities, but this film just doesn't begin to realize its own potential. It may be fun enough as a casual time-filler, but ultimately comes off feeling like a feature-length SNL skit. Take this one or leave it...you may find it enjoyable. I, for one, stand at the equator with one foot in the "no" zone.
4.5 out of 10 stars. -
todesnudel25 November 2016This is by far one of the most bizarre movies ever to see the light of day. Who on earth came up with this idea?
Steve and Eileen Bateman, originally from Ohio, move to New York. Eileen dreams of becoming an actress, Steve wants to climb the social ladder and he figures he can do it best in a big city like New York. They rent a very shabby apartment in a not so friendly neighborhood (maybe Hell's Kitchen? Never been to New York, so... EDIT: I actually looked it up, the apartement is in Alphabet City; EDIT END) for about $200 per month. Ridiculous amount of money for such a run down flat.
But the apartment comes included with a nice refrigerator, it even still has a piece of Camembert inside. Steve's most favorite cheese! That alone is enough to turn a deaf ear to the warnings of an old gypsy woman.
Once they moved in Steve begins to change, Steve and Eileen grow away from each other. Since Eileen is home alone most of the time she makes friends with plumber Juan. Steve doesn't like it one bit, but he's more focused on brown-nosing at his new job.
The old gypsy woman appears again, she tells Eileen that the fridge is "a door to hell" and she once again tells her, they should move elsewhere.
Of course Steve will have none of this and so the fridge overtakes Steve's mind even more. So much that Steve wants to sacrifice Eileen to the refrigerator. What follows next is a hilarious scene in which the fridge, a fan, a blender and a garbage can(!) attack the protagonists. Wow.
Conclusion: The story is utterly garbage, of course. Even more garbage than in flicks like "The Lift". But considering the low budget and that this is an independently made movie, the production has a pretty good quality. Camera works are well done, acting (even though sometimes very cheesy) isn't half bad and the special effects during some scenes (Eileen's nightmare) are well worth seeing. Compare this movie to the likes of "Sharktopus" or "2-headed shark attack" and you'll realize that back then, even silly horror movies had a much better quality than what we get to see today.
I rate this 7 out of 10, I have seen the movie numerous times and it's still very entertaining. The movie doesn't take itself seriously and neither should the viewer. As far as I know there's no official DVD release, so you have to rely on your VHS to still function properly.
EDIT: There was a DVD release in 2016, "limited to 1,000 copies". If you are lucky you can pick it up and enjoy the movie with crisp clear image and sound. -
i was beginning to think i was the only person out there who had ever heard of this movie, much less seen it. i caught it on cinemax at 3 in the morning about 8 years ago, and i am shameful to admit i was more than mildly entertained. the mere ridiculousness of the film was enough to send me into laughter spasms. i must say it is quite unique. how many films out there are solely dedicated to killer appliances, especially refrigerators. they rarely get the credit they deserve. must see movie for fans of the weirder than weird.
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jimy2322 May 2012This movie seems like it tries to be supernatural horror thriller but if anything it's a satire thats intentionally Cheesy. Eileen and Steve Bateman are a young couple that moves into a small apartment soon they start having weird dreams about the refrigerator Steve who becomes attached to the fridge dream of people he knows shrunk down inside the fridge talking to him. Eileen has nightmares of blood and long tentacle things coming out of the fridge she also has a dream of a fetus in the fridge. A woman called Tanya tells Eileen to leave the room she knows the refrigerator is evil and says its a gateway to hell. Steve starts acting strange and becomes obsessed with the refrigerator some people get eaten but the movie more about the fridge haunting Steve and Eileen. Juan the plumber who was also warned of the fridge join Tanya and Eileen in destroying the evil fridge and it turns out that is not the only appliances thats possessed. People who don't like this movie don't understand it it's not supposed to be a serious i can think of many big budget movies with a well known director or well known actors that are not as good as this. If you like this i suggest checking out attack of the killer refrigerator the stuff or Death bed or any killer object movie.
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TomC-529 November 1999THE REFRIGERATOR is one of the more cleverly original ideas for a campy horror flick and is pretty much played for laughs. While a bit slow moving at times, this is a must see for all fans of the slapstick comedy/horror sub-genre. If you're a fan of any of the following, then this movie is for you: EVIL DEAD II, STREET TRASH, BASKET CASE, BASKET CASE II, BASKET CASE III, DEAD ALIVE, MEET THE FEEBLES, RABID GRANNIES, or any of Troma's better known releases. If you can imagine an large, evil appliance which is somehow alive, a ghost-in-the-machine device which when opened, has all the ooze and spew of a Peter Jackson special effect, then you have the basic concept of THE REFRIGERATOR, in which machines terrorizes a young NYC housewife. For a low budget flick, this one is very well made, with excellent special effects (though mediocre acting). Highly recommended if you're looking for something a bit different.
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anthimus_k13 June 2003lol.. i saw this movie 8 or 9 years back, and! i still feel obligated to give it a comment.
This is a movie for example when you sit down with friends this movie suddenly runs up in conversation.I personal don't remember much but i do laughed allot, the characters are all first class "beasty boys". And i remember a scene when huge arms came out of the refrigerator and grab someone haha totally wacko.
I'm thinking of renting it again :-)