low budget but memorable would be shocker that instead emerge a theater of the bizarre . vulnerable and naive nurse charlotte beale come to a seclude mental hospital and be completely unaware that the only sane people have be murder and despite the red flag that be constantly be raise all around her . the lack of a decent budget really give the filmmaker little more to go on than a sense of style and as well a a cast of wacky character . the pleasure of this film do not come from the film shock and which be fairly tame and but from the weird atmosphere . first we have the delusional woman who think her baby doll be real . there also an axe murder judge and a shell shocked war veteran and and old mrs. callahan be like everybody daffy elderly grandmother go amok . a young patient name allyson give the term nymphomaniac new meaning . a big guy name sam be just a little slow after a botched lobotomy and and jennifer vault suddenly between catatonia and violent outburst . the only other sentient person in the place seem to be dr. master and but do she have a secret . don not look in the basement be a great example of low budget exploitation film . there isn not much plot go on and but the cheapness work for the movie . several cast member turn in memorable performance and particularly betty chandler and annabelle weenick and and the way the director add little weird detail to the movie can really stick with you . the scene between allyson and the telephone man be a classic for all time and and especially delicious be the facial expression of dr. master when she begin to go over the edge near the finale of the movie . brownrigg also make great use of the cheap soundtrack and with several musical cue really evoke the character that they accompany . my favorite cue be the crazy cue and a sitar that twang whenever one of the patient do something pathological . also wonderful be the way that charlotte herself plunge into hysteria at the climax and with the patient reveal that dr. master be simply another inmate and and then suggest that charlotte be also a patient who be be allow to act out her delusion ( she certainly have a tenuous grip on reality and why else would she not question the ominous lack of phone service or outside contact . ) . the scene where charlotte manage to finish off the barely alive dr. stephen with a toy boat have to be one of the great moment in low budget horror . yes and don not look in the basement could very well be the american beauty of grade z trash .