A lunatic, who watched his father shoot down his mother and her adulterous lover before putting a bullet in his mouth, escapes from a mental asylum after a sneak attack on his doctor who was attempting to retrieve a wooden flute, terrorizing an innocent teenager with a wounded leg who catches him attempting to bury a dead body. As Paul(Frankie Avalon, in a startlingly effective performance) was digging a burial spot for a woman he had recently strangled, troubled teenager, Marion(Donna Wilkes)stumbles upon him in the act. This confrontation was seemingly fated to happen because, strange enough, Marion had been having unpleasant visions/nightmares of Paul and his acts towards people along the way..blood transfusions or not, the idea of being linked to someone mainly due to that is kind of feeble at best.Paul had buried a hatchet into the face of a driver who gave him a ride in his van(..this driver was absolutely tired of Paul's never-ceasing flute playing), picked up a sweet little loose honey who even slept with him(..only to criticize his loud flute music which bludgeons the ears of even the most patient of folks, with a necklace he had bought her used to suffocate her)and plans the worst for Marion, stalking her everywhere she goes. Marion, before Paul entered her life, had been telling others about her frightening visions, including boyfriend/fisherman Joey(William Kirby Cullen)and school gal pal Cathy(Noelle North), and the claims of seeing a psycho planning on burying a victim in a park near a beach without evidence causes them to worry about her mental health. Meanwhile, Paul awaits the moment where he will strike, and somehow Marion must convince somebody to believe her.
The film is about as much a melodrama as a psycho-thriller with a sub-plot devoted to the ever-increasing estrangement between Marion and her antagonistic, bullish, drunk of a father, Frank(Richard Jaeckel). Frank's drunkenness was behind the crash which caused Marion's damaged leg. He also is very negatively vocal against her relationship with Joey. Bea(Antoinette Bower), Marion's mother, tries to consistently calm Frank and this tense drama makes up a chunk of the overall film. It all culminates towards the end as Paul attacks Frank with a hatchet in the film's most graphically violent scene which will lead to the maniac chasing after Marion into a darkened sawmill. There's an interesting psychological twist which provides a grim conclusion concerning Marion's state of well being. I think Frankie Avalon's clean-cut, matinée image provides a startling contrast to what hides bubbling under the surface..I think he actually embraces the dark side of this part and with this new freedom, plays the killer to the hilt. I like how he's actually a wimpy child, his mania as a result of temper tantrums when people "hurt him." Thanks to the cinematography which presents Paul in a murky manner, Avalon is often shrouded in darkness, his unsettling grin present until provoked towards violence when you insult him. See, Avalon has this kind and soft look about him, he seems very approachable and charming, and then you flick that switch(..even on accident)with the monster released..that's what I liked best about this little-known slasher. Many slasher faithful will find the home drama perhaps trifling and dull, but I liked the fact that the filmmakers attempted to flesh the characters out. I didn't think the "visions" angle worked, at all really, but the finale(..the chase through the sawmill)was suspenseful and exciting. I have to say, I liked this better than I thought I would. I think it does have a lot to do, though, with the blue collar environment and that the lead actress is normal looking(..the 80's, unlike the films of the last 15 or so years, actually featured female leads which looked like someone you might have actually went to school with)with her own mundane problems to deal with.
The film is about as much a melodrama as a psycho-thriller with a sub-plot devoted to the ever-increasing estrangement between Marion and her antagonistic, bullish, drunk of a father, Frank(Richard Jaeckel). Frank's drunkenness was behind the crash which caused Marion's damaged leg. He also is very negatively vocal against her relationship with Joey. Bea(Antoinette Bower), Marion's mother, tries to consistently calm Frank and this tense drama makes up a chunk of the overall film. It all culminates towards the end as Paul attacks Frank with a hatchet in the film's most graphically violent scene which will lead to the maniac chasing after Marion into a darkened sawmill. There's an interesting psychological twist which provides a grim conclusion concerning Marion's state of well being. I think Frankie Avalon's clean-cut, matinée image provides a startling contrast to what hides bubbling under the surface..I think he actually embraces the dark side of this part and with this new freedom, plays the killer to the hilt. I like how he's actually a wimpy child, his mania as a result of temper tantrums when people "hurt him." Thanks to the cinematography which presents Paul in a murky manner, Avalon is often shrouded in darkness, his unsettling grin present until provoked towards violence when you insult him. See, Avalon has this kind and soft look about him, he seems very approachable and charming, and then you flick that switch(..even on accident)with the monster released..that's what I liked best about this little-known slasher. Many slasher faithful will find the home drama perhaps trifling and dull, but I liked the fact that the filmmakers attempted to flesh the characters out. I didn't think the "visions" angle worked, at all really, but the finale(..the chase through the sawmill)was suspenseful and exciting. I have to say, I liked this better than I thought I would. I think it does have a lot to do, though, with the blue collar environment and that the lead actress is normal looking(..the 80's, unlike the films of the last 15 or so years, actually featured female leads which looked like someone you might have actually went to school with)with her own mundane problems to deal with.