The Thrill Killers

I dug this film so much when I first saw it because it epitomizes what makes low budget exploitation good camp entertainment. It seems to be made made solely to exploit itself and does it's damndest to deliver. I like the b & w cinematography and the various cinematic devices used albeit some quite cliche. The camp and subversive elements are given to us hand in hand when serial killer Mort Click tells one of his female victims "People are no good" "I hate People!" "I'm going to kill you". Super cheesy chase at the end is the capper and, because it's slightly anti-climactic, only makes the exploitation motives more obvious therefore giving "The Thrill Killers" very high camp value. I still think it's an admirable and entertaining effort by a spirited and eccentric auteur.

I may as well admit something right up front: I will never give a totally negative review to a Ray Dennis Steckler film. I LOVE Steckler's films! They're so corny and cheesy, full of good intentions and a lot of fun. Thrill Killers is no exception. Though it is, by far, Steckler's darkest and most serious film, it's still a wild and weird good time.

Steckler himself plays Mad Dog, a psychopath who roams the streets of L.A., killing at random and often for no reason whatsoever. Mad Dog's brother, in the meantime, has escaped from an insane asylum with a couple of buddies. Also in the meantime, sexy Liz Renay has an argument with her struggling actor husband and flees into the hills to see her sister, who runs a roadside diner. Still with me? The psychos and the sexpot all meet up at the diner, and of course, all hell breaks loose.

There's some really great stuff here: Carolyn Brandt is chased through an empty house by an ax-wielding maniac whilst the radio plays the story of Little Red Riding Hood. The world's phoniest looking decapitation is also here, as well as posters of Stecklers previous films plastered all over the walls of the diner. There's also a great chase scene, with Steckler making a run for it on horseback! But not before Liz punches him right in the face and knocks him on his bony butt in a scene that made me laugh out loud. It even has a happy ending.

This film is pure Steckler, which will attract as many people as it will repel. You either like his films or you don't...and I love them. This is one of his very best.

As a fan of Ray Steckler,I suppose I am being a little biased,as so many others seem to hate this movie,but I don't care.I think it's Ray's best movie,and stands well above other indie pictures I've seen.There are many scenes in here that are quite good(just the Hollywood party scene with a sleepy-looking Arch Hall Sr. is worth the price of a rental)and Steckler handles his action scenes well,also.The scene where Steckler(as Mad Dog)slaps around Erina Enyo looked downright brutal to me.BY all means,watch this movie if you get the chance!!

Fun cheapie in black and white, fairly well photographed. You're lucky if (like me and others out here in Oakland CA) you got to see it in a theater with Steckler himself and his cronies (including the weary Will Viharo) running through the crowd with axes on cue with the "hypnovision" process on the screen. Weird murder movie plot similar to the later "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (which owes this movie a lot) has a family of maniacs and their friends on a killing spree in a desert ranch area (looks like somewhere up Coldwater Canyon). The finale has director Steckler on horse evading a cop on a motorbike who can't seem to catch up! Priceless.

Ray Dennis Steckler was one of the more spirited low-budget schlock auters working during the 1960s, and "The Thrill Killers" bears his trademark style: dissonant camera work during the action scenes, authentic locations, and generally ridiculous plot developments (wouldn't you be a bit alarmed if some twitchy guy brought a bloody ax into your restaurant?). By today's standards, the decapitations and stabbings are in the campy vein of Herschell Gordon Lewis (and the 'hynosis' gimmick is pure William Castle), and the hipster slang is dated and laughable. Steckler, who plays the lead psycho, has some genuinely creepy moments, and Carolyn Brandt (Steckler's girlfriend) is fun to watch as an early victim. Even though "The Thrill Killers" is slow-moving and erratically paced, it's worth a look for those who enjoy low-budget cinema.

5/10