The Thrill Killers

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.

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!!

Ray Steckler's attempt at something different then his usual kind of movie is pretty decent. I must admit though that I do like movies that involve psychotic characters. The story is very simple. Three psychopaths escape a mental hospital and cause havoc to a small community. The lead of the film however is a small time actor hoping to make it big. The crazies meet up with him and his wife in a small diner and hell breaks loose. There's actually a pretty good chase scene which isn't that common in these films. Although a lot of the acting is pretty cheesy, the mental patients are pretty convincing which makes this film worth a look.

The set-up for this one is simple enough: three violently insane goons escape from a mental institution, and go on a rampage, terrorizing people like unsuccessful actor Joe Saxon (Joseph Bardo) and his wife Liz (moll turned stripper turned actress Liz Renay). While this is going on, a sole psychopath (played by director / writer / producer Ray Dennis Steckler, using his "Cash Flagg" pseudonym) is busy racking up his own body count.

"The Thrill Killers" is an above average sleazy-B; if you measure it against other flicks in the Steckler filmography, you too may think that it's better than expected. It benefits from some decent performances. Gary Kent, Herb Robins (later, the writer / director of "The Worm Eaters"), and Keith O'Brien are a hoot as the creeps; O'Brien is so looney he thinks nothing of bringing a murder weapon that he's recently used into a public place. Steckler himself is likewise amusing. His other cast members include his then-wife Carolyn Brandt, Laura Benedict as sassy diner owner Linda, Ron Burr as the ill-fated Ron, Atlas King as early victim Dennis Kesdekian, and Titus Moede in dual roles (including a hilarious Hollywood sycophant at the party). Producers Arch Hall Sr. and George J. Morgan play themselves, and B-movie perennial Renay's own daughter Brenda has a bit at the party. Coleman Francis is the narrator.

"The Thrill Killers" does show that Steckler was capable of some competence now and again. It wastes little time getting going, wraps up in a tidy 70 minutes, and gives us an action-packed, exciting finale wherein "Cash Flagg" runs the cops a merry chase. It moves along to a jaunty jazz score by Andre Brummer, and features excellent cinematography by Joseph V. Mascelli. That scene where Flagg is in a hotel room with his next victim is a perfect example of this.

Well worth a viewing for fans of vintage exploitation.

Seven out of 10.

Welcome to the world of Ray Dennis Steckler. Low budget shlock about three psychopaths and one of them's serial killer brother on the rampage in black-and-white 1960's Los Angeles.

This is most definitely Steckler's least incompetent film. Black and white cinematography is fantastic. Steckler applies creative film-making principles to a crazy low budget to make great entertainment, but also competent movie making. I really enjoyed the production music that he chose to use.

Steckler was also hanging around with Arch Hall Jr./Sr. (he appeared in and directed Wild Guitar) during these years. Hall Sr. even appears here in an unbilled cameo as himself: a drunken lout.

So I can't help but compare this film to the similar Arch Hall film "The Sadist." Similar plot device of maniacs keeping normal people at bay in a deserted shack out in the sticks, though that scenario takes up only a few scenes in this film, and takes up 95% of "The Sadist." This film is not quite as good as "The Sadist" but fans of that work should enjoy this trip as well.

Anyway, fans of Steckler's peculiar universe of film making should dig on this, though as others have stated this is most certainly his darkest film. Several genuinely scary scenes (in the DVD commentary track, Steckler brags about shooting these scenes in the daytime and still being able to scare the audience) and several exciting chase scenes for about the last 20 minutes of the movie, much better done than is usual for films of this budget level.

An enjoyable psychopathic killer film with a bit of late-period film noir atmosphere that comes off well. Just a bit of "Blast of Silence" maybe. Filmed in 1964, released in 1965. Available on DVD.