Dirty Fred - Der Schock-Killer

I remember this movie from when I was a kid. I remember it being quite effective. Low budget, yes, but also elemental and quite engrossing. This was shot on location in the remote backwoods of Ontario and really had a very Canadian feel to it. Would love to find a copy of it somewhere. Funny that both stars went on to star in the low budget Canadian sci-fi series Starlost, which was neither effective nor engrossing. I remember they'd show it quite often on Canadian movie series, back in the days when network television owned the world of movie watching. Jeeze this ten line rule really makes you go on too long about movies you barely remember but do want to note.

I saw this on local TV in Detroit over 20 years ago and thought it was fantastic, though quite violent. I've searched for it on TV or video over the years, but to no avail. Hardly anyone seems to have seen this flick, though it is mentioned in the Blockbuster film book. I'd love to see this film again, but not living in Toronto or Vancouver, I may be out of luck!

Gay Rowan was a very good actress, I liked her in the TV show, The Starlost, with Keir Dullea. She seems to have stopped acting around 1984. Ms. Rowan gives a stellar performance in this film as the mistreated wife. This film is suspenseful all the way, and never gets boring. The farmers wife, played by Hollis Mclaren is an absolute hottie. Big on action, paranoia, and diabolical lunacy. Well made for a low budget film from the mid 1970's. The husband played by Dominic Hogan is a complete nut job. The costumes in the film are so 1970's they need to make a comeback. Hogans three piece suit is great. Though not a masterpiece, I give this an 8 out of 10.

This is a very well made movie with the exception of there being too many improbabilities to be believable. The tension is remarkable but a little over done which can cause the movie to drag in places. The introduction of the characters is very well done and the evolution of the antagonist is totally believable. At first the protagonist is thought to be the wife of the antagonist but that switches as the movie develops. This is when the improbabilities start to pile up and continue to do so until it becomes a little too hard to believe. It is the main reason the ending of the movies is so unsatisfying and leaves one hoping that there is a Part Two as another reviewer mentioned. Over all I would recommend this movie but not if you are looking for an escape from a tough life, this is not a good choice in that case.

I found this film to be unusual in the sense that it wasn't a predictable, hollywood-type film complete with the obligitory happy ending. Tension builds slowly as the struggle between good and evil takes some unexpected turns. Low budget and largely unknown but well done.