Killer's Delight

Killer's Delight is said to be based on the real life crimes of Ted Bundy, and that would seem to be an accurate assessment of the film as the killer in this film and the real life killer share many similarities; although the release of Killer's Delight and the apprehension of Ted Bundy happened around the same time. The majority of this film focuses on the investigation into the murders rather than the murders themselves and as such the film is not particularly graphic, but we do get to see how the killer targets his victims. The film takes place in a small town and several young girls have turned up dead. Detective De Carlo believes that all the murders were committed by the same killer and as he begins to investigate, discovers that all the girls were hitchhiking before they were killed. It soon becomes apparent to Detective De Carlo that the killer is not only continuing, but actually flaunting the murders under the police's noses. Things begin to heat up as the search for the killer becomes more desperate.

The film gets off to a promising start as we see a young hitchhiker kidnapped and killed, but then things slow down a bit as the police investigation takes central stage. It has to be said that there isn't a lot of tension featured in the film and it mostly just relies on the story and characters to pull it through, which does keep things interesting for most of the duration. The film is very much a product of the seventies; and the production values are surprisingly good and while I doubt that the film had an affluent budget to work from, it doesn't seem to be a low budget film either and I am a rather surprised that the film has vanished so far into obscurity. The film does become a bit tedious in places as it moves on and the final third can be a bit slow, which is a shame but the final climax is decent enough and the film does feature a fitting ending. Despite its obscurity, the film does have a DVD release and while I wouldn't recommend that anyone rushes out to purchase it; it is a decent enough watch if you can get your hands on a copy.

When I was growing up, I saw this movie (under the title "The Dark Ride") in several video stores in my town. I was curious about it, but I never got around to renting it. Recently, I found a copy in a thrift store, and felt it was now or never. To tell the truth, I thought it would be awful, but to my surprise I found several aspects of the movie worthy of merit. It's decently acted for the most part by the no-name cast, for one thing. And there are a number of scenes involving the killer that have some genuine creepiness, such as using the simple but effective technique of little to no background music. The movie also correctly illustrates that investigations of serial killers take a lot of long and hard work. Unfortunately, that leads to the big problem of the movie. Even though the movie runs less than 90 minutes, the story is still too drawn out, and gets dull at times. Also, if you are looking for plenty of exploitation material like gore and sexual stuff, there isn't much of that here. In fact, it wouldn't take that much editing to make this movie safe to broadcast on commercial TV. So while I am firm in my opinion to not seek out this movie, I will say that if you find yourself watching it you won't find it completely bad.

I came across this movie in a list of movies inspired by true crime cases. The inspiration for this film was the cases of Ted Bundy and Edmund Kempler.

The script is very simple, clearly having some influence by European films like 'Bird With The Crystal Plumage' or 'Black Belly of the Tarantula'. However, Maralyn Thoma doesn't make this mystery that complex, focusing more on the cat and mouse game between the killer and the detective.

Compared to most modern slick thrillers and horror movies, it is easy to consider this film dull with it's steady progression and lack of cheap fake scares. What this film is trying to achieve isn't cheap shocks but a slow sense of frustration and dread.

The killer is underdeveloped as a character for a simple reason, this film is from 1978. A lot of the information about serial killers, their psycho-pathology and victimology was still being developed at the time. Without the information we take for granted now, it was much better to keep the tension by detaching from the killer, making him a monster by mystery.

The actors in this film are giving their all. James Luisi is a very sympathetic, complicated protagonist, absorbed in this case and torn between his home life with his family, and his mistress, a psychologist who can give him his first clues on the nature of this kind of monster.

The girls playing the victims are very convincing in their naivety, their shock at being trapped and their fear being in the hands of a madman. They aren't mere cookie cut bodies or subtly being blamed for their victimization, with small action and dialog, they are made real and ordinary for us.

Oh, and also because it is a late seventies film, there has to be one lame, over sentimental song. That's just a given.

This is an overlooked film, and that's a pity. For a true horror maven, it is well worth watching.

I'm surprised to see so many positive reviews here. Not that this is a bad film by any means, but I think that people are trying too hard to find significance and meaning in this somewhat dull crime flick. As has been mentioned in other reviews, much of this movie was allegedly inspired by the crimes of Ted Bundy. Yes, John Karlen's character (the killer) does torture and murder attractive young women, but the resemblance pretty much ends there. Bundy was a good looking charmer, while this guy is a creepy freak, plus, I don't recall any detective having his mistress murdered during an abortive attempt to snare Bundy. Add this to about another 100 inconsistencies, and you can see that there isn't a lot of commonality. The Hillside Stranglers or even the Zodiac had more in common with Karlen's character than Bundy.

Anyway, to me, this film is most effective when looked at as being a prototype for the buddy films of the 80s like Lethal Weapon, 48 Hours, et al. James Luisi is the tough cop, and for me, his unending tough guy posturing and attempts to be "the man" around women half his age came off as forced and eventually tiresome. I was more entertained by his sidekick Martin Speer, who was barely discernible amidst his forest of facial hair and feathered do. TV staple Susan Sullivan is adequate as Luisi's mistress, and the rest of the cast is generally competent.

Worth a look, and entertaining if one isn't expecting too much. I must say, the basketball scene between the 2 detectives is hilarious. Neither of them look like they had ever handled a ball before and the stilted. awkward gamesmanship is a hoot.

An early example of the serial killer features that would eventually proliferate, "Killer's Delight" takes its inspiration (apparently) from the crimes of the notorious real-life Ted Bundy. A disguise-happy creep (John Karlen, 'Dark Shadows') rides about in a yellow van and regularly abducts, tortures, and slaughters attractive young women. A police detective named DeCarlo (James Luisi, "The Hidden") realizes that these murders are the work of one person, and is coldly determined to stop him, no matter what he has to do.

"Killer's Delight" (also known as "The Sport Killer" and "The Dark Ride") goes through its exploitative paces adequately, with suspense, titillation, and very little in the way of gore. Here, screenwriter Maralyn Thoma and director Jeremy Hoenack try to maintain a balance between following the actions of the psycho, and the actions of the cop. It has time for some humor, as DeCarlo pals around with fellow detective Mike Mitelman (Martin Speer (Wes Cravens' "The Hills Have Eyes"), who was also the art director on this show). The film is sufficiently entertaining, if not exemplary in any way. Its biggest plot twist occurs in the final third when DeCarlo asks his paramour, psychiatrist Carol Thompson (lovely TV veteran Susan Sullivan, 'Falcon Crest' and 'Dharma & Greg'), to act as the bait in a trap for the creep.

With other familiar faces like Hilarie Thompson ("Nighthawks"), Anne-Marie Martin (the original "Prom Night"), and Buck Flower ("They Live"), in a cameo as a distraught witness, it's easy enough to watch "Killer's Delight", especially as it works to create a constant sense of creeping dread. Karlen is a standout as the murderer, the kind of character one feels filthy just watching.

Overall, a decent procedural / body count thriller, somewhat obscure these days but which die hard fans of the genre may want to seek out.

Six out of 10.