Il les veut toutes... mais mortes

As sleazy and melodramatic as it all may sound, this is one of exploitation filmmaker Curtis Harrington's better flicks. John Savage(the closest thing we've ever come to another James Dean) is intense and believable every minute as the very disturbed young man, and Ann Sothern is also impressive in one of her more bizarre character parts as the boy's lonely mother who isn't all there herself. Ruth Roman plays Savage's "lousy lawyer", while Luana Anders(of DEMENTIA 13 fame) is the creepy, repressed librarian living next door who makes several unsuccessful attempts to seduce Savage. Cindy Williams, in her pre-LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY days, plays an attractive, but none-too-bright out-of-town girl who makes the dreaded mistake of renting a room in Savage and Sothern's home. It's all relatively low-key, and the finale is too dramatic for it's own good, but thankfully the movie never takes itself too seriously, and the cast, even the actors in the most minor roles, have a ball with it, making this flick a mini-classic of the early 1970's sex/murder/exploitation genre. The film was never released theatrically, but has had a fairly substantial audience thanks to home video.

Solidly well-done thriller is an effectively disturbing gem that stands out from the many drive in horror flicks of the early 70's.

After serving jail time for being accused of rape, a repressed young man returns home to his dominating mother where his desire for revenge may lead him down a murderous path.

The Killing Kind reminds me quite a bit of another relatively undiscovered gem - 1982's Night Warning, although The Killing Kind pre-dates that film by nearly 10 years. As with that film the power behind The Killing Kind lies in the sympathetic characters that drive this story. Not to mention that both films deal with the subject of unhealthy motherly obsession.

The Killing Kind though does stand firmly on it's own as a twisted character study. The story is a compelling brooder of insanity, the suspense is tightly woven, there's a good share of shocking scenes, and the performances of Sothern and Savage are excellent. Ultimately this film becomes quite the emotional roller-coaster, especially in it's somber conclusion.

Well worth seeking for those who like strong, character-driven thrillers. A shocking little rarity.

*** 1/2 out of ****

John Savage is the acting force driving this film. Just getting out of prison for rape, or forced rape, when you see the film in it's opening, Terry (Savage) turns up at his favorite aunts, unannounced. Aunt Thelma takes him under his wing, not forgetting how much he likes chocolate milk, (a favorite of mine too). After a nap, she fixes him a ripper meal of a cake which he downs hungrily. Every things hunky dory. But deep down in Terry's mind is a penchant for revenge. A few of the tenants die, plus a cat, at his violent hand, including a wannabe model (Cindy Williams before her Laverne and Shirley days) who Thelma doesn't consider to be attractive or like. Williams takes the compliment politely. After all, she just wanted a room. One scene has Savage, an acting great, in a truly believable performance, practically tearing off her clothes in the pool, although she was asking for it, a little, I guess. Another has him masturbating, after making a obscene phone call to a slutty girl, shacked up with another fella, the same girl he was forced to rape, years earlier, using some funny and effectively scary dialogue on her. Budding guitarist Savage is, as Williams is a model, (though Savage's character is more the quiet achiever) in one explosive scene he goes ballistic, flying out a door and diving into a pool, to cool himself, after Thelma rabbles with old memories. The following scene at the dry cleaners with another regular, who's really a babbling type is an amusing touch. Savage's psychotic moments where he loses it are frighteningly real, like when forcing his crappy woman lawyer to drink herself dry before he burns her place down with her in it. Another scene, like the pool one just mentioned, that stays with me, is when he runs this girl (no prizes for guessing who I'm talking about here) off a cliff, in his car, plummeting to her death below. Void of any remorse, he actually cracks up, making a cooky, laugh, that's quite chilling. This is a well formulated drama, the kind that made early seventies cinema good, with strong support from it's co stars, Savage walking away with honors here. It has a sad dramatic conclusion that just goes to prove, some people in this world just don't have a fighting chance. I've seen this seventy type horror film a few times, the first on the t.v, mainly because of Savage, an actor I love.

Ann Sothern and John Savage go for broke in The Killing Kind. They're so good in their roles that they make the script seem better than it really is. The story just meanders from scene to scene without much connecting them and, right when it's really starting to get interesting, it ends. Still, the characters and performances are strong enough to keep one interested throughout.

Among the thousands of thriller/horror films swimming around out there, this one is virtually forgotten (though it is newly available- in a terrible print- on a low-priced DVD, paired with "The Sadist".) It's a shame because the cast is made up of a very remarkable collection of actors and the film has value as a psychological observation. Savage has just returned home after spending two years in jail for his (unwilling) part in a gang rape. His hilariously blowsy and slovenly mother (Sothern) dotes on him as if he's still 5 years-old. She has turned her large house into a boarding home, mostly comprised of old spinsters. This changes when she rents a room to a young aspiring model (Williams) who catches the eye of Savage. Before long, Savage's past as a pampered momma's boy and a sexually-frustrated teen comes to a head and he finds himself out of control. Much of this is noted by a repressed librarian (Anders) next door who is caring for her impossible, wheelchair-bound father. In time, women who have either hurt or let down Savage begin dying and eventually Sothern has to step in and take care of things. The plot is fairly simple, though there are some fascinating mental aspects to the characters. Savage is believable and intense. Sothern is wonderful. Her inimitable voice paired with her faded Dolly Partonesque hair and make up (and long lost figure!) combine to create a compelling screen persona. She and Savage share an unusual chemistry (reportedly affected by some one-upmanship on the set) that comes across well in the film. One scene in particular stands out as Sothern conveys to Savage the death of one of her tenants, all the while shaking raw bacon around in her shoddy kitchen! Though she is sloppy, mouthy and completely unconcerned about her diet, she still has those gorgeous eyes and a winning giggle that make her delightful to take in. This is quite a piece of work on Sothern's part. Roman has one extended scene as a financially successful lawyer who isn't as lucky as the outcome of her cases. Williams plays a foolish, but fairly likable character who stays in the house even after her underwear is vandalized. There are more than a few memorable moments in the film, not the least of which is an uproarious trip to the city dump while a rigor-mortified hand sticks out of a trash can! Though the production could hardly be called polished, it retains interest through the eclectic nature of the cast and the commitment to the material from the two leads.