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OVERALL
BEASTS
BREASTS
Director: Ray Dennis Steckler
Writers: Gene Pollock & Ray Dennis Steckler
Cast---
Ray Dennis Steckler ...  Mort "Mad Dog" Click
(as Cash Flagg)
Liz Renay ...  Liz Saxon
Joseph Bardo ...  Joe Saxon (as Brick Bardo)
Carolyn Brandt ...  Carol
Gary Kent ...  Gary
Herb Robins ...  Herbie
Keith O'Brien ...  Keith
Laura Benedict ...  Linda
Ron Burr ...  Ron

Runtime: 69 min  
THE THRILL KILLERS (1964)

Steckler's last film was the atrociously bad Incredibly Strange Creatures...etc. But here with his fourth
film, he not only improves incredibly as a filmmaker and sort of as an actor, but he manages to make a
startling thriller with some effective suspense.

This beautifully shot film starts with an introduction of the films "hero", Joe (played by Joseph Bardo,
who is credited as Brick Bardo, which is Tim Thomserson's name in the nostalgia-heavy Dollman), a
sadsack wannabe actor trying to make it in Hollywood. He is married to an aging actress who has
stepped out of the limelight to take up painting. At the same time we meet a despicable cold-blooded
murderer known as Mort "Mad Dog" Click (played by Cash Flagg, who is really Steckler's secret identity).
He kills a father of five heading to work, then steals the man's car and picks up a hooker who he
proceeds to slap around violently, then kill. Meanwhile, poor old Joe is just trying to catch a break, but
his MILF-wife has had enough of the biz and wants him to quit.

The film takes a weird turn here as the structure breaks up into two different movies. We meet a lovely
young couple who is planning on buying their first home. They arrive to check it out and meet up with
three escaped mental patients. The actors that inhabit these roles do an amazing job of portraying
crazy. They not only look and act crazy, but they allow it to infect the way they deliver dialog and how
they move. That makes these scenes very special and very tense. They split the husband's head open
after teasing the scared couple then chase the wife down and do the same to her (all off camera, sorry).
They spot the couple's truck and take it for a spin. The three psychos end up in a a small roadside diner
where Joe, his gal and her cousin, and Joe's new boss are all loitering in.
The psychos take over the place and terrorize the group. In this scene, you can see how Steckler
cleverly threw up a poster of his last film (INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES) in the background. One
of the gang goes off to make a phone call, and who should he call but Mad Dog Click himself, his cousin.
He arranges for a pick up and then goes back to harassing their hostages. The waitress manages to
pour some rat poison into the man's drink and he dies instantly. There is a fight between Joe and the
crazy with the axe as his wife flees the premises and the remaining psycho chases her. Joe beats the
crazy guy up and chases after his wife and the psycho. They catch up to each other on a cliff and the
fight ends with one of them plunging to their deaths. Then our good friend Mad Dog shows up and
kidnaps Joe's wife. The police are called in and a massive chase through the woods begins with Mad
Dog going on a wild killing spree and ends with a tense action set piece involving Mad Dog on a horse
and a motorcycle cop chasing them.

It is a rare thing when I can watch a movie and not guess what a character will do. This movie's group of
thrill killers was so believably crazy that I actually found myself on the edge of my seat because, as we
all know, crazy people can do anything. Though the film does have an odd structure, it delivers solid
entertainment. This psychos-gone-wild film features stunning black and white photography and
above-par acting. Despite what must have been a meager budget, it manages to actually be
suspenseful and action-packed at the same time. The ending is especially well-shot. Overall, this is a
huge improvement over Steckler's third film, which just seemed to sit on the screen like a dim-witted
lump of human excrement. But this film pops and zigs and zags and takes you an wonderful ride. This
film should become a template for all other horror-crime films. Film students take note and track this
hidden gem down.



                                                                                                       
                                                                                                        - Jose Prendes
N / A
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The Thrill Killers (1964)
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