This film was written and directed by James (RATFINK) Landis and released in 1963 and was intended to capitalize on the post-PSYCHO film craze that was occurring at this time. The low budget film has some good things going for it including cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond (billed as William), who would later go on to win an academy award for cinematography with CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. THE SADIST does indeed benefit from Zsigmond’s photography, even though the locations are limited to an expansive junkyard and the surrounding hillsides. Despite what the title may imply, the film is not a horror film, but a suspenseful tale of a rebellious white trash killer and his uncaring moll and an the unlucky trio who happen to cross paths with the cold blooded killers. The way the film depicts the killers is similar to the Hollywood films KALIFORNIA, and NATURAL BORN KILLERS, but without all the campy media trappings. The film has one other original bit going for it: the story is told in "real-time". From beginning to end there are no break in continuity and no lapses in time. This simple technique makes the film seem more like real life.

Arch Hall Jr., who portrayed braindead teenagers in films like EEGAH and WILD GUITAR really stands out in the role of killer Charlie Tibbs, who was based on real life killer Charlie Starkweather. Hall plays the role with a combination of Neanderthal man (including one eyebrow across his whole forehead) and a sneering moron (pompadour and all). Marilyn (EEGAH) Manning gives an equally good performance as his disturbed girlfriend, Judy. She does not have a whole lot of dialog in the film, (she mainly whispers in Charlie’s ear or laughs menacingly) but her manner and body language are very convincing. The victims are played by mostly unknowns Don Russell (as Carl), Helen Hovey (as Doris), and only Richard Alden (as Ed) has any additional screen credits, most notably a role in the horror film THE PIT.

The story can be summarized pretty easily. Two young school teachers, Ed and Doris, and one middle-aged teacher Carl are on their way to an LA Dodgers game when their Chevy breaks down. They are lucky enough to break down in front of a junkyard where they believe they can get the parts from a clunker and hit the road again. Ed used to be a mechanic when he was in the army, and thinks he can get the car going. They wander around the junkyard (including the owner’s house) looking for signs of life, but find no one despite the still hot food on the kitchen table. As the trio try to figure out where everyone is, they hear a police bulletin coming in over their radio warning that notorious killer Charlie Tibbs is one loose and in the area. Suddenly, they realize a leering, giggling young man is mere feet away pointing a gun at them.

Immediately the young punk takes the trio hostage, and pistol whips the middle-aged teacher, then gives him the time it takes to guzzle a soda to whimper and grovel for his life before blasting him with a .45. He then makes things miserable for the panicking Ed and Doris, and forces Ed to fix the car quick or die. Ed and Doris believe they are saved when two motorcycle cops show up in the junkyard, but Tibbs manages to dupe the cops, and then shoots them. Tibbs returns to terrorize the two school teachers, and the rest of the film Ed and Doris try to come up with a plan to overcome their tormentors, and escape. But it ain’t that easy.

The character of Ed is somewhat hypocritical. He’s a guy with an army background, and who is clearly in better physical shape than Tibbs, yet Ed shows numerous moments of cowardice. When Ed finally blasts Tibbs in the face with gasoline blinding him, instead of making a move to stop Tibbs, he runs away! Throughout the course of the film, Ed blows several opportunities to overpower his sadistic opponent.

The film has some problems with some of the acting and dialog. At some points in the movie, the characters behave like they are just plain stupid, but its tough to blame either the actors or the script (but I think it’s both). Arch Hall Jr. is the only one who gets to stretch and delivers his lines with some icy emotion. Hall also throws in a huge physical performance into his character, and I don’t mean he is physically overpowering, I mean the way he moves, walks, and his expressions.

This film works on many levels psychologically. The script has social overtones as well. The script has Tibbs hating his victims because they are of a higher class than he. He explains to them why he is crazy, and why Julie is as unfeeling as he is, and Tibbs perceives themselves as victims rather than victimizers. And the cold, calculating Tibbs, who does not show any remorse, finally breaks down when Julie is accidentally shot.

SIGHT

All Day Entertainment presents THE SADIST in its original widescreen ratio of 1.66.1. The professionals at All Day digitally mastered the DVD transfer from a 35mm negative and the result is generally pleasing, but not without a few small problems. Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond work adds a glossy look to the film that exceeds the low budget. Zsigmond is a master of using light, blackness, and shadows to achieve the desired effect, and in the case of THE SADIST, he uses these light/dark texture mixing to reflect Tibbs changes in temper and attitude. There are some small problems with the transfer, despite the good cleanup job All Day has managed to do with the elements. The production notes document the difficulties they had in restoring some of the film’s elements. There are some anomalies (such as scratches and boils) in the transfer, but these are from the source prints and not flaws in the DVD mastering. These anomalies are only glimpsed for a few seconds each and are barely noticeable. The moody black & white images are crisp with good detail. The black levels appears solid, yet somehow I observed some traces of blue in the transfer. But overall, when you take into consideration the fact that the film is 35 years old, this is a very good moody black and white widescreen presentation. I’m giving the transfer rating a 3.5, which is a high rating for a low budget film of this era.

SOUND

All Day has mastered the sound elements into a Dolby Digital Mono 2.0 soundtrack. The split mono signals stretch across the front soundstage. There is some range of depth to the mix with some strong highs and lows. But this is a dialog driven film, and the mono mix accomplishes this adequately. The dialog comes through clearly from the center speaker, and loud sounds (like the gunshots) are not distorted. There is no hissing, dropouts, or distortions of any kind usually associated with a film of this period. Some background noises were detected in the first few minutes of the film, but vanished shortly after. Music Director Rod Moss applies a moody, effective musical score, which is mostly used to heighten the suspense when the visuals call for it. In no way is the score like movies we have today, where symphonic or electronic music is used consistently in the background throughout the picture. There are long periods of narrative where there is no music in the soundtrack at all, and this silence contributes to the suspense as well. I really like the opening theme that plays over the credits.

FEATURES

There is a trailer for WILD GUITARS (b & w, full frame, mono, 1:16) which is what you would expect from a 60’s teen flick. There is also another trailer for the super camp EEGAH (b & w, full frame, mono, 2:14) which stars Richard (Jaws) Kiel as a caveman in his first film role. Film historian and author Stuart Galbraith interviews Vilmos Zsigmond, (who has a thick accent and is a little difficult to understand) but the commentary should be interesting for fans of the film. Unfortunately, there is no trailer for THE SADIST.

CONCLUSION

James Landis and his associates manage to produce a worthy script that called for only 5 actors, and a film crew (including cinematographer Zsigmond) to pull off a coupe. Together they managed to wring a huge amount of tension and suspense out of their little film, and it still holds up with today’s jaded audience. Special kudos should go to actor Arch Hall Jr., whose career never really went anywhere, but here in this film, he is a one man show who gets to tap into the darker side of humanity, and somehow straddle the fine line of great character performances, without going over the top (or resorting to camp). Kudos should also go to All Day Entertainment for going into the vaults and securing a true obscurity, and cleaning the film up for its DVD release.

THE SADIST is available from DVDEmpire.com

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