thesadist

'Cult classic' is without a doubt the most inflationary used term in b-movie history. Every celluloid loser that has been 'recently re-discovered' winds up in the ads of some crummy bootlegger being praised as must-see , cult, or classic. I've wasted so much money on those turkeys it's not even funny. But every once in a while - not very often - a movie really lives up to what the term 'Cult classic' implies. Those rare moments make up for all the long hours of dull crap. It gets even better when you stumble accross movies like The Sadist , which in my humble opinion is the very epitome of 'Cult classic'. It knocked me right off my feet the first time I watched it. It still does. It'll do the same for you.

But first things first : Three square high school teachers are on their way to the World Series when all of the sudden their car breaks down. They make it to a seemingly deserted scrap yard , still in good spirits about the game ahead of them. Things take an unexpected turn when a young couple shows up , threatening them at gunpoint to do repairs on the potential getaway car. As it turns out , the couple are Charlie Tibbs and his somewhat dumb girlfriend Judy, two thrill killers on a homicidal hitchhiking rampage. Though the police are hot on their trail, the teenage psychos take their time to ridicule , intimidate , and scare the shit out of the teachers. The situation turns from bad to worse when Charlie shoots one of the teachers , only to laugh his ass off about it...

To give away more of the plot would only spoil the film for those who haven't seen it yet so I don't do it. Though the story is pretty simple and straightforward ( and obviously based on the Charles Starkweather case ) you better be prepared for some unexpected turns and details you certainly don't see to often in films from that period of time. Often dismissed as violent nonsense or a dumb crime movie , director James Landis' debut feature is in fact the first serious terror movie, the grand-daddy of films like Last House On The Left so to speak. Please don't get me wrong : The Sadist is not a bit dated - it easily keeps up with Wes Cravens landmark film in terms of relentless cruelty and unnerving hopelessness.

The Sadist was fourth in a row of six movies from Fairway International Films. Fairway was founded by Arch Hall Sr. in order to cash in on the rock'n'roll craze of the late 50's with films like Eegah , The Choppers , and Wild Guitar. All of 'em starred his son , Arch Hall Jr. , who more or less played himself : a teenager crazy for hotrods and music. The Sadist shows him in a completely different light and proves his acting abilities ( he was only 18 at the time the film was made!) . Juniors stunning performance as Charlie Tibbs anticipates Krug Stillo by almost ten years.

Landis , who also wrote the script , made another brilliant move by reducing the most heroic teacher into a thoroughly human character when he chickens out to Charlies offer to let him switch places with the teacher Charlie's about to shoot. Another plus The Sadist has on its side is the competent b/w cinematography by later Oscar winner Vilmos ( William ) Zsmigmond , who turns the only set of the film ( the scrapyard in the desert ) into a death trap with no way out. All in all , this is essential.

I can't understand why this isn't widely regarded as a classic.....it makes Alfred Hitchcocks classic , Psycho ( made in 1960 ) look very dated by comparison. Charlie Tibbs is one of the most memorable screen villains ever..... a mix of James Dean , Billy the Kid , and Henry Lee Lucas. I was pretty impressed by Arch Hall jr's portrayal of the teenage thrillkiller. The Sadist starts out like almost any of the sacharine teen movies of the fifties and sixties , but the mood changes to a sinister , dark , claustrophobic one in a heartbeat.

Zsigmonds cinematography is both stylish, and groundbreaking. It really adds to the production values of what is essentially an ultra-low budget movie. It probably hasn't become the classic it deserves to be because it would have been marketed as a teen drive-in movie , so teens expecting saucermen , dragracing , rock'n'roll , and a fun movie must have been sorely disappointed with this intense thriller.

As Mack pointed out , it really does have that many twists and turns that to say much about the plot really would ruin things for you. All I can say is that James Landis hit paydirt by keeping the plot fairly basic , and concentrating on psychological horror. This also has a fair amount of social commentary about the divide between the haves and the have-nots , and also the harsh fact that violence usually wins out over intellect.Although this movie is largely unseen by the public , quite a few filmmakers have obviously seen it, and borrowed elements of the plot. Charlie asks one of the teachers : "Did he fire seven shots, or only six?" years before Dirty Harry posed the same question...... and of course Charlie and his near mute girlfriend were pretty much a rockabilly template for Mickey and Mallory of Natural Born Killers fame. The Sadist is a tight little top-notch thriller that really hasn't dated too badly in almost forty years.