Unhinged mama's boy Stephen Long (a memorably touching and fragile portrayal by Ronald Warren) snaps one day and goes on a shooting spree before committing suicide. Long's neurotic girlfriend Melissa Borden (tartly played by fetching blonde Sandra Lynn) relates to a psychiatrist (unctuous Lee Gladden) the events that caused the troubled Stephen to go off the deep end.
Writer/director Albert Zugsmith keeps the absorbing story moving along at a steady pace, tackles the dark themes of incest, smothering motherhood, and serious psychological hang-ups head on, delivers a satisfying smattering of bare distaff skin, and offers a provocative central message on how messed-up dysfunctional parents can inflict severe mental and emotional harm on their kids. The solid acting by the able cast holds this picture together: Barbara Hines as Melissa's trampy bitch mother Joanna, Ric Marlow as Melissa's no-count philandering dad Arthur, Regina Gleason as Stephen's overbearing mom Rachel, and Lovey Song as Melissa's enticing best gal pal Sally Marsh. The opening fifteen minutes with Stephen driving a car recklessly through the streets and blowing away several folks with a rifle are a rip-snorting doozy. Joe Greene's throbbing tribal score gives off a groovy avant-garde jazz vibe. Robert Caramico's sharp black and white cinematography provides a few funky stylish visual flourishes. The ever-delicious Pat Barrington shakes her sizzling stuff in a regrettably small role as a belly dancer. An interesting item.
Writer/director Albert Zugsmith keeps the absorbing story moving along at a steady pace, tackles the dark themes of incest, smothering motherhood, and serious psychological hang-ups head on, delivers a satisfying smattering of bare distaff skin, and offers a provocative central message on how messed-up dysfunctional parents can inflict severe mental and emotional harm on their kids. The solid acting by the able cast holds this picture together: Barbara Hines as Melissa's trampy bitch mother Joanna, Ric Marlow as Melissa's no-count philandering dad Arthur, Regina Gleason as Stephen's overbearing mom Rachel, and Lovey Song as Melissa's enticing best gal pal Sally Marsh. The opening fifteen minutes with Stephen driving a car recklessly through the streets and blowing away several folks with a rifle are a rip-snorting doozy. Joe Greene's throbbing tribal score gives off a groovy avant-garde jazz vibe. Robert Caramico's sharp black and white cinematography provides a few funky stylish visual flourishes. The ever-delicious Pat Barrington shakes her sizzling stuff in a regrettably small role as a belly dancer. An interesting item.