Complete credited cast: | |||
Lori Saunders | ... | Gloria Wellman | |
Robert Ginnaven | ... | Chris Kenner (as Bob Ginnaven) | |
Dean Jagger | ... | Fredrick Wellman | |
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Lou Hoffman | ... | The Psychiatrist |
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Seymore Treitman | ... | Mr. Ballinger (as Seymour Treitman) |
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Linda Wyse | ... | Janie Mylan |
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John Brown | ... | The Servant |
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Etta Jagger | ... | The Nurse |
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Melanie Wadkins | ... | Mary |
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George Stewart | ... | Death |
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Joe Barone | ... | The Ax-man |
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Brenda Evans | ... | The Victim |
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Jerald Reed | ... | Chauffer |
A young woman just released from a mental hospital moves back in with her family. However, she is soon troubled by disturbing visions in which she commits a series of axe murders.
For a basically no-budget thriller, this isn't really all that bad. Director Harry Thomason went on to produce the first-rate TV series "Designing Women," Dean Jagger was an Academy Award-winning actor, and Lori Saunders, best known for playing one of the sisters in "Petticoat Junction," is actually pretty good in a very atypical role. The plot about a recently released mental patient who may or may not be committing a series of ax murders isn't particularly original, but the film does achieve a degree of suspense, and Saunders does a good job--for the most part--of conveying the anxiety and confusion of a young girl who isn't sure if she's a serial killer. The film is definitely hampered by its next-to-nil production values, and Thomason obviously had quite a bit to learn about directing--mainly about pacing and continuity--but it's not a completely botched effort. And Lori Saunders is just so damn cute it's hard not to give her the benefit of the doubt. But then again . . .
Anyway, it's worth a look. (However, there's another Harry Thomason film that isn't: a bottom-of-the-barrel sci-fi stinker called "The Day It Came to Earth." Absolutely rancid. Skip it.)