Sleazy rough diamond of exploitation
"Kirk Smith, a disturbed Vietnam vet (are there any other kind in exploitation movies?), stalks women and strangles them, if he's not shooting pornographic pictures of them. A couple of detectives are on the case yet cannot seem to find any clues as to the identity of the killer. When Kirk keeps calling a radio show to speak with Dr. Lindsay Gale to talk about his headaches and even goes so far as to strangle a woman when he's on the line, it means a breakthrough in the case, but Kirk becomes more irate and violent. Well, in terms of story and character development, this taps into the same vein as films like Maniac and Don't Go Into The House! which means that there isn't really any claim to originality. While the film is adequately shot, it isn't exactly a flashy film, more a down 'n dirty exploitation film. The attraction comes from 2 different elements, which are the performance by Nicholas Worth as the strangler and the juxtapositioning of different tones. With his buff body and fits of explosive rage, Worth is a fearsome appearance. He can go from childlike sobbing to drooling madness in the blink of an eye and he carries the attention of the viewer in every moment that he is on the screen. The rest of the cast, while decent enough, can't hope to catch up with his bravoura, though both protagonists are fun to watch. One moment, you have the strangler go about his work while the great synth score goes haywire. Another moment, you have both Lt. McCabe and Sgt. Hatcher busting up a massage parlour, all the while laughing their asses off, with the patrons (all kinds of kink) running around like headless chickens. Or what to think of McCabe using some unorthodox method to talk a potential suicide victim out of jumping from a building? Political correctness is completely absent and there were times were I was laughing my ass off myself. It can feel quite uneven because of those jarring tonal shifts yet that also adds to the odd appeal of the film. Great location work (those porn theatres and dirty night streets!) and the sleaze drips off the screen."