User reviews

I have to say, I was a little worried that after all the great things I had heard about "The Sadist" that I would be let down in the end. After all, its an early sixties cheapie thriller starring Arch Hall Jr. and its probably just overrated for its bleak attitude which is so uncommon in films of that era. Right?

Wrong.

The plot is simple but strong. Three teachers on the way to an L.A. Dodgers game have car trouble and pull into a house/car garage on the side of the road. They search for help but the place seems to be abandoned... However there is warm pie and uneaten food on the kitchen table of the house. Something is definitely amiss and all three teachers are feeling somewhat uncomfortable when suddenly the find out they aren't so alone after all... A cackling Charlie Tibb (Arch Hall Jr.) and his twisted lolita of a girlfriend (Marilyn Manning) creep out of the graveyard of abandoned cars and take the situation into their control...

"The Sadist" is truly a great movie. Arch Hall Jr. gives us one of cinema's greatest maniacs, some one on par with the likes of Anthony Perkin's Norman Bates or Klaus Kinski's Don Lope de Aguirre. Never for a moment did I find Charles A. Tibb to be unbelievable. Marilyn Manning is equally strong as Charlie's child-like girlfriend Judy, seemingly even sicker then Charles. She whispers deranged activities in his ear and giggles constantly and in the end I found her to be the more disturbing of the duo. The three teachers are not quite as strong, Helen Hovery and Don Russel put out solid performances but unfortunately the resident "big-talker" Richard Alden gets some what obnoxious.

What is perhaps most remarkable about this film however, is the way it is shot. Vilmos Zsigmond's (here credited as William Zsigmond) camera lingers on the sweat, pain and suffering of the three teachers only to cut to a playful and giggling couple of psycho's happily sipping their Coca-Cola's. The whole film is filled with a feeling of heat and agony, a constantly blazing sun shining down into a barren waste land of dead cars and dead bodies. Flashes of hope are rare and always beaten down with such hatred and force that the viewer almost hopes it wont come back... One of the most high tension films I have ever seen.

While some of todays viewers may lose sight of the strength and message of this film, I believe that it is as strong as it ever was. Required viewing for any fan of low-budget thrillers, and required viewing for any one interested in just how powerful the media of film can be.

****/*****

This is one of Arch Hall Jr's no budget wonders. With an unknown cast of five, one desert junkyard location, and a script that could have been written by a ten year old, you would think this movie would fall on it's face. Not a bit.

It is based on the Charles Starkweather murder spree, right down to the psycho girlfriend. Arch Hall Jr even looks a little like Charlie Starkweather without the glasses.

Three nerdy school teachers on their way across the desert to see a baseball game in LA have car trouble. They stop at a remote desert junkyard/repair shop for help only to stumble into a trap. Little do they know that Charlie and Judy are waiting for some unsuspecting victim to stop so they can carjack and kill them.

Arch Hall's performance is really chilling. He seems to relish the pain he causes his victims. The black and white close-ups of his demonic face are terrifying, as is the rest of the camera work. His girlfriend, played by Marilyn Manning has an interesting part. She is dainty and sexy, has no lines, and whispers in his ear through the entire movie, but she is able to project an air of delicious menace. The rest of the cast is incidental, but competent.

I was somewhat familiar with Arch Hall Jr. I'd seen him in something unimpressive before, so I expected a skid row production with some support from Robert F Lyons and Mimsy Farmer maybe. I was shocked by his villainous performance. It reminded, in some ways of Robert Blake in "In Cold Blood". I even shocked myself by giving it an 8/10. It also reminded me to stop being such a snob.

If you have seen the bizarre cult movie Eegah (1962) before approaching The Sadist, you could be forgiven for being a little concerned. After all, both films are notable for featuring Arch Hall Jr in a starring role. Hall displayed such a remarkable lack of acting talent in the earlier film that it seemed inconceivable that he would be in the least bit threatening as a psychopath in a gritty thriller. Well, all I can say is that the Arch hall Jr of The Sadist is like a man reborn. He quite literally is excellent here.

The film has a plot as simple as can be - three teachers pull up at a deserted junkyard in a remote location and are quickly held captive by a psychotic young couple. It's a lean story with no wastage whatsoever. It really is a very good example of how to make an effective low-budget movie, where the lack of resources never gets in the way. In fact, this is a quite hard-hitting thriller for its era and has some tough scenes. Some characters are killed when you don't think they will be and, generally, it surprises.

As I said before Hall plays the sadist of the title but he is not the only standout performer, Marilyn Manning is very good too as his unhinged girlfriend. Her character is an interesting one, as she says nothing throughout except inaudible whispers to Hall, yet she manages to create a fascinating character and projects a quite magnetic screen presence. There are only five other actors in the entire cast, they all do solid rather than memorable work. The film benefits too from great cinematography from Vilmos Zsigmond who went on to be director of photography in such high profile later films such as Deliverance (1972), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and The Deer Hunter (1978). In this little movie he manages to utilise the clutter-filled environs of the junkyard to fantastic effect, especially in the latter suspenseful pursuit scenes where three different characters navigate their way around the junk-filled landscape where we sometimes see them all captured simultaneously on screen in different parts of the yard. The direction by James Landis is pacey and certainly makes the most of the limited set-up. Ultimately, this is well acted, photographed and directed. And this combination amounts to one of the great 60's B-movies.

Three teachers are driving to Los Angeles for a Dodgers game when they're sidelined with car trouble. They pull into an automobile junkyard for assistance, but the place appears to be deserted. If only they were so lucky. It isn't long before they're set upon by the unhinged Charlie Tibbs and his silent girlfriend, Judy. Held at gunpoint and subjected to almost nonstop psychological torment by the murderous couple, the teachers may find this auto graveyard to be their final resting place as well.

Having been curious about it via a reference book, I made a point of catching The Sadist on TCM a few years back. I found myself ordering the Collector's Edition DVD the very next day. As far as 60's horror goes, I'd say it's close behind Rosemary's Baby. It's a tight little affair that doesn't take long to get going. Once the three teachers meet Charlie and his gal, it's wall-to-wall tension for the remainder of the film. Charlie is as unpredictable as he is sadistic, and these people are completely at his mercy. We're kept on the edge of our seat by never knowing what sick game he'll come up with next, or how long it'll be before he tires of his captives. I was impressed with the film's relentless, nary a hope nature. Some scenes are genuinely shocking, particularly for 1963. Who figured a soda pop could bring about such dread? The Sadist is really rather groundbreaking when you look at it. It can be seen as sort of a blueprint for some of the torture films that would follow in years to come. It's also worth noting that it's subdued shocks are more effective than the graphic shocks seen in the majority of those later films.

The acting is fine all around, but the film belongs to Arch Hall Jr. Long considered a camp king, he is chilling as the Starkweather-inspired sadist. He plays Charlie as a real oddball with some bizarre quirks and mannerisms. This could have come off as cheesy, but it doesn't. His performance feels authentic, and he is believably threatening... as long as he has a gun to hide behind, anyway.

It's also a wonderfully shot picture. Vilmos Zsigmond, who went on to award wins, delivers some stunning cinematography his first time out. With his keen eye and Landis' direction, a sense of desolation really shines through.

The Sadist is one that's not to be missed.

Always have your mechanic check the fuel pump before taking in an afternoon of baseball. But if you don't--be prepared to shake your head. Wince. Now run for your life! All good advice when dealing with "The Sadist." Arch Hall Jr. carves out one of the most demented portrayals in screen history. There is not a sliver of goodness in his contorted face or stooped walk. He drinks soda pop and wolfs down apple pie with ghoulish glee. He also kills people. Often. He hates cops and teachers. The movie has both present: three egg heads and two swine. A meal only a true psycho can savor. And does he ever. Along for the ride is his mute, sycophant lady friend--a Miss Manners reject. Together they torture the living daylights out of anyone who crosses their path. The director pulls no punches in realizing this stark land of visual terror. Surprisingly, the cameraman, Zsigmond, has gone on to win an Oscar and a raft of prime Hollywood assignments. Everyone else--in this 92 minute movie--only wishes to escape and catch a few innings of a good ball game. Instead, they all suffer from heat stroke and a terminal case of hooky from the rest of the world. Amen.

While I've long been familiar with z-movies "Eegah!" and "The Wild Guitar," this film, from the same people, slipped under my radar for years – which is really a shame. Every bit as good as any big-studio, low-budget production from the era (perhaps even better than most), "The Sadist" is truly a gem that'll never receive the recognition it deserves.

Loosely based on serial killer Charles Starkweather, Arch Hall Jr plays Charlie Tibbs, a psychotic delinquent who, aided by his girlfriend, holds three travelers hostage at gunpoint as they attempt to fix their broken-down car, which Charlie intends to use for his getaway. The film is slowly paced and has little plot, but there's so much going for it – particularly as the tension begins to mount. The acting is fantastic all around, not the hokey z-acting that I anticipated. The characterizations are rich and layered, Hall being a completely convincing standout (despite his "Cabbage Patch Kid" looks). The cinematography is fantastically detailed, with a variety of haunting visuals and innovative shots. The musical score is unobtrusive and perfectly suits the on screen action (and lack thereof).

The thing that astounds me most is how well this film has aged. The junkyard location is sort of timeless, the dialogue isn't stilted and dated like most other films of the era and no pop culture (except Coca-Cola) date it to any specific place and time. Even "Psycho," a film whose success they'd intended to ride the coattails of, is far more dated than this one. It's a psychological character movie, pure and simple. And it's because of the simplicity of the whole thing that it'll continue to stand the test of time. The one and only complaint that I have is the title, that doesn't quite suit it. Nonetheless, it's a great classic thriller and I hope that it will find the audience that it deserves on DVD.

**SPOILERS** Surprisingly good and effective thriller about a couple on the road and on the run from the state police leaving a trail of dead bodies along the way.

Based on the 1957-58 murder spree of the infamous Charlie Starkweather and his 14 year-old girlfriend Caril Fugate "The Sadist" has a couple of murderous misfits traveling the desert roads of Arizonia and California ending up stranded in this service station, after murdering the couple who run it. The two killers then wait for a motorist to show up to take his, or her, car in order to make their getaway from the perusing state troopers.

Driving into the station are three vacationing teachers Carl Doris & Ed from Cincinnati going to L.A to attend Carl's sons graduation and take in a Dogers/Redleg baseball game. Finding the place deserted and with their car broken down the three are stuck in the middle of nowhere and with no mean to get help but for another motorist to show up and help them.

Up pops Charlie, gun in hand, and his mentally unstable or slightly retarded girlfriend Judy holding the terrified trio hostage and planing to murder them after Ed, who seems to know a lot about car engines, fixes his car for them to drive off with. Charlie is a sadistic psycho who already murdered some dozen people and his girl Judy, who never says a word in the movie,are always a step ahead of the police. The killers now seem to be close to getting captured, or killed, by the cops if they don't find a way to get back on the open road fast.

When Charlie shows up in the film you sense that he's not your ordinary movie criminal. Giggling with a maniacal sneer Charlie really enjoys torturing his victims to the point where they almost beg him to murder them just to put them out of their misery.Starting off with Carl Charlie torments the man so brutally, after having beaten his head in with a handgun, that you turn away from the screen in disgust and horror.

Turning his sights on both Ed & Doris, after cold-bloodily shooting Carl, Charlie lets the couple live only to fix their car and tells the terrified couple that after the car is fixed he'll murder them as well. It's now only a matter of time for Ed & Doris to stay alive as long as their needed to help Charlie & Judy and it's in that time that Ed devises a plan for him and Doris to escape.

A true landmark in horror/crime movies "The Sadist" pulls no punches in getting it's message across to the public, back then in 1963, about psychotic and cold-blooded killers, like Charlie, in a way that's never been seen before in motion pictures.

Charlie ,dispite his craziness, is no fool he's smart enough to have evaded the police and is smart enough to know if Ed & Doris are trying to escape and turn the tables on him by disarming and killing him. Ed's plan only half works with Charlie disabled, for a few moments, and mistakenly shooting down Judy as he's blinded by a shot of gasoline from the fuel pump.

Going after both Ed & Doris, who took off after he was momentarily blinded, Charlie corners Ed who's shot to pieces by him and then gets in Ed's now operational car driving through the desert to catch up with and murder Doris. It's there in the inhospitable desert that Doris gets some unexpected help from a number of unexpected and unwanted, up until then, friends.

I first saw The Sadist at the Dublin Drive-In Theater in Dublin, Georgia in either the late 1960's or early 1970's as a young child. It left a very distinct impression on me. I discovered this great and underrated low-budget classic, along with Night of the Living Dead on the drive-in screen at around the same time. The Sadist stuck with me until I managed to see it again many years later on first VHS and then on DVD. I just managed to acquire the DVD that features director Joe Dante's own 35mm print remastered digital transfer. The thing that struck me and stuck with me about The Sadist has always been the tense and suspenseful atmosphere which never lets up throughout most of the film's approximately 92-minute running time. It also greatly conveys a tremendous sense of the genuine frustration, desperation and hopelessness with which the film's sympathetic characters find themselves trapped in, a situation that begins almost from the very start until the very end. The film's screenwriter and director, James Landis does a first-rate job and his direction is both spare and tight. He uses a minimal set and production values to great and maximum effect. The acting is above average, with Arch Hall, Jr. stealing the film as Charlie Tibbs. His real-life cousin, the very beautiful blonde Helen Hovey, plays schoolteacher Doris Page. Quite sadly, Miss Hovey passed away on July 18, 2009. Richard Alden and Don Russell are also good as the other two teachers on their way to Dodger Stadium for an afternoon game. This is a true 1960's classic and remains one of the all-time greatest B-Movies ever made. It just goes to prove what can be done on a low or limited budget, with little known or unknown actors. And also that low-budget does not have to mean low quality. It still seems that The Sadist remains a little known gem outside the realm of film buffs. Someone suggested that maybe Quentin Tarantino should attempt to do a remake. I for one hope not. This film proves that you do not need graphic violence, profanity, sex and nudity to make an effective movie. It is a nail-biter and it keeps you on the edge-of-your-seat. It ropes you in and engrosses you from the very start until the very end. What more could you possibly ask for in a film?

Wow, this is quite a shocker. The main character played by Arch Hall Jr. is very creepy and even in his first scene you know that he has no compassion.

Three school teachers break down in their car and end up in what appears to be a deserted breakers yard. They cannot find anyone there but evidence suggests that the occupiers had been there only minutes before. Along comes Arch Hall with his girlfriend. He points a gun at the teachers and takes their money. In the process he pistol whips the eldest teacher and forces the mechanically minded teacher to fix the car so that him and his girlfriend can escape in it.

It is soon evident that the two assailants are murderers on the run and that they have no qualms about murdering anyone in their path.

Well acted and very disturbing.

Except for some nice camera work by cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond (credited as William Zsigmond) this film has little to offer. The acting is mediocre and by the way can anyone explain why Arch Hall Jrs. face constantly looked like he had an acute case of constant squinting. Was this acting or a severe episode of constipation? Overall, the film lacks tension and is painfully slow. It gets to a point where you wish Archie boy just shot all three of his hostages, then turned the gun on his simpleton girlfriend and finally on himself. Anything to end this celluloid horror. Saying this, I will admit the ending was a decent surprise ( I won't spoil it for those who have not seen it), however it's a long 90 minutes or so to wait for that one thrill. If you want to see a really good film based on the same subject (serial killer Charlie Starkweather), catch on cable or rent "Badlands." Rated a 2- Poor - Has some merit (Zsigmond's camera work)

Believed to be the first film production inspired by real-life killers Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate, the low budget effort "The Sadist" is a fine example of its kind: tense, affecting, sweat-inducing, and very well acted. Writer & director James Landis creates palpable suspense, and with the assistance of a capable crew (including cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond), gets a lot of use out of their desolate settings. This is one film that looks very good in black & white. One genuinely gets involved with these characters; our protagonists are all sympathetic and our antagonist is one hell of a dangerous psycho.

Three schoolteachers - Ed Stiles (Richard Alden), Carl Oliver (Don Russell), and Doris Page (Helen Hovey) - are on their way to a ball game when car troubles force them to pull into an isolated service station. Nobody seems to be around - that is, until Charlie Tibbs (Arch Hall Jr.) shows up, with his girlfriend Judy Bradshaw (Marilyn Manning) in tow. Charlie, feeling empowered by the gun he wields, enjoys dominating and intimidating the helpless trio. With little hope of any Cavalry riding to their rescue, they must rely on their wits to survive this situation.

Hall Jr. doesn't just dominate his victims, he dominates the whole movie, in an endlessly amusing and disconcerting performance, as he mugs, sneers, and hisses his dialogue, while also giggling in a manner inspired by Richard Widmark in "Kiss of Death". You wonder how Ed, Carl, and Doris are ever going to get out of this, and you do feel for them. Russell has one particularly distressing scene where he begs for his life, as Charlie has imposed a time limit on him. Ed is clearly the one person who stands the best chance of taking Charlie on should he drop his guard, or the gun, but he doesn't see an opening. Lovely Hovey (Hall Jr.'s real life cousin, in her only movie appearance) is good, but the slinky Manning is just as watchable, not having very much in the way of spoken dialogue but often whispering ideas to Hall Jr., encouraging him with childlike glee.

Directed with great efficiency by Landis, "The Sadist" has an incredible atmosphere and you can really see the sweat on peoples' foreheads here. You keep waiting and waiting for Charlie to get his comeuppance, resulting in a rather unexpected denouement.

Eight out of 10.

This low-budget flick is based on the escapades of late 50's thrill-killer Charles Starkweather and his girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate. I would like to have seen at least some minimal character development. A 5-minute segment introducing the audience to the teachers and what they were doing would have helped. But other than that, this is a surprisingly good suspense movie with some minor, unexpected twists at the end.

According to TCMUndergrounds' Rob Zombie, the entire budget for the movie was $33,000. This one couldn't be remade with a budget 1,000 times greater.

Three schoolteachers are on their way to see an LA Dodgers baseball game when their car breaks down. They stop at a little restaurant/garage/junkyard out in the middle of nowhere to see if they can get a part to fix the car and still get to the game on time when they are confronted by a young couple on the run. Arch Hall, Jr's portrayal of the angry, psychopathic killer is a little over the top, but it works. There is a budding romance between two of the schoolteachers which is played against a background of terror. One of them is played by Arch Hall, Jr's cousin, Helen Hovey.

The terror continues as the plot unravels. I won't spoil the ending, but if you like suspense thrillers, this is a movie that's definitely worth watching.

When I saw the cumulative review score on IMDb, I was quite surprised. I hated this movie - absolutely hated it. 95% of the time, I'm in agreement with whatever rating IMDb has given it. Not this time.

Arch Hall, Jr. is more annoying than any character I have seen in a movie. He's hammy, squinty and has an incredibly strange voice. Listening to him giggle and watching him grin throughout ran my nerves. I didn't find him frightening at all. I don't know if he was told to act that way or whether it was his idea.

Most of the other actors do at least an adequate job.

I have no issue with the subject matter - I watch all types of horror and suspense. This film would have been great if they had an actor worthy of the role. Unfortunately, they didn't.

I know that some reviewers have really enjoyed this movie. My advice? Watch the first 15 or 20 minutes and if you can handle Arch Hall, Jr., feel free to have a go at it. If he annoys you the way he did me, I'm letting you know it doesn't get any better.

Well, after watching Arch Hall, Jr., play what were supposed to be cute, likable heroes in "Eegah!" and "The Nasty Rabbit," but finding him to be creepy and unlikeable, instead, I decided to catch Junior's turn as a giggling psychopath.

And you know what? It works for him. Hall's over-the-top, Jimmy Cagney-like performance in "The Sadist" is nearly perfect playing off the rather square actors who play his victims.

I won't completely spoil the plot, but I will say that Freud would have a field day with this one--what else can you say about a flick that involves a psycho who forces a shirtless man to change a fuel pump at gunpoint? Sit around with your friends one night and psychoanalyze "The Sadist."

'the sadist' starring none other than arch hall jr. who was practically skewered to death by the mst 3000 gang's jabs in the hilariously bad 'eegah!' stars and carries this great exploitation shocker from the early 1960s. this movie proves, if anything, that anyone can make a good movie if they put their mind to it, even arch hall jr. the script keeps you on your toes, as all good thriller scripts do, it is surprisingly brutal for a movie made in 1963 and there is no way that one of the majors would've even touched this thing because of that very reason. one of the great dps of all time, academy award winner for the 'deer hunter', vilmos zsigmond shot this thing and it has all the visual flare of a french new wave film, which you never saw in low-budget exploitation films of the time. i can see how some people might think that arch hall jr.'s performance is over-the-top, but i see it as stylistic. i am surprised that arch hall jr. wasn't given more legitimate roles after his performance in the sadist. anyway, i highly recommend this for a friday night movie when there is nothing else good on the shelf at the video store.

adam rant studio city

It's hard to watch films like this. We immediately identify with those poor teachers who are just minding their own business and wander into hell. Any movie about psychotics is difficult because rational thought is beyond the scope of such a figure. This is the id personified. Since these people are not the hero types, just the folks next door, they don't have the ability to confront this kind of danger until it is too late. Considering this was the sixties, the execution type murder is so gut wrenching, not unlike the characters in "In Cold Blood." They could be us. The central figure, a gun toting nut case, is so threatening. For some reason, he looks so much bigger than everyone else. He taunts. He spits venom. He is, himself, a snake. There is no negotiating. The fact that they are teachers feeds into his hatred. He and his girlfriend were made to feel inadequate by teachers; it doubles the threat. I agree with other writers that this is about nightmares. Don't see it to enjoy it.

I first saw this in the early 90s on a vhs n got disturbed by the sheer amount of tension.

Revisited it recently. This film is indeed full of terror n suspense.

A trio of docile teachers are tormented by a sadistic couple and that too in broad daylight but in an isolated place.

The film is loosely based on the killing spree of Charles Starkweather.

I would have easily rated it a 10 for being a top notch heart pounding thriller but Arch Hall Jr's facial expressions are weird throughout the movie n he did a lot of overacting.

Rob Zombie has copied a lot from this movie.

His House of 1000 Corpses, The Devils Rejects, 3 from Hell n 31 copied a lot from this movie.

Rob Zombie's wife Sheri Moon Zombie too copied Marilyn Manning's acting from this movie.

The short voice-over prologue is hokey, the pacing is stagnant, the script spells out, repeatedly, what exactly a sadist is, and Arch Hall's "now I'm being mean" look is often laughable. In spite of all that, the film does have some really tense situations and suspenseful chases, and is quite violent by 1963 standards. Manning is excellent as the psycho's silent, completely amoral girlfriend. (**1/2)

This is, quite likely, the worst movie ever made. The acting and dialog are right out of a Middle School play. If this could be considered art, then a chimp pooping on a canvas should be hanging in the MOMA. This is the sort of tripe about which pretentious, hipster snobs in the 60s would have had profound coffee table discussions. The most over-hyped piece of crap I've ever sat through. This makes some of the scare movies from the 1950s look like Ingmar Bergman, but this is just a low-budget piece of trash, probably knocked out in a slow afternoon on some director's ranch. Made during a period when just about anything qualified as an 'art' flick.

This was a good movie. I just learned that this film is loosely based on the real life teenage killer Charles Starkweather and his 13 year old girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate. 'The Sadist' is very creepy thriller film.

About the film: Charles A. 'Charlie' Tibbs (Arch Hall Jr.) is a murderous delinquent aided by his juvenile girlfriend Judy Bradshaw (Marilyn Manning). Charles and Judy are on the run after killing several people. Our story focuses on the murderous duo and how they held three innocent people hostage (killing two of them).

I must say I despised Charles and Judy from the time we are introduced to them until the end of the film. I'm sorry I wanted these two murderers bumped off right from the get-go. They are irritating and obnoxious - in particular Charles! All I can say the film is good, thrilling but had me talking to the screen at the innocent characters - "No don't do that!" "Do this instead." lol. Yes it is that type of film - you want the innocent to survive and the "bad guys" dead.

8.5/10