The Sadist

In the wake of PSYCHO, wannabe rock movie star turned airline plot Arch Hall, Jr. (EEGAH!, THE WILD GUITAR) took on the title role in THE SADIST, which was loosely based on thrill killer Charles Starkweather. A trio of teachers find themselves stranded in a remote junkyard where Charlie and his girlfriend inflict psychological abuse on them. The film is ploddingly paced and the climax is sort of annoying, but the movie sucks you in once Hall hits the screen. In my opinion, it's as good as, if not better than, many similar A-list movies from the era. The film's in public domain, so most prints are bad (the print that airs on TCM is terrible), but there was a nicely remastered (and instantly OOP) widescreen DVD released by Allday video.