Review of The Sadist (1963) by Clare N — 07 May 2009

A nihilistic, low-budget suspense masterpiece about a trio of school teachers who break down near a wrecked car lot in the Mojave desert, where they are terrorized by the eponymous sadist and his girlfriend.

The story is loosely based on the Charles Starkweather killings -- which would later inspire Badlands (1973) -- and it?s unrelentingly bleak and surprisingly violent for a film of its vintage. James Landis? screenplay provides lots of unexpected twists and turns, while his direction keeps the action taut and claustrophobic; but it?s the two aces in his company who really knock this one out of the park.

The first is cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. The Sadist was one of his first feature films and he conjures up so many extraordinarily bold shots that it?s no surprise that he would go on to become one of the top DPs in Hollywood.

The second ace is Arch Hall Jr. as the sadist. He chews up the scenery, whining like a baby, moving and snarling like a gorilla, and looking like Elvis Presley?s inbred cousin. He takes the infantile, narcissistic rage of the fifties? rebel without a cause and carries it to its natural, regressive conclusion, creating one of the great screen villains in the process.