The Thrill Killers Reviews

Writer-director Ray Dennis Steckler, billed under his usual pseudonym, Cash Flagg, stars as "Mad Dog" Click, a murderous lunatic whose brother, Herbie (Herb Robins), has just escaped from a California insane asylum, along with two other depraved goons. While trying to hook up with his brother, Mad Dog thumbs a ride from traveling salesman Dennis Kesdekian (Atlas King), kills him, and steals his car. Meanwhile, aspiring actor Joe Saxon (Brick Bardo) and his wife, Liz (Liz Renay), try to persuade film producer George J. Morgan (THE THRILL KILLERS' producer, playing himself) to star Joe in his next project. The action then shifts to a roadside diner run by Liz's cousin, where the three escaped killers turn up and behead an amorous young couple (Carolyn Brandt and Ron Burr). Soon Joe, Liz, and Morgan arrive on the scene, followed shortly thereafter by Mad Dog himself. With all the characters now assembled in one place, the lunatics, having added Mad Dog to their ranks, take a stab at beheading the filmmakers. This low-low-budget fun from Steckler offered even more surprises during its initial theatrical run, including the on-site presence of men in latex Cash Flagg masks who ran up and down the aisles brandishing fake axes. What's more, the film featured a prolog with a "real" hypnotist who used a spinning wheel to suggest to the audience that the axe-wielding goons were actually jumping out of the screen.