SunnyHello Nice effects though.

GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Scarecrow-88 San Francisco serial killer(John Karlen, in a chilling performance), in a yellow van, who assumes various disguises, stalks pretty young women, mostly hitch hikers, and it's up to Sargeant Vince De Carlo(James Luisi) to catch him. Not only is this fiend a sexual sadist, but he snaps bones, wears fake wigs and mustaches, and we get a glimpse at how bug-eyed crazy he can be during the act. Bodies piling up, including a college girl who was about to graduate that De Carlo knew personally(in correspondence with other films before, during, and after this particular movie, we see this girl almost get away running into the woods near the road off the freeway), the detective desperately needs extra manpower. With little help besides the minuscule number of cops already helping him, De Carlo, with some assistance from Detective Mike Mitelman(Martin Speer), will personally/doggedly pursue the psychopath. Susan Sullivan is a doctor who could be a potential victim(she is also having an affair with the married De Carlo)as she agrees to work as a girl to seductively draw him into a situation which would implicate him as the one responsible for the rash of killings by his hand.While director Jeremy Hoenack doesn't dwell too much on the actual handiwork of Danny, he does allow us to enter that van on one particular occasion just to see how vicious a deviant he could be, breaking a finger back, ripping the shirt from the victim's body while smiling with a Satanic grin that sends shivers down your spine. Hoenack mentions in an interview that Danny came to fruition as Ted Bundy(who wasn't caught at the time)was killing girls in Seattle. Hoenack shot exclusively in San Francisco, and there are a couple of impressive shots from a helicopter. He includes a disturbing crime scene photograph of one such victim, bones protruding from her legs and arms. And, Hoenack shoots a creepy opening scene featuring Danny chucking a dead naked body over a cliff. It's established that Danny has "mommy issues" which contribute psychologically to his night prowling, kidnapping, and execution of girls who remind him of her. Girls are sluts just like mom and he has to make sure they are unable to do what she did to his father. George Buck Flower(missing teeth)has a cameo as a citizen whose son finds a victim while fishing in a lake nearby. KILLER'S DELIGHT(titled THE SPORT KILLER on the DVD version I watched, released by Code Red)just proves that the 70's had lots of beautiful girls to gawk at, it's just tragic that many of them fall at the hands of this movie's wacko.

BA_Harrison Despite resembling a made for TV movie for much of the time, Killer's Delight still manages to be an enjoyably tawdry and occasionally shocking effort thanks to the inclusion of plenty of hot 70s babes and one or two genuinely nasty moments amongst the routine detective work.The film opens in a delightfully tasteless manner with its psycho killer, Danny (John Karlen) disposing of a naked female body by launching it carelessly down a San Fransisco hillside. The body is soon found, and the damage inflicted is presented in gory detail through a series of black and white police photographs. The film then follows the sicko as he abducts and kills even more young, attractive women—mostly hitch-hikers—casually dumping their mutilated bodies to be found by members of the public (who include prolific B-movie character actor George 'Buck' Flower). Investigating the case is tough cop Vince De Carlo (James Luisi, who reminds me a bit of John Saxon for some reason), who eventually convinces his sexy mistress Carol (Susan Sullivan) to act as bait for the twisted nut-job.Luisi does a pretty good job as the frustrated lawman who is taunted by demented dirt-bag Danny, but the film is at its most entertaining when the script forgets about dull police procedure and concentrates on its more exploitative elements. Setting much of the action at an outdoor swimming pool, for example, allows director Jeremy Hoenack to feature plenty of honeys frolicking in eentsy-weentsy bikinis, but the most lurid moments are definitely between the killer and his victims. Having lured them into his van, the maniac binds and sexually abuses the poor girls, and in one graphic scene, exposes a girl's heaving bosom before ruthlessly breaking her fingers.The film also manages to leave a lasting impression with a downbeat ending in which De Carlo arrives too late to save Carol from the killer.If you're into 70s thrillers, exploitation, or serial killer flicks, Killer's Delight deserves your attention: it might not be the slickest film in the genre, or the most lurid, but it's tacky 70s trappings, and the convincingly demented central performance from Karlen as woman hating screw-up Danny definitely make it worth watching.6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

udar55 A killer (John Karlen) with a penchant for really bad disguises (afro wig on a white dude?) cruises around in his van looking for victims. Detective DeCarlo (James Luisi) is on the case and finds the killer rather easily by just hanging out by the local pool and looking for anyone looking weird (again, the afro wig comes into play). Tracking the killer to his home, DeCarlo decides to set up a risky sting involving a female police psychologist.Inspired by the crimes of Ted Bundy before he was caught, KILLER'S DELIGHT is a pretty predictable and cheap serial killer flick. Director Jeremy Hoenack has no idea how to pace a film or even make it suspenseful. He does know how to show lots of close ups of the killer wringing his hands though! The only thing this really has going for it is the captured 70s atmosphere (look out for the bathroom wallpaper). Well, that and a downbeat ending. The Media Blasters/Shriek Show DVD has lots of nice stuff though including an audio commentary by Hoenack and Karlen, plus video interviews, trailers and an alternate opening.

cenobitetx I came across this movie in a list of movies inspired by true crime cases. The inspiration for this film was the cases of Ted Bundy and Edmund Kempler.The script is very simple, clearly having some influence by European films like 'Bird With The Crystal Plumage' or 'Black Belly of the Tarantula'. However, Maralyn Thoma doesn't make this mystery that complex, focusing more on the cat and mouse game between the killer and the detective.Compared to most modern slick thrillers and horror movies, it is easy to consider this film dull with it's steady progression and lack of cheap fake scares. What this film is trying to achieve isn't cheap shocks but a slow sense of frustration and dread.The killer is underdeveloped as a character for a simple reason, this film is from 1978. A lot of the information about serial killers, their psycho-pathology and victimology was still being developed at the time. Without the information we take for granted now, it was much better to keep the tension by detaching from the killer, making him a monster by mystery.The actors in this film are giving their all. James Luisi is a very sympathetic, complicated protagonist, absorbed in this case and torn between his home life with his family, and his mistress, a psychologist who can give him his first clues on the nature of this kind of monster.The girls playing the victims are very convincing in their naivety, their shock at being trapped and their fear being in the hands of a madman. They aren't mere cookie cut bodies or subtly being blamed for their victimization, with small action and dialog, they are made real and ordinary for us.Oh, and also because it is a late seventies film, there has to be one lame, over sentimental song. That's just a given.This is an overlooked film, and that's a pity. For a true horror maven, it is well worth watching.