Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Woodyanders Troubled and unstable Oedipal wreck sex offender Terry Lambert (an excellent and convincing performance by John Savage in an early lead role) gets released from prison after serving a two year sentence for gang rape he was forced to participate in and returns to the gloomy boarding house run by his doting and desperately lonely overbearing mother Thelma (superbly played with moving restraint and subtlety by Ann Southern). Terry develops an unhealthy fixation on comely, but naive aspiring model new boarder Lori Davis (a fine portrayal by Cindy Williams) and plots revenge on the folks responsible for sending him to jail. Director Curtis Harrington, working from a grimly compelling script by George Edwards and Tony Crechales, delivers an arrestingly stark, sad, and deeply creepy portrait of everyday madness, despair, denial, and the darker side of smothering motherhood that inevitably begets insanity and tragedy while doing his trademark expert job of creating and sustaining a bleak and seamy atmosphere that proves to be quite potent, intriguing, and ultimately heartbreaking as the depressing narrative unfolds towards a shattering bummer conclusion. Moreover, the uncomfortably incestuous and suffocating relationship between Terry and Thelma, a severely deviant and twisted sexuality, a few shocking moments of sudden brutal violence, and a dryly amusing sense of black humor further add to this picture's supremely unsettling edge. Savage and especially Southern do sterling work in their parts, with sturdy support from Luana Anders as snoopy and repressed librarian neighbor Louise, Ruth Roman as successful lawyer Rhea Benson, Sue Bernard as trampy rape victim Tina Moore, Marjorie Eaten as the doddery Mrs. Orland, and Peter Brocco as Louise's domineering crippled father. Mario Tosi's stylish cinematography makes neat occasional use of artful dissolves, slow motion, and freeze frames. Andrew Belling's haunting melancholy score does the moody trick. Highly recommended viewing for fans of Harrington's often offbeat and impressive work.

rwbj4 I first saw this film by accident on cable television years ago, and it haunted me ever since. Thankfully, the 2007 DVD release is of a quality that does justice to this undeservedly obscure film. Director Curtis Harrington details in the supplementary interview the unfortunate problems this film had being distributed, and I sought a copy of it for years before (again almost by accident) learning it was to be released on DVD. The actors are uniformly fine, but the primary reason to seek this film out is the great Ann Sothern. Far from giving a perfunctory performance in what was obviously an inexpensive film even for its time, she imbues her role as a smothering but well-intentioned mother with such dignity and compassion and a lost longing for a better life, that by the time the film ends, her plight brings a lump to the throat. Sothern was an underrated actress who had success in many B-movie roles in the 30s and 40s (the Maisie series, etc., April Showers), and in a few A pictures (e.g., Joseph Mankiewicz's A Letter to Three Wives). She also enjoyed great success in 50s comedy series (Private Secretary, The Ann Sothern Show). In her last film, The Whales of August (1987) she was finally rewarded with a supporting actress Oscar nomination. Had there been any justice in the awards process (we know there is little), she would have had a best actress nod for The Killing Kind. It is a remarkable performance in a film that one expect to be exploitative, but which ends up being psychologically complex and touching and tragic. Highly recommended.

funkyfry I've been a fan of Curtis Harrington ever since I saw the remarkable "Night Tide" a few years ago on DVD. This movie, "the Killing Kind" just came out on DVD and hasn't been available in any format for a long time so I had never seen it. It turns out that this is just what you would have hoped for -- a nice but nasty little gem from the director's heyday, full of interesting performances and bizarre visuals.The story is about a smothered son ("sometimes I feel like you're a giant pillow, pushing down on my face"), Terry (John Savage) who is sent to prison for rape at the beginning of the movie. His oppressive and ultra-tacky mother, who he calls by her first name Thelma (Ann Sothern) welcomes him home with just a bit too-open arms and an always ready glass of chocolate milk. But when the women who helped put him away (including his lawyer, played by Ruth Roman) begin to die off mama starts to suspect her little boy is more grown up than she thought....Very good performances from the cast in general -- it's a staple of Harrington's style to combine surreal visuals with down-to-earth characters. Cindy Williams also appears in the film as a young lodger/would-be model, and she does a great job in her murder scene and playing the corpse. I don't know if there's an award out there for playing a good corpse but she deserves it. Ann Sothern pretty much blows everyone else away with her desperately needy mother figure, hiding behind sunglasses and a portable camera that she uses to chronicle her son's every moment (including showers!). I have only seen Savage in sort of stolid supporting roles but he was very good in this role. I thought the scene where he screamed and jumped in the pool was very effective, and interesting use of the still frame by Harrington. The whole movie is very cheap but it was done with so much style that it really comes off as a quality production.Worth seeking out for those who missed it -- the DVD also includes a very interesting interview with the late director Harrington.

ftm68_99 If I had to choose a movie that exemplified how *not* to make one, this one would head the list. And yet, I found it oddly compelling. Or, at least, I did not feel I had been robbed of my time and movie-watching efforts at the end of it. Credit Miss Ann Southern and Mr. John Savage for that, I think.