Such a frustrating disappointment

Highly Overrated But Still Good

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The Sadist (1963) ** (out of 4) Three teachers are on their way to a Dodgers game when they gave car trouble and are forced to pull over. The stop off at a junk yard but before long they run into the psychopath Charlie (Arch Hall, Jr.) and his crazy girlfriend.THE SADIST is a very low-budget film that pretty much divides its fans and critics. Some call it an incredibly intense thriller that was unlike anything that had really been seen at the time. I personally would agree that it's somewhat different than your typical thriller of that era but at the same time I didn't find it to be intense and in fact I found it to be rather corny at times thanks in large part to some really bad performances.The film is best remembered for its main killer who really is one of the more demented screen killers from this period. A lot of killers had graced the big screen by 1963 but the one here is certainly a very evil one who gets pleasure out of killing people. It was rare to see someone who enjoyed killing so much and the film deserves credit for not playing by the rules in regards to how things played out.The problem I had with the film was the fact that the performances were bad and this led me to laugh at several of the moments that were meant to be intense including the teacher begging for his life. Then there's Arch Hall, Jr.'s performance. I'm sorry but I just thought it was rather over-the-top and too silly for its own good. It just didn't work for me so the intense factor is something I missed.I will give the film credit for trying to show pure evil on the screen and there's question that the cinematography was quite good. With that said, the film needed better performances and direction as I found it to be incredibly slow going at times and in the end it just didn't work.

When I saw the cumulative review score on IMDb, I was quite surprised. I hated this movie - absolutely hated it. 95% of the time, I'm in agreement with whatever rating IMDb has given it. Not this time.Arch Hall, Jr. is more annoying than any character I have seen in a movie. He's hammy, squinty and has an incredibly strange voice. Listening to him giggle and watching him grin throughout ran my nerves. I didn't find him frightening at all. I don't know if he was told to act that way or whether it was his idea.Most of the other actors do at least an adequate job. I have no issue with the subject matter - I watch all types of horror and suspense. This film would have been great if they had an actor worthy of the role. Unfortunately, they didn't.I know that some reviewers have really enjoyed this movie. My advice? Watch the first 15 or 20 minutes and if you can handle Arch Hall, Jr., feel free to have a go at it. If he annoys you the way he did me, I'm letting you know it doesn't get any better.

Don't mind the fact that this is a low-budget film made in 1963. Or that Arch Hall Jr. has a cheesy filmography to boast (or not) about. The Sadist is one of those B-movies that stands the test of time and deserves every bit of recognition it could get. The only thing that's dated in this film, aside from the clothes, is the Coca-Cola bottle. It's seriously one of the most tension-filled movie I've seen from start to finish - especially that climax! Modern film makers could learn a thing or two from this little black & white exploitation movie that's unfortunately, undeservingly buried in obscurity - unbeknownst to most people.This movie is suspenseful and thrilling from start to finish. It has no gore (you can see a bit of blood in some scenes but that's about it), no over the top violence, no sex, it was made in the 60's with a budget of more or less 33,000 dollars - and yet, the terror is so thick, the scenes are taut - this is a truly well-directed film and in my honest opinion, a far more superior movie than most big-budgeted horror- thrillers nowadays. The extra long climax was one of the most well- executed scenes I've seen.go here for my full review :) http://strangereview.blogspot.com/2013/11/why-sadist-is-best-torture- you-can.html

Three people driving into Los Angeles for a Dodgers game have car trouble and pull off into an old wrecking yard where they are held at bay by a bloodthirsty psycho and his crazy girlfriend.Firstly don't cha just hate when these re-releasers package black and white movies in boxes that make it appear the film is in color? Seems like it's false advertising to me.But I digress.Movie set up takes it's time to build suspense. The acting is fine. Enter the protagonist and things get tense. The acting isn't great but it doesn't matter and it's acceptable. It's well directed and the tension is kept for a time.Then a well is hit and things slow down because how long can you sustain this sort of behavior without repeating yourself. But it still works, even if uni-brow Hall Jr. can't act.