I admit my expectations were low when I started watching, but from the very first spine-tingling moment I was captivated.
The film opens with a tension-filled scene set in a seedy part of Hollywood. The photography is comparable to Citizen Kane, combined with the amazingly original plot line of a hooker who meets up with a madman and utters the classic line "Do you like it rough?" just before he kills her.
Kudos to the scriptwriter for that totally unexpected plot point. From the minute we see the crazy psycho sitting in a darkened corner of the motel room, we have no idea what he's about to do. And neither did the hooker.
This sense of shock twists and turns its way through the film. And although the plot gets lost somewhere in the fog of film-making, this masterpiece culminates in a teenage-party murder-fest the likes of which I've never seen before.
The continuity and editing need a special mention. The smooth transition from a pool party filled with 40 teenagers to a darkened house with no more than 6 people within the blink of an eye was superb and truly caught me off guard. I can only guess the editor and director collaborated on this master-stroke of confusion.
And the reveal at the end of the movie was a total shock. I won't spoil the twist in this short review, leaving it to the viewer to enjoy the outcome.
Finally, look out for the actress who played the handicapped girl. A truly Oscar-winning performance; she deserves a nomination nod at the very least. She totally grabbed my attention when she fell asleep on the bench at the party, and then put all her emotion into raising a finger to point at the bedroom 'She's up there' she stammers, pure terror etched on her face.
Not to mention the climax where she hobbled and stumbled away from the killer, and decided that a dark alley would be the perfect place to hide. Hollywood watch out!
