‘Demons long locked on the depths of the mind come out to destroy the weak and the believing!’
Point of Terror is a 1971 American psycho thriller directed by actor Alex Nicol (The Screaming Skull; The Night God Screamed; A*P*E) from a screenplay by Tony Crechales and Ernest A. Charles, based on a story by Chris Marconi and producer and star Peter Carpenter.
It was distributed in the US by exploitation specialists Crown International.
Main cast:
Peter Carpenter (Blood Mania), Dyanne Thorne (Blood Sabbath; Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS; House of the Witchdoctor), Lory Hansen, Leslie Simms, Joel Marston, Paula Mitchell, Dana Diamond, Al Dunlap, Ernest A. Charles, Roberta Robson, Tony Kent.
Reviews:
“Rampant fashion violations, loud musical numbers, obscene checkered furniture, violent dream sequences, ratty wigs, equal opportunity nudity, saturated primary color lighting years before Suspiria, and reams of purple, sex-obsessed dialogue will keep even the most seasoned trash fanatic giddy with disbelief.” Mondo Digital
Some male nudity… for a change
“Playing a lounge singer at a seaside dump called the Lobster House, the often shirtless [Peter] Carpenter manages a decent approximation of Tom Jones’s sweaty charisma in this lurid neo-noir that rips off The Postman Always Rings Twice and half a dozen of its contemporaries.” Stephen Bowie, World Cinema Paradise
“It’s more or less a slice of melodramatic sleaze and at the same time very much a vanity piece for Carpenter, whose struggling recording artist/stud character beds three very beautiful women during the course of the film’s soap opera-inspired shenanigans. The players drink too much, commit adultery and deceitfully murder…” George R. Reis, DVD Drive-In
” … it’s a pretty dry melodrama whose various twists and turns aren’t very effective, especially the film’s final reveal, which is eye-rollingly bad and groan-inducing, to say the least. Director Nicol throws in some stylistic flourishes here and there in an attempt to make things look interesting, and he sometimes succeeds on that level.” Oh, the Horror!
Choice dialogue:
“Who’s your decorator, Bela Lugosi?”
“Martin, I have a headache THIS big, with your name on it!”
“I didn’t even know I drank until one night I came home sober.”
“If she has one more drink Tony, she’ll start stripping. I know she’s done it before.”
IMDb | Image thanks: Critical Condition
