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(1972, Upgraded 12/28/22) Bonnie Bedelia, Ken Howard, Anthony Zerbe. Howard picks up a young, quirky (and very pretty) vagabond woman in the desert. She tricks him into taking her to her desert shack where she breaks his leg with the blunt end of an axe! After that it’s very much like the Cathy Bates-James Caan relationship from Stephen King’s "Misery." In fact, the story is so similar one might wonder if this was King’s original inspiration. This is a great movie for what it is, with outstanding performances by all. Bedelia is particularly wonderful as the burlap-dressed psycho sweetie whom Howard knows is dangerous yet finds strangely irresistible. The scene where Bedelia is pumping up a tire in her bikini underwear is a gem. There are some wonderful exchanges between her and Howard. Zerbe is great as the psycho motorcycle dude who comes calling. This one holds your interest from start to finish. Probably the best psycho horror/thriller we’ve seen since The Sadist. Color, from 16mm.
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