Search - Johnny Legend Presents The Sadist on DVD

Unrecognized classic is worth seeing

R. Gorey | New York | 06/07/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Years (perhaps decades) ahead of its time, this tense, disturbing thriller is ripe for rediscovery by home video horror enthusiasts. The film has been available for years on VHS and some inferior DVDs, but this Johnny Legend edition is struck from a clean, nearly pristine print (there are some scratches, and the sound occasionally has bumps and other minor issues). Arch Hall, Jr. gives an intense, effective performance (though perhaps not a great one) as the thuggish lout who terrorizes three schoolteachers (and others) at a dingy roadside gas station. The film unfolds in real time, just one of the startling, revolutionary, and compelling elements that make it so memorable and involving. A "B" movie, certainly, but so efficiently produced and so modern in feel and exposition that it could be re-shot today from the same screenplay, and work equally well on audiences. Audacious, polished, and suspenseful, "The Sadist" is one of those remarkable finds that deserves a wider audience. Be aware: many inferior prints are circulating. This Johnny Legend edition is the one to buy, and own."