The people giving this film high ratings have got to be nuts. Very poorly paced, amateurishly directed (almost to the point of "home video camera" amateur) and mediocre acting makes this a film to strenuously avoid at all costs.Indeed, there are some "twisted" scenes in this film but nothing that could't be done by walking out in nature with a video camera and randomly killing wildlife. The mother figure had absolutely nothing in her on-screen persona to suggest something that would drive someone crazy, and the actual "madness" displayed by the crazy guy was utterly ridiculous. Also, cyanide does *not* gently put a person to sleep. The pacing was so slow and boring that I caught myself checking the time on the DVD player repeatedly, wishing it would end for god's sake. Almost praying that it would end. I came very close to just turning it off, but it was barely interesting enough in a "just to see what happens" sort of way.Avoid this film, do yourself a favor -- get outside and get some fresh air, do *anything* but watch this movie.

I'm kind of neutral on this one. Savage and Sothern have some pretty freaky chemistry going on throughout this movie. I spent the entire movie wanting to laugh, but had that Norman Bates feeling running up and down my spine. You honestly didn't know who to feel sorry for the entire movie -- including the audience. The downside - I expected more chemistry between the killer and the victims. As psychologically intense as the mother-son relationship was, the killer-victim stints left me dry. Technical merit I am going to leave out - I watched a low budget copy of a DVD with horrible sound and picture quality (It CAN'T be the original film quality I won't believe it!) For a psychological case study I give it a B, for a movie to kill an hour or 2 with C-.

I watched this early 70's flik last night expecting a decent film. While it wasn't too bad, I was disappointed by it. After being forced to participate unwillingly in a rape by his friends one day at the beach, our unfortunate son gets sent to prison for 2 years. Upon his release at first things seem somewhat normal as he adjusts to life on the outside once again. But after calling the girl him and his friends raped 2 years before and vaguely threatening her, he starts reliving the rape in his mind and starts thinking that revenge is a good thing. A few murders later, which by the way, are basically bloodless and not at all violent despite other reviews, his mother whom he lives with, starts putting the pieces together that her son may not be a very good boy. With an ending that is meant to draw sympathy from the audience, I found it completely unbeleivable and very down played. The acting by the mother and son was strangely accurate, yet something about the film left me disappointed.

After WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH HELEN?, this is director Curtis Harrington's most effective thriller. The film opens with 19-year-old John Savage being forced by his friends to participate in the brutal gang rape of sexy beach girl Sue Bernard. Pic then jumps forward two years with Savage being released from prison and heading for the boardinghouse run by his dotty, doting mother(Ann Sothern). At first, Savage seems well enough adjusted, but naturally spending two years behind bars for a crime he unwillingly committed has made him bitter and confused, and pretty soon he becomes obsessed with the idea of revenge. After Savage becomes involved in three terrifying deaths, Sothern realizes that her son needs much more than a mother's love and determines that she must put an end to the madness herself, but does she have the strength to do what she feels has to be done?This is a superior thriller, with terrific performances(Savage and Sothern are unforgettable), some darkly humorous moments, and plenty of genuine suspense. Unfortunately, the film is very difficult to locate but if you should come across it either on tape or on late-night TV, you won't want to miss it!FUN FACTS: The film was to originally be titled "Are You a Good Boy?", a line that is used several times in the film. Co-star Ann Sothern wrote a song for the opening credits, but when the title was changed, the song was cut.