ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

lawfella A standard theme, truly well-handled. Another variation on the old one about a guy whose resentment against his emasculating mother turns him into a psycho. In this one, he seeks revenge on the world by kidnapping and imprisoning a college girl, chosen at random. What puts this film a cut above is the clever dialog and fine acting. The psycho, Carl, is confident and pathetic at the same time, and his social gaffes are often hilarious. His mother is so casually relentless in her abuse as to make Carl's conduct seem almost reasonable. There is a group of college kids dimly trying to deal with their colleague's disappearance, while at the same time pursuing the usual collegiate pursuits, i.e., getting laid and getting high, resulting in some pretty funny exchanges. Almost all the gory and extreme events happen off screen, which I appreciated (though I am sure there are other viewers would prefer to have seen them for themselves). There is also some stuff about the effect of the kidnapping on the victim, and on the feelings she develops about Carl -- this part is not particularly believable, but makes for hilarious dialog when she tries to talk about her experience with classmates. I really enjoyed this film, although I hadn't expected to think much of it. Surprisingly entertaining -- try it!

yettisnarl i believe the prior comments leave out some most intriguing details. our psychopathic character kidnaps his female victim and then proceeds to get her addicted to heroin. after a week of this treatment she becomes dependent on his support and grows unusual attractions for this fiendish hero. the sadistic outlines this psychotic simian portrays keeps the film entertaining throughout. even after the characters are cleverly exposed, their actions still surprise you up to the end. it teaches the lesson that confidence in your character will get you what you want, you don't have to be a sick killer to get desires. not bad for an early evening's adventure.

bflickfreak As a self proclaimed B movie freak, its not often that I stumble across a little gem like this. Most low budget straight to video films are garbage. But every once and awhile, you come across a strange little movie like this, one that makes you think, where the hell did this thing come from, who the hell made it, and why haven't I heard of it? I also wonder why it took so long to be released on DVD? It came out on video in 1997, but it was only released on DVD this year. The story revolves around a college girl, Dawn, and a demented piano instructor, Carl. The movie starts with Dawn's car breaking down; she makes the mistake of accepting a ride by Carl. The ride starts out normal enough, but it soon gets bizarre as Carl casually steers the conversation to the subject of anal sex. After a strange abduction scene in which a bystander wearing ham & egg boxers is gunned down in cold blood, Carl locks Dawn up in a secret room behind his closet. There he shoots her up with heroin and takes photos of her as they have more weird conversations. Carl soon decides that one woman is not enough, so he goes after Dawn's attractive roommate, Robin, whom he picks up at a bar. This plan quickly goes to hell when Carl takes the drunk Robin into the secret room to see the chained up Dawn. Eventually, Carl pawns Dawn off as his girlfriend to his nagging mom, but the happiness is short lived as Carl blows his mom away at the dinner table.Needless to say, more people die and eventually Dawn escapes. Most abduction movies would end here, but that's what makes this one special. This movie is only half done. Once Dawn is free, she discovers that she no longer fits into society, she's the freak at the party that everyone is talking about. Plus she's addicted to heroin and she can't find any on campus. So when Carl comes prowling around, it's not surprising that she goes back to him. I won't give away the ending, but I'll just say that it works.It's obvious this movie was made on a low budget, all the actors are unknown and the film is kind of grainy, but that only adds to the whole feeling of uneasiness and despair. If you're sick of all the over produced, mind numbing, big budget thrillers that Hollywood is churning out these days, this movie is for you.

KDWms Carl hates everybody. His mom made him that way. His piano-teaching is only a slight, temporary smoke-screen for his contempt for all of society. By film's end, Carl has become a mass murderer and captor of the apple of his eye. The captive is pretty messed-up, too. She escapes from Carl and actually returns voluntarily to be imprisoned by him again. This movie evidences some initial intrigue, but it eventually deteriorates into considerable incredulity, although its other components are not terribly bad. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this type of show when I watched it. Whatever the reason, I rate this flick "below average".