DARK RIDE (1978)
aka KILLER’S DELIGHT
Article 2025 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 9-30-2006
Posting Date: 2-27-2007
Directed by Jeremy Hoenack
Featuring John Karlen, James Luisi, Martin Speer

A serial killer is targeting hitchhikers and patrons of a swimming pool. A cop tries to track down the killer.

This movie was based on the Ted Bundy murders of the late seventies. Given the events in the picture, I’m assuming that it’s a highly fictionalized telling of the story. The emphasis here is not on the killer, but on the investigation of the crime. Parts of the movie are interesting enough; in particular, I like the attempt to trap the killer in the last part of the movie. However, it’s full of cliches and the direction is singularly uninspired; despite the nudity and the violence, it looks and feels like a TV movie most of the time. The cop who has trouble with his superiors, has a wise-cracking buddy, and who plays by his own rules is certainly a cliche. The middle section of the movie gets rather repetitive as well. The movie isn’t awful, but it never really comes to life, either.