Surfing the limited channels I fell upon this super cheezer of a picture. Vivacious , lonely Arlene (Jean Christopher) the poor little RICH girl flaunts her wears around everyone including homely Bob her Brother-In-Law. Is that who I think it is? Damn It's songwriter Neil Sadaka? Things must have been slow at the Brill building in Manhattan that week. Arlene lives in a huge home with all the modern conveniences including a walk in freezer which will be used as an art studio. Overly frustrated mentally disturbed artist Bill (William Kerwin) can't get his models to stay still. Bill is haunted by a weird dream. In a heavenly setting he sees 4 or 5 beautiful woman in certain positions. Bill just happens to stumble upon Arlene's mansion and Arlene hires him as a maintenance man. For convenience sake Arlene lives alone by this time. Bill discovers the basement walk in box and a sick twisted idea came into his head. Now the artists I know use paints, pastels, clay and in-adamant objects to produce the final result calling it art. Here our psychotic Bill has his first victim, I mean subject Arlene. Sadly Arlene was the reason I was drawn into watching this sub-par production to this point.Into the cooler for her as our Artist goes to work putting her in the proper pose to complete the image he had with that dream.Soon other woman would show up and Bill the lone man of the house, would eventually lure them with a fatal cocktail and put each lady in the box. Piece by piece Bill would position each woman to his specifications making for a quite interesting finished piece of art.Our hero in all of this is the Electric Company. This creates a comical ending to a demented idea which makes this a memorable film and a great laugh out loud ending.
12 Reviews
I warned you not to move while I paint!
Coventry31 July 2022
In the awards category of 'most cuckoo killers of all times', this film's anti-hero Bill is a strong contender for the win! Bill, last name unknown, is an artist who needs models to paint a vision that occurred to him in a dream. Finding these models isn't an issue, because for some strange reason gorgeous women throw themselves at Bill's feet, but they are terribly unprofessional and they...won't...sit...still! So Bill goes berserk and butchers them, but luckily he's also creative and persistent enough to find a solution to use their corpses.
"Playgirl Killer" looks and feels a lot like a Hershell Gordon Lewis movie, but without the extreme gore. That's largely because lead actor William Kerwin is a HG. Lewis' regular, but also and simply because it's an absurd and low-keyed B-movie story without continuity or tension, and with a lot of amateurish performances. Plus, it's a typical product of the sixties; meaning there's irritating and useless dancing footage. Perhaps the most remarkable gimmick is that it stars Neil Sedaka in his first and only real acting role. Sedaka is the singer of such crooner hits like "Oh Carol!", "Calendar Girl" and "Breaking up is hard to do". His role here, as Bob, requires him to - surprise - sing a song during a pool party.
"Playgirl Killer" looks and feels a lot like a Hershell Gordon Lewis movie, but without the extreme gore. That's largely because lead actor William Kerwin is a HG. Lewis' regular, but also and simply because it's an absurd and low-keyed B-movie story without continuity or tension, and with a lot of amateurish performances. Plus, it's a typical product of the sixties; meaning there's irritating and useless dancing footage. Perhaps the most remarkable gimmick is that it stars Neil Sedaka in his first and only real acting role. Sedaka is the singer of such crooner hits like "Oh Carol!", "Calendar Girl" and "Breaking up is hard to do". His role here, as Bob, requires him to - surprise - sing a song during a pool party.
WOW
BandSAboutMovies24 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Director and writer Erick Santamaria only made one movie (or did he? Letterboxd also lists three Spanish-language movies, La masacre de Ponce, La Tormenta and Los hijos del vicio) and this is it. He wrote the script along with his star, William Kerwin, and Kerwin's brother Harry. Of course, by this point people may have known the actor from being in Blood Feast and Two Thousand Maniacs! But now, he wasn't the hero. Now, he was the villain named Bill, an artist who loses his mind when his models move.
The Kerwins left the environs of Florida behind to come to Canada for this and oddly, this is the only acting role for Neil Sedaka. Why the singer of "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" would choose a scummy drive-in movie to be in is a mystery. Yet here he is as Bob, who is dating Betty (Linda Christopher) and ends up being seduced by her sister Arlene (Christopher's real-life sister Jean) after a concert by JB & The Playboys. Maybe it was because Neil got up on stage and sang "Waterbug" with them.
One may also wonder why the movie has shifted from a murderous amateur artist killing women - with a speargun! - and suddenly has become a soap opera. I have learned that when it comes to movies of this ill repute to not ask these types of queries.
After this sisterly affair, Bob and Betty go back to their college and Arlene ends up hiring Bill. She wants him, after all, despite the fact that he instantly looks like a killer from a Canuxploitation horror movie set in Quebec because that's exactly who he is. She keeps trying to get in his slacks and he keeps blowing her off. Finally, he consents to sketch her. She keeps moving and he tries to playfully strangle her. After she fights him off, he apologizes and explains why he's how he is: he once helplessly watched as three girls drowned. Now, he has nightmares about watching them all over again as a fourth woman shoots a man with a bow and arrow. His psychologist told him to paint what was in that dream but he's never been able to get it right because these women keep moving around. She's dumb enough to allow him to stay in the house and even worse, to skinny dip around him. He loses it all over again, strangles her and leaves her in the very convenient walk-in cooler that her house has. Now, he can sketch and paint her dead body and achieve his need to paint that dream.
Now, Bill gets his plans really going. He places an ad for someone to care for his sister and Pat (Mary Lou Collier) applies and instantly is added to the meat locker. So is lounge singer Nikki (Andrée Champagne, who sings the song "Montage" and went on to be the casting director of Quest for Fire), who is also posed for Bill's etchings. Finally, a friend of Arlene's comes to check on her and ends up becoming the final woman in the painting, but then the power goes out and Bill's plans melt, so to speak. It all comes together quite well.
Unreleased in the U. S. until 1970 - as Decoy For Terror - Playgirl Killer promises nudity and mayhem and delivers jazzy music and saturated semi-violence. But who cares? You already paid for your ticket and you just get the chance to let it all play out. I'm a sucker for movies where artists go wild and destroy people in the pursuit of their aesthetic pursuits.
Bonus points: A theremin-heavy soundtrack.
The Kerwins left the environs of Florida behind to come to Canada for this and oddly, this is the only acting role for Neil Sedaka. Why the singer of "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" would choose a scummy drive-in movie to be in is a mystery. Yet here he is as Bob, who is dating Betty (Linda Christopher) and ends up being seduced by her sister Arlene (Christopher's real-life sister Jean) after a concert by JB & The Playboys. Maybe it was because Neil got up on stage and sang "Waterbug" with them.
One may also wonder why the movie has shifted from a murderous amateur artist killing women - with a speargun! - and suddenly has become a soap opera. I have learned that when it comes to movies of this ill repute to not ask these types of queries.
After this sisterly affair, Bob and Betty go back to their college and Arlene ends up hiring Bill. She wants him, after all, despite the fact that he instantly looks like a killer from a Canuxploitation horror movie set in Quebec because that's exactly who he is. She keeps trying to get in his slacks and he keeps blowing her off. Finally, he consents to sketch her. She keeps moving and he tries to playfully strangle her. After she fights him off, he apologizes and explains why he's how he is: he once helplessly watched as three girls drowned. Now, he has nightmares about watching them all over again as a fourth woman shoots a man with a bow and arrow. His psychologist told him to paint what was in that dream but he's never been able to get it right because these women keep moving around. She's dumb enough to allow him to stay in the house and even worse, to skinny dip around him. He loses it all over again, strangles her and leaves her in the very convenient walk-in cooler that her house has. Now, he can sketch and paint her dead body and achieve his need to paint that dream.
Now, Bill gets his plans really going. He places an ad for someone to care for his sister and Pat (Mary Lou Collier) applies and instantly is added to the meat locker. So is lounge singer Nikki (Andrée Champagne, who sings the song "Montage" and went on to be the casting director of Quest for Fire), who is also posed for Bill's etchings. Finally, a friend of Arlene's comes to check on her and ends up becoming the final woman in the painting, but then the power goes out and Bill's plans melt, so to speak. It all comes together quite well.
Unreleased in the U. S. until 1970 - as Decoy For Terror - Playgirl Killer promises nudity and mayhem and delivers jazzy music and saturated semi-violence. But who cares? You already paid for your ticket and you just get the chance to let it all play out. I'm a sucker for movies where artists go wild and destroy people in the pursuit of their aesthetic pursuits.
Bonus points: A theremin-heavy soundtrack.
Corman or Lewis would have loved it.
J_Knox10 June 2001
This movie is quite reminiscent of the 60's b-films by either Roger Corman or Hershell Gordon Lewis. All the women look like playboy models, it has characters come in and out of the story needlessly and for little reason other than the fact that they could only hire their "star" (in this case Neil Sedaka) for a day or two. There's the weird-O-rama soundtrack from Hell consisting of lots of single sustained organ notes, and lots of neat location shots of characters running around to and from each other. I'm quite partial to this film since it was made in Montreal and I recognize many of the sites where it was made even after almost 35 years. There is no way to reccomend this other than saying that if you like the works of either H.G. Lewis or Roger Corman you'll want to add it to your collection. Otherwise you'll find the somewhat sadistic storyline, grindingly slow style and cardboard characters who talk like Edgar Allan Poe wrote their lines quite anachronistic and dull compared to todays films.
My new nominee for the worst movie of all time.
ericose15 December 2006
Because I just watched the "Playgirl Killer", I'm may have to rework my entire list of movie ratings on IMDb! "Playgirl Killer" is worse than "Witchtrap", it's worse than "Teen Wolf Too", worse than "Slaughter High", MUCH worse than "Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill" and even worse than my previous Worst Picture I've Ever Paid To See, "The Green Slime"; in short, this is my new nominee for the worst picture of all time.
The plot of this movie involves fraudulently separating a viewer from his hard-earned money. It is so simple that it has to be padded with long stretches of listening to tepid music and/or watching teenagers dance. It is not really a plot at all, it is more a series of poorly staged homicides separated by interminable padding.
The spoken words in the movie were mostly dubbed in after the the film were shot and in many cases bear no resemblance to what the actor's lips are doing. It is as if the script was not finalized until after the film was in the can.
The movie pretends to be a slasher film, but for most of the murders, the killer drags his victim off screen to kill her. In some cases, the viewer knows who the killer is going to murder so long before the actual killing, that the killing is actually a relief when it occurs.
Finally, the climactic plot twist is so long and drawn out that it comes as no surprise when it finally, laboriously plods onto the screen.
In short "Playgirl Killer" offends any person who could possibly want to see it. The creators of this movie could have learned a lot by studying the collected works of Ed Wood.
The plot of this movie involves fraudulently separating a viewer from his hard-earned money. It is so simple that it has to be padded with long stretches of listening to tepid music and/or watching teenagers dance. It is not really a plot at all, it is more a series of poorly staged homicides separated by interminable padding.
The spoken words in the movie were mostly dubbed in after the the film were shot and in many cases bear no resemblance to what the actor's lips are doing. It is as if the script was not finalized until after the film was in the can.
The movie pretends to be a slasher film, but for most of the murders, the killer drags his victim off screen to kill her. In some cases, the viewer knows who the killer is going to murder so long before the actual killing, that the killing is actually a relief when it occurs.
Finally, the climactic plot twist is so long and drawn out that it comes as no surprise when it finally, laboriously plods onto the screen.
In short "Playgirl Killer" offends any person who could possibly want to see it. The creators of this movie could have learned a lot by studying the collected works of Ed Wood.
H.G. Lewis-style psycho-thrills
Leofwine_draca30 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
PLAYGIRL KILLER is a psycho-thriller of the 1960s shot in lurid colour in very much the spirit of a H.G. Lewis movie. The version available on Amazon Prime is quite choppy and also quite tame, so I suspect censorship is at play. It's a pity, as this is promising stuff indeed, in which a handyman turns out to be a psychopath with an addiction for killing beautiful young women. This low rent thriller has a really sleazy atmosphere, lots of beautiful women up for the chop, and some fun, over the top acting moments.
Sleazy Cheese
JoeytheBrit15 October 2005
This ultra-cheap psycho-thriller (and I use the word 'thriller' very loosely here) is the kind of flick that deserves a place on a lot of 'worst movies' list, and yet it's kind of fun to watch bad films like this that fail hopelessly to achieve even a degree of the quality to which they aspire.
Sixties B-movie icon William Kerwin plays Bill, a tortured artist with a brutal way of dealing with his fidgety models. We first meet Bill sketching a hot chick on a rock who keeps tossing her hair as he's trying to sketch her. He grabs a handy spear gun and shoots her. Unluckily for Bill, he's spotted by a passer-by and is now on the run for his life. He gets a job with Arlene (Jean Christopher), a rich young woman, as a handyman at the house in which she is staying alone. Now, a few things about Arlene: Firstly, we learn early on that she is something of a tease. We see her tying Neil Sedaka in knots (yeah, **that** Neil Sedaka: I don't know what he's doing here either and neither, I reckon, does he) and upsetting her sister by posing in her bikini by the pool and getting Sedaka to rub suntan lotion into her back. Then she stages an impromptu striptease at her sister's party before sneaking into Sedaka's bedroom to give him a warm and generous sending off present. Arlene is real bad news; she glides around that big house in a perpetual state of sensuous ecstasy, sipping wine in her nightie and swimming in the nude. She also has a great body. In fact every woman in the film has a great body. That's the selling point, you see: watching hot chicks get iced (literally). Anyway, because of these man-eating habits of Arlene's we don't really get that concerned when Bill starts stalking her after watching her indulging in a bit of skinny-dipping.
It takes director Erick Santamaria forever to set up Arlene's murder at least half the movie but once Bill has done her in he sets off at a frenetic pace, killing every shapely female who has the misfortune to pass his way. Strangely, the pace of the movie still crawls along and, with Arlene and her bikinis out of the way, there often isn't anything happening on the screen to keep us even remotely interested. Well, that's not quite true, because there's always the comedy-editing job to keep us amused. I mean background walls change colour in this film it's as if they ran out of film so inserted a shot from a different scene to fill the gaps. The noisy soundtrack is also a constant irritation, and the plot has more holes than a lump of Swiss cheese. After all that, there's quite a neat twist ending, but sadly Santamaria, whose only effort this film was, even manages to mess up this last chance of at least partially redeeming himself.
As I said, this film is so relentlessly cheesy it's sort of fun but only if you're a lover of bad movies that are trying to be good
Sixties B-movie icon William Kerwin plays Bill, a tortured artist with a brutal way of dealing with his fidgety models. We first meet Bill sketching a hot chick on a rock who keeps tossing her hair as he's trying to sketch her. He grabs a handy spear gun and shoots her. Unluckily for Bill, he's spotted by a passer-by and is now on the run for his life. He gets a job with Arlene (Jean Christopher), a rich young woman, as a handyman at the house in which she is staying alone. Now, a few things about Arlene: Firstly, we learn early on that she is something of a tease. We see her tying Neil Sedaka in knots (yeah, **that** Neil Sedaka: I don't know what he's doing here either and neither, I reckon, does he) and upsetting her sister by posing in her bikini by the pool and getting Sedaka to rub suntan lotion into her back. Then she stages an impromptu striptease at her sister's party before sneaking into Sedaka's bedroom to give him a warm and generous sending off present. Arlene is real bad news; she glides around that big house in a perpetual state of sensuous ecstasy, sipping wine in her nightie and swimming in the nude. She also has a great body. In fact every woman in the film has a great body. That's the selling point, you see: watching hot chicks get iced (literally). Anyway, because of these man-eating habits of Arlene's we don't really get that concerned when Bill starts stalking her after watching her indulging in a bit of skinny-dipping.
It takes director Erick Santamaria forever to set up Arlene's murder at least half the movie but once Bill has done her in he sets off at a frenetic pace, killing every shapely female who has the misfortune to pass his way. Strangely, the pace of the movie still crawls along and, with Arlene and her bikinis out of the way, there often isn't anything happening on the screen to keep us even remotely interested. Well, that's not quite true, because there's always the comedy-editing job to keep us amused. I mean background walls change colour in this film it's as if they ran out of film so inserted a shot from a different scene to fill the gaps. The noisy soundtrack is also a constant irritation, and the plot has more holes than a lump of Swiss cheese. After all that, there's quite a neat twist ending, but sadly Santamaria, whose only effort this film was, even manages to mess up this last chance of at least partially redeeming himself.
As I said, this film is so relentlessly cheesy it's sort of fun but only if you're a lover of bad movies that are trying to be good
"They... always... move!"
bensonmum26 May 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Bill (William Kerwin) is a tormented artist working on a painting from a dream he's had. But can Bill ever actually finish his masterpiece if he keeps killing all his models?
Whatever else I might think or write about Playgirl Killer, one thing is certain – it features one of the absolute funniest bits of dialogue I've heard in a long time. The father referring to his youngest daughter states, "Well at first I didn't like the idea of Betty being engaged to a rock and roll singer, but they're in love so I guess it's up to us to help make them happy." What's so funny about this line? Well, this rock 'n' roll hoodlum that's got Pops all in a dither is none other than bad boy Neil Sedaka. Yes, that Neil Sedaka! The Neil Sedaka that would go on to pin such rowdy "rock 'n' roll" standards as "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" and "Love Will Keep Us Together". Just imagine the idea of your youngest daughter marrying a ruffian like that!
Beyond that bit of unintended hilarity, the rest of Playgirl Killer is almost equally a hoot. Whether it's William Kerwin in his over-the-top artist-killer mode or Jean Christopher playing the over-the-top tease, the movie is more often than not a treat for fans of trashy 60s cinema. The movie promises a lot more in the way of sleaze than it delivers – which, believe it or not, is another selling point. It's hysterical watching Christopher's Arlene toy and flirt with every man in sight. And you've got to love Bill's motive for killing. No, it's not some deep-seated resentment toward women - it's not some weird Oedipus issue - it's not even for money. Bill kills because his models move. You read that right, he kills his models because they move. Don't dare bat an eyelid or Bill might just slit your throat. How bizarrely funny is that? The whole thing is such a ridiculous blast that it's hard not to enjoy it.
The movie's only real weakness (well, the only weakness that really bothered me) was the complete lack of suspense. Playgirl Killer is supposed to be a thriller so I naturally expected a few . . . well, a few thrills. Instead, all of Bill's kills are telegraphed far in advance. Take the first model he kills shortly after docking the boat the two are riding in. The couple jump out of the boat and head toward a rock for some sketching. Bill brings along his equipment – pencil, paper, a bag (presumably with more art supplies), and a spear gun. Once again, you're not seeing things - I said a spear gun! What artist worth his salt doesn't have an obscure weapon with him every time he sets out to do a portrait? How hard it is to figure out what Bill's up to with that spear gun? See what I mean - no suspense.
I'll give this one a 6/10 – but be warned, that rating is more for the cheese in Playgirl Killer than any real indication of the quality of the film.
Whatever else I might think or write about Playgirl Killer, one thing is certain – it features one of the absolute funniest bits of dialogue I've heard in a long time. The father referring to his youngest daughter states, "Well at first I didn't like the idea of Betty being engaged to a rock and roll singer, but they're in love so I guess it's up to us to help make them happy." What's so funny about this line? Well, this rock 'n' roll hoodlum that's got Pops all in a dither is none other than bad boy Neil Sedaka. Yes, that Neil Sedaka! The Neil Sedaka that would go on to pin such rowdy "rock 'n' roll" standards as "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" and "Love Will Keep Us Together". Just imagine the idea of your youngest daughter marrying a ruffian like that!
Beyond that bit of unintended hilarity, the rest of Playgirl Killer is almost equally a hoot. Whether it's William Kerwin in his over-the-top artist-killer mode or Jean Christopher playing the over-the-top tease, the movie is more often than not a treat for fans of trashy 60s cinema. The movie promises a lot more in the way of sleaze than it delivers – which, believe it or not, is another selling point. It's hysterical watching Christopher's Arlene toy and flirt with every man in sight. And you've got to love Bill's motive for killing. No, it's not some deep-seated resentment toward women - it's not some weird Oedipus issue - it's not even for money. Bill kills because his models move. You read that right, he kills his models because they move. Don't dare bat an eyelid or Bill might just slit your throat. How bizarrely funny is that? The whole thing is such a ridiculous blast that it's hard not to enjoy it.
The movie's only real weakness (well, the only weakness that really bothered me) was the complete lack of suspense. Playgirl Killer is supposed to be a thriller so I naturally expected a few . . . well, a few thrills. Instead, all of Bill's kills are telegraphed far in advance. Take the first model he kills shortly after docking the boat the two are riding in. The couple jump out of the boat and head toward a rock for some sketching. Bill brings along his equipment – pencil, paper, a bag (presumably with more art supplies), and a spear gun. Once again, you're not seeing things - I said a spear gun! What artist worth his salt doesn't have an obscure weapon with him every time he sets out to do a portrait? How hard it is to figure out what Bill's up to with that spear gun? See what I mean - no suspense.
I'll give this one a 6/10 – but be warned, that rating is more for the cheese in Playgirl Killer than any real indication of the quality of the film.
Hilariously awful; bodacious T&A teasing; it's FABulous!!!
TheSmutPeddler13 January 2002
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Okay, I'm not your average reviewer. I'm a bit bent in the head...and elsewhere. I saw this film under another title, "Decoy for Terror", on TV in the mid 1970s when I was just a kid and twisted films like this were shown during the afternoon...and it left its mark on me.
I wanted to be an artist, and in this film our "anti-hero" Bill (William Kerwin), the "Playgirl Killer" is a tormented artist who attempts to paint a picture that will provide the key to his neuroses. His only problem (his ONLY problem?) is he can't get models to sit still long enough before he busts a gut and gets them giggling at him (no artist likes to be laughed at, y'know). And this is where Bill starts going on his killing spree...
The film starts with a set-piece killing and then gets bogged down in a lot of exposition -- but this is actually where the REAL fun begins! A great part of the time we spend with bored, wealthy, spoiled, rich-bitch, "Arlene" (Bill's main victim). She's an aggressive, shameless tease toward any man she comes in contact with. She loves to strike poses in her bikini by the pool (where she seduces a particularly unattractive Neil Sedaka (NO KIDDING, IT'S HIM) -- who later regales us with a toe-tapping dance hit, "Waterbug". Arlene crashes her wimpy pigtailed sister's go-go party by doing a provocative striptease in front of everybody (she has
nothing better to do, you see). She lounges around in her negligee sipping wine and plotting how to entrap hapless males, and ain't this the life!?!. Arlene is FABulous!!! Her dad refers to her as a "Lorelei" and makes sure to point out to her that One Of These Days her naughty nympho ways will be her undoing (the suspense builds!).
By the time our "Playgirl Killer" arrives on the scene (as a $15/day "handyman" Arlene hires to clean up her mansion, and rub oil on her back), Arlene is ripe for his picking. We don't develop much sympathy for the Playgirl Killer because he only discloses peripheral information about why he's so wacko. No terrible childhood trauma that he can cite as being the root of his terrible need to slaughter women in order to pose their bodies for his artwork. We get some excuse that he blacked out during a shipwreck, and that's about it. So, he's simply a two-dimensional sicko, but so what? This film isn't about sympathy, it's about kicks! And there are plenty to be had while our madman goes on a killing rampage in order to get the girls he implores to model for him Not To Move! One of his later victims seems completely air-headed as she takes off her clothes looking this way and that with a dumb lamb-to-the-slaughter smile on her face -- and she's wearing the biggest bra in the world! So you know what the filmmakers figured their big lure(s) would be in getting an audience to sit through this one. hehehe...
This low budget stuff is quite colorful and competently shot. The music is pure sleazy lounge stuff (TERRIFIC!!!). There's even another "SONG" sung in French...the production is Canadian, so that's where the French comes from (as well as the picturesque locations).
"Playgirl Killer" is one of the most awful, but most entertaining and memorable films I've ever seen (especially for its genre). It is listed as unavailable at iMDB and online merchants, so if I haven't lost you by now (haha) make a point of checking this one out. "Playgirl Killer" is a doozy that will have you snickering and howling -- tremendously fun shlock, especially if watched with a likeminded group of hecklers.
I wanted to be an artist, and in this film our "anti-hero" Bill (William Kerwin), the "Playgirl Killer" is a tormented artist who attempts to paint a picture that will provide the key to his neuroses. His only problem (his ONLY problem?) is he can't get models to sit still long enough before he busts a gut and gets them giggling at him (no artist likes to be laughed at, y'know). And this is where Bill starts going on his killing spree...
The film starts with a set-piece killing and then gets bogged down in a lot of exposition -- but this is actually where the REAL fun begins! A great part of the time we spend with bored, wealthy, spoiled, rich-bitch, "Arlene" (Bill's main victim). She's an aggressive, shameless tease toward any man she comes in contact with. She loves to strike poses in her bikini by the pool (where she seduces a particularly unattractive Neil Sedaka (NO KIDDING, IT'S HIM) -- who later regales us with a toe-tapping dance hit, "Waterbug". Arlene crashes her wimpy pigtailed sister's go-go party by doing a provocative striptease in front of everybody (she has
nothing better to do, you see). She lounges around in her negligee sipping wine and plotting how to entrap hapless males, and ain't this the life!?!. Arlene is FABulous!!! Her dad refers to her as a "Lorelei" and makes sure to point out to her that One Of These Days her naughty nympho ways will be her undoing (the suspense builds!).
By the time our "Playgirl Killer" arrives on the scene (as a $15/day "handyman" Arlene hires to clean up her mansion, and rub oil on her back), Arlene is ripe for his picking. We don't develop much sympathy for the Playgirl Killer because he only discloses peripheral information about why he's so wacko. No terrible childhood trauma that he can cite as being the root of his terrible need to slaughter women in order to pose their bodies for his artwork. We get some excuse that he blacked out during a shipwreck, and that's about it. So, he's simply a two-dimensional sicko, but so what? This film isn't about sympathy, it's about kicks! And there are plenty to be had while our madman goes on a killing rampage in order to get the girls he implores to model for him Not To Move! One of his later victims seems completely air-headed as she takes off her clothes looking this way and that with a dumb lamb-to-the-slaughter smile on her face -- and she's wearing the biggest bra in the world! So you know what the filmmakers figured their big lure(s) would be in getting an audience to sit through this one. hehehe...
This low budget stuff is quite colorful and competently shot. The music is pure sleazy lounge stuff (TERRIFIC!!!). There's even another "SONG" sung in French...the production is Canadian, so that's where the French comes from (as well as the picturesque locations).
"Playgirl Killer" is one of the most awful, but most entertaining and memorable films I've ever seen (especially for its genre). It is listed as unavailable at iMDB and online merchants, so if I haven't lost you by now (haha) make a point of checking this one out. "Playgirl Killer" is a doozy that will have you snickering and howling -- tremendously fun shlock, especially if watched with a likeminded group of hecklers.
Sleaze up to your knees...one of Canuxploitation's crown jewels.
EyeAskance14 August 2011
We launch our story with the harpoon murder of a zaftig young lady, casually snuffed for failing to sit still while posing for the killer's artistic doodles. We're off to a good start. We next find our psychotic doodlebug in the employ of a well-to-do sexpot(we know she's a cheap little whore because her tits are hiked to her chin and she has the same on-screen saxophone leitmotif as "Ginger" from GILLIGAN'S ISLAND). Not surprisingly, she's killed as well, as is the next girl, and the next, etcetera...all for refusing to stay still while the killer is sketching them. The psychoanalytical diagnosis for the killer's insatiable lustmord is hilariously implausible, and thus keeps perfect step with the film's immersive kitch appeal.
PLAYGIRL KILLER is a jovially mean-spirited exercise in full-throttle sexism...a lovable paragon of 60s schlock splendor which could be regarded as Canada's answer to H. G. Lewis' iconic COLOR ME BLOOD RED(1965). The film's technical parts-and-parcels are expectedly less-than, though sparks of amateur enthusiasm are occasionally evident. A very young and doughy Neil Sedaka is on-hand for a trivial "star-power" guest spot, obviously inclusive of a brief musical repose.
A delectably gauche, consistently watchable flick with a good sense of humor about itself, PLAYGIRL KILLER is semi-essential vintage sleaze.
6/10.
PLAYGIRL KILLER is a jovially mean-spirited exercise in full-throttle sexism...a lovable paragon of 60s schlock splendor which could be regarded as Canada's answer to H. G. Lewis' iconic COLOR ME BLOOD RED(1965). The film's technical parts-and-parcels are expectedly less-than, though sparks of amateur enthusiasm are occasionally evident. A very young and doughy Neil Sedaka is on-hand for a trivial "star-power" guest spot, obviously inclusive of a brief musical repose.
A delectably gauche, consistently watchable flick with a good sense of humor about itself, PLAYGIRL KILLER is semi-essential vintage sleaze.
6/10.
"Are You Crazy?! Are You Trying To Kill Me?!"...
azathothpwiggins7 June 2021
PLAYGIRL KILLER stars intergalactic mega-star, William Kerwin as Bill, an artist with a penchant for murdering his models.
Within seconds viewers will be asking these 3 QUESTIONS: #1- Who needs a spear gun in a rowboat on a small lake? #2- Who, in their right mind, gets into a rowboat with a guy with a spear gun?! #3- What sort of person, aside from a madman, wears white socks with sandals?! In a rowboat or anywhere else?!
Meanwhile, at a nearby pool party, Neil Sedaka sings, and has everyone doing "The Waterbug"! A striptease erupts, as was common practice during late 1960's pool parties. We soon see a shirtless Sedaka in bed. Good Lord! This movie has no shame!
Bill winds up getting a job as a handyman at the residence, and untold terror begins. Somewhat.
Bill's new boss, Arlene (Jean Christopher) does her best to seduce him, prancing around like a cat most of the time. Bill watches her. A lot. A saxophone plays along. Bill can take only so much prancing. Poor Arlene.
Setting up shop in Arlene's mansion, Bill unabashedly wears his leather-strapped stockings of pure eeevil! More death results. He even goes to town in Arlene's aircraft carrier-sized Cadillac! This man is shameless!
In the end, though Bill might receive his comeuppance, those be-sandaled, white cotton foot coverings shall haunt our dreams forever!
EXTRA POINTS FOR: Counting the number of times that Bill goes bug-eyed! No one stares at a phone with more raw intensity! No one!...
Within seconds viewers will be asking these 3 QUESTIONS: #1- Who needs a spear gun in a rowboat on a small lake? #2- Who, in their right mind, gets into a rowboat with a guy with a spear gun?! #3- What sort of person, aside from a madman, wears white socks with sandals?! In a rowboat or anywhere else?!
Meanwhile, at a nearby pool party, Neil Sedaka sings, and has everyone doing "The Waterbug"! A striptease erupts, as was common practice during late 1960's pool parties. We soon see a shirtless Sedaka in bed. Good Lord! This movie has no shame!
Bill winds up getting a job as a handyman at the residence, and untold terror begins. Somewhat.
Bill's new boss, Arlene (Jean Christopher) does her best to seduce him, prancing around like a cat most of the time. Bill watches her. A lot. A saxophone plays along. Bill can take only so much prancing. Poor Arlene.
Setting up shop in Arlene's mansion, Bill unabashedly wears his leather-strapped stockings of pure eeevil! More death results. He even goes to town in Arlene's aircraft carrier-sized Cadillac! This man is shameless!
In the end, though Bill might receive his comeuppance, those be-sandaled, white cotton foot coverings shall haunt our dreams forever!
EXTRA POINTS FOR: Counting the number of times that Bill goes bug-eyed! No one stares at a phone with more raw intensity! No one!...
A Real Freak Fest
Sargebri4 March 2003
This film is a really sick piece of work. The artist kills women just because they won't stay perfectly still for him and you feel no sympathy for any of them as most of them either come off as nymphos or just have bad attitudes. Only the third victim, the girl who answers an ad for a boarder, seems like a nice girl. Unfortunately, she is killed before you really get to know her. Also, just before the girl is killed she is conveniently taking off her clothes and is only in her bra and panties when she is killed.
It seems like the director had a real hatred for women and was just interested in showing them in various states of undress. No wonder people say that this is one of the worst films ever made and that the only time that it was ever shown was late at night when the kiddies were asleep.
It seems like the director had a real hatred for women and was just interested in showing them in various states of undress. No wonder people say that this is one of the worst films ever made and that the only time that it was ever shown was late at night when the kiddies were asleep.
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