Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Killing Kind Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf November 11, 2018

Director Curtis Harrington creeps in the mind of a murderer in 1973’s “The Killing Kind,” which, in a way, could be approached as a kind of prequel to “Psycho,” observing the psychological thin ice created when a son has a special relationship with his domineering mother. Harrington doesn’t completely cross over into slasher territory, instead finding fright in the cracking of a young man’s psyche, surveying the sinister creep of dangerous behavior as it grows over the course of the run time. “The Killing Kind” isn’t lively in the least, but those able to tune into special frequency of dysfunction and dangerousness are rewarded with an unusual study of evil, brought to life by leads John Savage and Ann Southern.

Terry (John Savage) has recently been released from prison, doing two years for his participation in a gang rape he swears he wasn’t a willing aggressor in. Returning home, Terry moves in with his loving mother, Thelma (Ann Southern), who doesn’t believe her son is guilty, hoping to reconnect with the dear boy as he tries to restart his life. Running a boarding house, Thelma tries to keep order around the property, setting strict rules for her latest renter, aspiring model Lori (Cindy Williams), but domestic peace is broken by Terry’s demons, who urge the ex-con to follow-up on unfinished business concerning his crime, also dealing with the madness of the house, interacting with equally unstable residents who may be as attracted to Terry as his own mother.

Harrington (working with a screenplay by Tony Crechales and George Edwards) does a strong job of establishing unease around “The Killing Kind,” even when the feature commences with the sexual assault that greatly complicated Terry’s life. It’s an ugly scene but intentionally so, studying Terry as he’s forced to participate in the crime, with his friends stripping him down to join the horror. The reality of this event is put into play by the writing, who toy with personal response to Terry’s prison time, finding Thelma refusing to even entertain the possibility that her son could’ve cooperated with such a heinous act, preferring to treat her child as the angel she imagines he is, albeit an angel she likes to kiss on the lips. The incestuous behavior is another layer of disease in the movie, clouding up the misguided nobility of a mother trying to protect her son from harm, keeping “The Killing Kind” off-balance, but in an interesting way, with Southern making a meal out her part, delivering the effort’s best performance as she balances natural theatricality with growing uncertainty, giving Thelma more of an edge than the screenplay allows.

“The Killing Kind” goes into more conventional areas of mental illness with Terry, with Harrington building a serial killer profile as the character enjoys tormenting and killing animals, and samples some voyeuristic activities with Lori, who doesn’t mind the attention. More compelling is the madhouse element of the dwelling, with other tenants just as scattered as Terry, including one frustrated woman who’s dealing with her demanding father, turned on by displays of power and rage. Murder business soon arrives in “The Killing Kind,” which slows the effort considerably, losing focus on weirder acts of attraction to play a basic game of Hide the Crime, which doesn’t inspire much tension.

The Killing Kind Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

"Newly scanned and restored in 2K from its 35mm original camera negative," "The Killing Kind" brings its strange ways to Blu-ray with a filmic viewing experience. The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation delivers a satisfying level of detail, working with softer cinematography to provide a textured sense of half-naked characters and facial surfaces, identifying Savage's youthful appeal and Southern's thick makeup. Locations are dimensional, and interiors preserve set decoration, taking note of boarding house age. Colors are satisfactory, coming alive with Thelma's housebound outfits and greenery. Skintones are natural. Delineation is comfortable, preserving frame information. Whites are a bit bloomy at times. Grain is thick but filmic. Source has some points of wear and tear, with a few emulsion scratches and speckling. One brief shot around the 41:00 mark explodes with blue scratches.

The Killing Kind Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 1.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix handles acceptably for this type of entertainment, providing scoring support with reasonably clear instrumentation, conjuring mournful moods and suspense. Dialogue exchanges aren't sharp but they retain passable clarity, battling age to secure dramatic interactions and a few violent freak-outs. Atmospherics are basic but appreciable.

The Killing Kind Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features film historians David DeCoteau and David Del Valle.

• Isolated Score by Andrew Belling is offered.

• Archival Interview (22:31, SD) with Curtis Harrington tracks the director's early years in Florida, finding salvation in a local movie theater, with a job sparking his interest in cinema. Moving to Los Angeles, Harrington found his way to Paramount Pictures, discovering the eccentricities of the business, and trained at USC, where his avant-garde shorts created interest in his vision, following his ambition to New York and Paris, and eventually back to L.A., winning a position at Columbia Pictures. Harrington briefly crosses through his filmography, with particular bitterness about 1977's "Ruby," which was destroyed in post-production by the producer. Some talk of "The Killing Kind" is included, covering casting achievements and distribution disasters.

• "Harrington on Harrington" (24:38, SD) returns to the helmer, who goes over familiar biographical ground before plunging deeper into his oeuvre, spending more time sharing details about his movies, creative battles, and lessons learned along the way.

• A Trailer has not been included on this disc.

The Killing Kind Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Killing Kind" isn't a complete success, always a few steps behind greatness, but Harrington is doing interesting things with the picture, fussing with different perspectives and maintaining a longer arc of growing suspicion. There's a solid, mournful ending awaiting those who remain with the feature, with the production somehow creating a better payoff than set-up, finally finding its way to a natural conclusion for Terry and Thelma, which is more about family than the genre normally allows.