Some things I liked some I did not.

Really Surprised!

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

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.

I'm surprised to see so many positive reviews here. Not that this is a bad film by any means, but I think that people are trying too hard to find significance and meaning in this somewhat dull crime flick. As has been mentioned in other reviews, much of this movie was allegedly inspired by the crimes of Ted Bundy. Yes, John Karlen's character (the killer) does torture and murder attractive young women, but the resemblance pretty much ends there. Bundy was a good looking charmer, while this guy is a creepy freak, plus, I don't recall any detective having his mistress murdered during an abortive attempt to snare Bundy. Add this to about another 100 inconsistencies, and you can see that there isn't a lot of commonality. The Hillside Stranglers or even the Zodiac had more in common with Karlen's character than Bundy.Anyway, to me, this film is most effective when looked at as being a prototype for the buddy films of the 80s like Lethal Weapon, 48 Hours, et al. James Luisi is the tough cop, and for me, his unending tough guy posturing and attempts to be "the man" around women half his age came off as forced and eventually tiresome. I was more entertained by his sidekick Martin Speer, who was barely discernible amidst his forest of facial hair and feathered do. TV staple Susan Sullivan is adequate as Luisi's mistress, and the rest of the cast is generally competent.Worth a look, and entertaining if one isn't expecting too much. I must say, the basketball scene between the 2 detectives is hilarious. Neither of them look like they had ever handled a ball before and the stilted. awkward gamesmanship is a hoot.

I don't know why, but I underestimated "Killer's Delight". After all it is a 1978 film, based on the Ted Bundy case, which has been worked to death over the years. Nevertheless, I was surprised that this exploitation movie was interesting, not predictable, and beautifully photographed with saturated colors. As the body count mounts, the arrogant killer continues to stick his ass in the face of the pursuing detectives. Speaking of the detectives, one resembles John Saxon, while the other looks like Serpico's brother. The killer also bears a slight resemblance to William Devane. But I digress, The whole thing is delightfully kinky, with nudity, torture, a trap, and a very satisfying conclusion. - MERK

Despite resembling a made for TV movie for much of the time, Killer's Delight still manages to be an enjoyably tawdry and occasionally shocking effort thanks to the inclusion of plenty of hot 70s babes and one or two genuinely nasty moments amongst the routine detective work.The film opens in a delightfully tasteless manner with its psycho killer, Danny (John Karlen) disposing of a naked female body by launching it carelessly down a San Fransisco hillside. The body is soon found, and the damage inflicted is presented in gory detail through a series of black and white police photographs. The film then follows the sicko as he abducts and kills even more young, attractive women—mostly hitch-hikers—casually dumping their mutilated bodies to be found by members of the public (who include prolific B-movie character actor George 'Buck' Flower). Investigating the case is tough cop Vince De Carlo (James Luisi, who reminds me a bit of John Saxon for some reason), who eventually convinces his sexy mistress Carol (Susan Sullivan) to act as bait for the twisted nut-job.Luisi does a pretty good job as the frustrated lawman who is taunted by demented dirt-bag Danny, but the film is at its most entertaining when the script forgets about dull police procedure and concentrates on its more exploitative elements. Setting much of the action at an outdoor swimming pool, for example, allows director Jeremy Hoenack to feature plenty of honeys frolicking in eentsy-weentsy bikinis, but the most lurid moments are definitely between the killer and his victims. Having lured them into his van, the maniac binds and sexually abuses the poor girls, and in one graphic scene, exposes a girl's heaving bosom before ruthlessly breaking her fingers.The film also manages to leave a lasting impression with a downbeat ending in which De Carlo arrives too late to save Carol from the killer.If you're into 70s thrillers, exploitation, or serial killer flicks, Killer's Delight deserves your attention: it might not be the slickest film in the genre, or the most lurid, but it's tacky 70s trappings, and the convincingly demented central performance from Karlen as woman hating screw-up Danny definitely make it worth watching.6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

I came across this movie in a list of movies inspired by true crime cases. The inspiration for this film was the cases of Ted Bundy and Edmund Kempler.The script is very simple, clearly having some influence by European films like 'Bird With The Crystal Plumage' or 'Black Belly of the Tarantula'. However, Maralyn Thoma doesn't make this mystery that complex, focusing more on the cat and mouse game between the killer and the detective.Compared to most modern slick thrillers and horror movies, it is easy to consider this film dull with it's steady progression and lack of cheap fake scares. What this film is trying to achieve isn't cheap shocks but a slow sense of frustration and dread.The killer is underdeveloped as a character for a simple reason, this film is from 1978. A lot of the information about serial killers, their psycho-pathology and victimology was still being developed at the time. Without the information we take for granted now, it was much better to keep the tension by detaching from the killer, making him a monster by mystery.The actors in this film are giving their all. James Luisi is a very sympathetic, complicated protagonist, absorbed in this case and torn between his home life with his family, and his mistress, a psychologist who can give him his first clues on the nature of this kind of monster.The girls playing the victims are very convincing in their naivety, their shock at being trapped and their fear being in the hands of a madman. They aren't mere cookie cut bodies or subtly being blamed for their victimization, with small action and dialog, they are made real and ordinary for us.Oh, and also because it is a late seventies film, there has to be one lame, over sentimental song. That's just a given.This is an overlooked film, and that's a pity. For a true horror maven, it is well worth watching.