The Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher (1979)

A twisted photographer who murders the models he photographs meets his match in a woman who kills her pornography store customers.

Johnathan Click (Pierre Agostino) is a photographer who uses ads in the Hollywood Reporter to get clients and subsequently murder them.

A model (Lori Morris) poses for Johnathan. We hear his thoughts: "They all want it. They all like it. She wants me to do it."

Johnathan thinks she wants him to "put her out of her misery" and strangles her to death.

He lives in a normal house and drives a normal car. No indication to anyone he's a serial killer.

Johnathan gets a call from another customer (Snowy Sinclair) requesting his photography services.

The customer saw his ad in the Hollywood Reporter. Johnathan thinks to himself, "She's just like all the others."

He heads right over and the customer invites him in.

The woman poses for Johnathan.

Johnathan again narrates his inner turmoil. "She's teasing me. Like Marsha used to tease me. I'll stop her teasing. Like I stopped Marsha teasing."

He creeps up behind her and strangles her.

The woman dies and Johnathan scampers the hell out of there.

Johnathan is back out roaming the streets. At a used bookstore he becomes infatuated with the owner (Carolyn Brandt) who is actually the Skid Row Slasher.

He receives another response to his ad in the paper. A redhead (Bonnie Smith) requests his services.

Her friend (Joanne Hiatt) 

Johnathan arrives and the redhead poses for him.

Johnathan strangles the redhead with her robe.

Meanwhile in the other room, the blonde has taken a shower and gotten into her KISS towel. With KISS Destroyer album on display. Johnathan strangles her to death as well.

That evening the bookshop owner continues to murder her customers with a switchblade.

Johnathan stalks her - with lots of great views of marquees and stores along the street.

Another customer (Jean Roberts) responds to Johnathan's photography advertisement.

He arrives and takes pictures of her without her bikini top.

The girl gets in the hot tub and is drowned.

Johnathan continues to follow the bookshop owner. As he patrols the streets, he photographs random women unaware they're on camera.

On to the next customer (April Grant).

The model gets completely naked.

As per usual, the woman is strangled to death.

On to the next victim (Trish Mopes).

She takes off her top and is subsequently strangled to death.

Johnathan returns to the bookstore, but the Skid Row Slasher is ready for him.

He strangles her to death, but in the process is mortally wounded by her switchblade. THE END

VZ6 SCORECARD

Like any Ray Dennis Steckler film you have to go in with a certain mindset; don't expect much in terms of skillful execution or character development.  Just soak in the RDS mojo and enjoy.  Yes, the film is padded with tons of street scenes - but those street scenes are magnificent time capsules of the day, filled with great shots of movie marquees, store fronts, and vintage wheels.  The story (such as it is) gets insanely repetitive, but so what. More opportunity for sleaze and amazing shots of Hollywood Blvd and the Sunset Strip. 

While there's plenty of boobs in this film, April Grant provides the only FFN. (Joanne Hiatt the blonde friend does get fully nude for a shower, but it's not filmed well and doesn't provide the full monty.)  April Grant was in a handful of other films, some hardcore flicks and the memorable Wam Bam Thank You Spaceman (1975). 

So, yeah, this is a grimy mean spirited piece of cinema trash - but that's okay. If there is a problem, it's that there is not one spoken word of dialogue in this entire movie. It's all the killer's inner monologue and drowsy background music.  So, the repetitve nature of the film does get a tad unbearable when the monotony is unabated, without at least the relief of dialogue. 

☆☆☆☆☆☆ 6/10