Sadist, The (1963)

The Sadist was the brainchild of real-life South Dakota cowboy Arch Hall, Sr., who had himself acted in a succession of B-movie Westerns in the 30s and 40s. Throughout the late 50s and 60s he would produce a run of exploitation fare including The Choppers, Wild Guitar and Eegah, but it was psychodrama The Sadist that would stand head and shoulders above not only the Fairway catalogue but also the vast amount of low-budget movies of the decade. Tough and nihilistic, it would divide audiences of its day and would remain a well kept secret among cult movie aficionados. Indeed, Gremlins director Joe Dante described it as, “one of the most underrated B-movies ever” and “a brilliant example of the kind of tension and intensity that can be generated – in broad daylight, no less – on a shoestring by the right combination of people.”

1963, B&W, 95 minutes