Customer Reviews

Todd Killings, The [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"The Todd Killings" looks at how a young man who is extremely enigmatic could possibly get away with murder. Skipper Todd (Robert F. Lyons) plays a 23 year old man who likes to hang out with a bit of a younger crowd. He comes across as being someone who is dangerous and likes to have a good time. That appeals to a lot of young men and women and also some teenage girls who are constantly throwing themselves at Skipper. One day he kills a girl just to see what it was like. He gets a couple of friends of his to help cover up the murder. Will they tell the cops what they know? Will Skipper kill again?

Richard Thomas plays a young man named Billy with a bit of a shady past. Billy and Skipper end up becoming good friends but Billy becomes concerned when he thinks the girl he loves might become the next murder victim. The acting is fairly good but the screenplay ends up being rather frustrating. I kept feeling like "The Todd Killings" was on the brink of being something cutting edge and insightful, especially for a movie that's over thirty years old. It starts to scrape the surface of many interesting questions: Why do seemingly normal people kill? How can killers attract so many people and will his admirers still like him even if they know he is a murderer? Why is the media so fascinated with killers and sometimes make them into icons? These questions were never really answered and ultimately neither the acting nor the script end up being as good as that in "Natural Born Killers". That's a shame because this movie really had potential.

"The Todd Killings" is a lyrical, visually striking, well acted, lesser scene thriller. This film is about a small California town, where a charismatic 23 year old named Skipper Todd (!)charms his way into the lives of high school age guys and girls. There is much talk of "turning on", random sex, Vietnam, and philosophical ramblings. The cast is astonishingly good, with many farmiliar faces including I believe the Mom from the tvshow the Wonder years. This film is also a freaky portrait of a cold blooded sociopath-Skipper Todd himself. No one suspects the fury that lies beneath his mask. There are many frightening images, such as the film's opening in which Todd and his hippieish friends callously bury a body. Amorality abounds in this great, not to be missed gem.

This overlooked, underrated slice of '70s sleaze has a terrific cast and fun "Charles Manson" (evil Pied Piper) type story. A spoiled rich jerk leads a pack of dimwitted kids in a small California desert town into committing various crimes and murders for kicks. Of course, like any good sociopath, his idea of "kicks" is controlling people and getting them to do anything he says, no matter how stupid or self-destructive. All the kids in town think he's groovy awesome and can do no wrong. But we know better! Sure enough, the creep finally takes things too far and all hell breaks loose.

This is a psycho-thriller, not a horror movie, but fans of both should dig it. It comes off as totally believable and gripping, probably because it is based on true events. Robert Lyons, the guy who plays the maniac, deserves an Academy Award for his sleazy, charismatic performance; he is simply one of the finest, most charming villains to ever grace the silver screen. You can't stop watching him and wondering what he will do or say next (because you know it will be evil!). Why this guy never became a big star, I'll never know.

Definitely worth adding to your collection, The Todd Killings has been remastered by The Warner Archives for DVD and it looks and sounds great! No need to hunt down the old VHS anymore.

I did not like this movie at all. A twenty three year old man consorting with high school girls....where are the parents....Also in a previous comment either on this site or another it was pointed out that Richard Thomas did a frontal nude scene-I wish to correct that mistake. Thomas does NOT do a nude in this vehicle-he doesn't even take off his shirt. Robert Lyons does the nude scene and personally I think he should have left his clothes on. For me this movie was a big disappointment, something I rarely say of a Richard Thomas movie.