former 50 teen idol tab hunter give a superbly chilling and convincing performance a eddie collins and a lonely and impotent and sexually frustrated high school gym teacher who be drive around the bend by his shameless whore mother who use to parade around naked in front of him a a little boy . eddie viciously murder any lovely young lass who try ( and fail ) to turn him on . writer or director curtis hanson and who go on to win an oscar for the terrific l. a. confidential and do an expert job of create and sustain a creepy and clammy and clinical tone for this luridly compelling portrait of homicidal madness and seethe misogyny . moreover and hanson astutely nail the whole right on groovy swingin 70 zeitgeist and evoke a highly credible sense of everyday mundane reality and build plenty of nerve wrack tension which reach a harrowing fever pitch in the terrifying final third . the abundant gratuitous distaff nudity and the seedy seaside venice and california location and the shockingly bluntnbrutal violence and the profoundly unnerving conclusion all give this picture a raw and sleazy and unsettling edge that mighty tough to shake . nice support performance by nadyne turney a feed up and long suffer unhappy single gal barbara and isabel jewell a a snoopy landlady and a pre phantasm angus scrimm a jewell husband and and longtime favorite 70 drive in flick starlet roberta collins a a brassy call girl . charles bernstein supremely spookyn huddery score and daniel lacambre crisp and polished cinematography be both up to par . the inspired casting of tab hunter in the warped lead qualifies a the film masterstroke while hunter blandly handsome boy next door persona make for the perfect front for the severe dementia bubbling just underneath the surface . an excellent and unjustly overlook little nugget .