Experiment in Terror

A sadistic killer, Garland ‘Red’ Lynch [Ross Martin], launches a campaign of fear to coerce San Francisco bank teller Kelly Sherwood [Lee Remick] into stealing $100,000 from her own bank for him. Lynch threatens to kill Kelly or her teenage sister Toby Sherwood [Stefanie Powers] if she goes to the authorities, and he has even arranged a setup that makes it clear he is watching her every move. The pressure mounts as Lynch’s taunts echo over the phone, turning Kelly’s life into a tense chess game where every move could trigger violence.

Desperate for help, Kelly reaches out to the FBI in San Francisco, and agent John Ripley [Glenn Ford] takes charge of the case. Ripley begins tracing Lynch’s network and begins gathering clues, while Kelly struggles to stay one step ahead of the terror that Lynch wields. Ripley’s investigations lead him to a woman who hints at involvement in something larger, but before she can reveal more, Lynch murders her, underscoring how far Lynch will go to protect his r use of fear.

Kelly continues to endure Lynch’s relentless harassment, her anxiety amplified by an asthmatic voice that never reveals its owner yet feels all the more menacing. The FBI pieces together Lynch’s criminal history, cataloging convictions for statutory rape, forgery, criminal assault, armed robbery and murder. They locate Lynch’s girlfriend, Lisa Soong [Anita Loo], whose six-year-old son has just had a hip replacement. Lynch is paying the hospital bills, and Lisa, conflicted by his generosity, refuses to believe he is a killer and won’t cooperate with the investigation.

Ripley digs deeper, learning more about “Uncle Red” from the boy and inching closer to a truth that Lynch desperately tries to keep hidden. As the net tightens, Lynch fixes a time for the theft and, to guarantee Kelly’s compliance, kidnaps her sister Toby, pulling the sisters into a deadly trap.

The climax unfolds in a dramatic nighttime chase through Candlestick Park after a Giants–Dodgers game. The on-field sequence features close-up moments with Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale [Don Drysdale], a stark reminder of the city’s baseball fever. Ripley and his team close in on Lynch on the infield, a tense standoff that culminates when Lynch takes aim at a police helicopter. In a decisive shot, Ripley shoots Lynch, ending his terror as he dies on the pitcher’s mound.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 11:15