Mardi Gras Massacre

A dapper, mysterious man named John arrives at a bar in New Orleans, seeking the 'evilest' prostitute. He is directed to Shirley, who agrees to leave with him for two hundred dollars.

Shirley agrees to leave with him; at his house she undresses and lies on a table. John re-enters in a robe and a mysterious metal mask, then begins massaging her, binds her to the table, and murders her—offering her heart on an altar to the goddess Coatl.

Shirley's murder is discovered when her body is found on train tracks, prompting the assignment of detectives Sergeant Frank Hebert and his partner Mayer. They begin questioning other local prostitutes to identify the killer.

While questioning, Frank meets Sherry and learns of a man with an unusual gold ring. He becomes enamored with Sherry, and their budding romance distracts him from the investigation.

Frank's superiors urge him and Mayer to keep the murders out of the public eye to avoid harming Mardi Gras preparations. The pressure mounts as the case grows more dangerous.

John continues to stalk local strip clubs and bars, carrying out a second ritual murder on another prostitute. He maintains his pattern as he searches for more victims.

At another club, John is confronted in the street by the pimp of a different dancer and brutally stabs the pimp to death before fleeing. The violence accents his cold resolve.

Catfish, an eccentric pimp, arranges for 19-year-old Sissy to have sex with John in the dressing room to repay a debt. John then takes Sissy back to his apartment.

In John's apartment, he wines and dines Sissy with Chinese food. He hesitates, sensing her purity, and initially orders her to leave, but she stays and he binds her to the table and murders her.

Sherry becomes enraged with Frank after learning he pocketed money found with Shirley's body and vows never to see him again. Her resolve grows as she considers leaving town.

Sherry goes to a local disco, gets into a drunken fight, and Mayer escorts her back to her apartment. She tells Mayer she plans on leaving New Orleans as Mardi Gras begins the next day.

John meets Joe, a bartender, and offers him a large sum for three prostitutes for Fat Tuesday; one of the three Joe offers him is Sherry. The plan is to provide three women for Coatl at once.

John inflates the plan by intoxicating the three women with pisco and preparing for the murder ritual. The three women, including Sherry, are lined up for the sacrificial ceremony.

Frank and Mayer are alerted to John's apartment by the Chinese food vendor delivering there; they rush to intervene and botch the ritual, saving Sherry and the other two women. The pursuit and danger heighten the drama.

John flees via a fire escape, leading to a chase through the French Quarter culminating at the Governor Nicholls Street Wharf. He steals a police car and crashes it into the Mississippi River; authorities retrieve the ritual mask from the water, but John is nowhere to be found.