The Thrill Killers

Aspiring actor Joe Saxon throws a lavish party at his house, inviting guests he doesn't know to impress producer George Morgan. He and his wife Liz fret over his huge spending and dwindling prospects. The night establishes Joe's showy lifestyle and mounting pressure to land a movie role.

Dennis Kesdeckian drops his family as he leaves for work when a hitchhiker flags him down and shoots him, stealing the car. The incident foreshadows the killer's violent spree across town. The car thief becomes Mort 'Mad Dog' Click, the manhunt will soon involve many bystanders.

The hitchhiker picks up a nightclub dancer and takes her to her apartment, where he brutally murders her with a pair of scissors. His rampage continues as panic spreads through the city. This violent act adds to the growing danger centered on Mort Click.

Back at Joe's party, the radio blasts news of the murders. The announcer identifies Mort 'Mad Dog' Click as the suspect and notes that three mentally ill patients have escaped from the asylum. The revelation widens the sense of threat and links separate incidents.

The next day, Liz decides to leave Joe and drives to stay with her cousin Linda at a restaurant in the hills. She seeks distance from Joe's party lifestyle and the mounting danger. The separation sets the stage for the couple's separate paths.

Ron and Carol visit their new house and find their handyman missing. They look outside to discover the handyman decapitated by the escaped mental patients—Keith, Herbie, and Gary. The grisly discovery marks the killers' expansion into civilian life.

Joe and producer Morgan appear at Linda's restaurant, where the three killers also arrive. Herbie, coordinating with Click, calls his friend to help remove the outsiders. The scene tightens the net as personal and criminal interests collide.

Linda quietly poisons Herbie's coffee and kills him, removing one of the killers. Gary then chases Liz up into the hills, forcing a dangerous pursuit across stairs and terrain. The action shifts from the restaurant to the surrounding landscape as danger intensifies.

Linda and Morgan attempt to contact the police as the trio holds Joe and Liz hostage. The danger escalates as the remaining killers close in and the couple's fate hangs in the balance. Tense negotiations give way to violent confrontation.

Joe chases Gary and follows him and Liz into the hills where a brutal fight erupts on a mountain-top. Liz leaves to seek help, adding to the chaos. The confrontation defines the film's action climax.

During the chase, Gary is pushed off a cliff and dies. Joe watches from a distance as Liz climbs into Click's car, unaware that the driver is another killer. The sense of peril intensifies as Click moves deeper into the hills.

Click fires at a camper, steals his horse, and rides further into the hills while being chased by a motor patrolman. A furious gun battle erupts as the pursuit closes in. Ultimately Click is shot to death, ending his rampage.

Police arrive on the scene as the remaining danger collapses. Liz manages to break free from Click's clutches and heads toward safety with law enforcement in pursuit. Joe stands nearby, watching events unfold with mixed relief and disbelief.

Sometime after the chaos, Joe gets a call from Morgan offering him a starring role in the film, paying $2,500 a week to star opposite Linda, Morgan's new discovery. The job would mark a suspiciously swift comeback after the night of terror. The film ends with Joe contemplating a return to acting despite the turmoil.