Albert (John Savage) is a psychopath who, after brutally murdering a woman, becomes obsessed with her 11-year-old daughter Annie. Twenty-one years after being sent to prison for his crimes, Albert is freed over the strenuous objections of Dr. Sachs (John Saxon), the psychiatrist who has been overseeing Albert's case all these years. Sachs is convinced that Albert is still a very real threat to the community, and it turns out that he's right; desperate to find Annie, but not knowing what surname she uses today, Albert begins contacting every Annie he can find in the phone book, leaving a bloody trail of murdered women in his path when they turn out not to be the little girl he's looking for
Acting
John Savage commits to unhinged pathetic villainy with disturbing conviction
Direction
Paul Leder's grubby handheld aesthetic amplifies the sleaze factor
Writing
The phone book hook is genuinely nightmarish in its banal horror
Director
Paul Leder
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Paul Leder was a prolific exploitation filmmaker; this was one of his last before his 2004 death. His daughter Mimi Leder became a major Hollywood director.
The phone book premise captures pre-internet stalker paranoia—today Albert would use Instagram geotags and LinkedIn. The film's obscurity (TMDB 3.2) reflects its grindhouse distribution versus theatrical release.
US
