Wow...this movie looks cheap--even for a Ted Mikels film. Although Mikels was known for his ultra-low budget films of the 60s and 70s, this one looks a heck of a lot cheaper. It's shot on video and the actors seem as unprofessional as they come--like a project that was shot by some teenagers or very young film students. I have only seen a couple other films with such production values--"Die Hard Dracula" as well as "Ben and Arthur"--both of which are so bad that they are on IMDb's Bottom 100 list. I suspect if more people were familiar with Mikels' films, they, too, might make his infamous list--though despite this film's cheapness, it's NOT among his worst films. Yes, they do get much worse--such as the film "Blood Orgy of the She Devils" (that's a great title--who'd have thought it would be bad?!?!).
The film begins with Cal Lewis being arrested. He's a scruffy looking serial killer and his look is somewhat reminiscent of Charles Manson. Soon after going to jail, he pulls out a hidden pair of scissors and kills a guard. He then escapes and goes on a killing rampage--and this is the theme of the film. Oddly, each time before he kills, he cuts himself--a weird way to get you in the mood, but this is one weird guy! At the same time we see this killer doing a bunch of random killings, there is another parallel story about a young TV news lady who is leaving her job. She visits a psychic who sees bad stuff in her future. Considering that Cal is running amok, the "bad stuff" hardly comes as a surprise.
So, apart from horribly cheap camera-work, what did I think of the film? Well, it wasn't good. The characters were all rather one-dimensional and there was absolutely no depth to the film. But, in a mindless way, it wasn't that bad either. Watchable but stupid.
Also, if you have ever seen the Ed Wood film "Glen or Glenda", take a look at the station manager in "Dimensions in Fear". This is Delores Fuller who co-starred in the Wood movie--and bad movie fiends (like myself) should find that pretty exciting--seeing her after all these years.
Sadly, Mikels' first film, "Strike Me Deadly" was a somewhat similar film, but managed to be quite good despite the limitations of the plot--and you might have predicted a promising future for the films. Yet that was done 35 years ago and since then, his movies have only gotten cheaper looking and dumber. However, I doubt if Mr. Mikels particularly minds, as his films have had such low budgets that they've made him a fortune! So he's probably laughing all the way to the bank!! I actually saw a little DVD extra with him recently and he seemed like a nice and very interesting guy--and he talked about how his films have brought in HUGE profits despite being not much better than home movies! What a world!
