The Fool Killer is not for all tastes, but the current high cachet for no-budget indy efforts does give it a certain charm that its original (small) audiences may have overlooked. The rather uneven tale of a wandering orphan (Edward Albert) who crosses paths with a disturbed Civil War vet (Anthony Perkins in undisguised "Psycho" mode), the movie has a hard time deciding whether to emphasize its suspenseful overtones, its elegiac coming-of-age elements, or its somewhat loopy character vignettes (by pros like Salome Jens and Henry Hull, who has a field day as a--very literally-- dirty old man).
Young Albert (son of actor Eddie) is fine and surprisingly natural as the clueless kid, and while Tony Perkins does seem very much on Norman Bates auto-pilot here (almost certainly by request), he is still eerily sympathetic as a mysterious drifter with severe post-traumatic issues.
Even though the whole is something less than the sum of its parts, this film is by no means a loser. It's full of rich vignettes (take a look at the tent-revival scene!) and colorful characters, and these for the most part outweigh its moments of pretentiousness and occasional murkiness of motivation. No, it's not "Night of the Hunter"--but on the other hand, it's not "Night of the Lepus" either!
Young Albert (son of actor Eddie) is fine and surprisingly natural as the clueless kid, and while Tony Perkins does seem very much on Norman Bates auto-pilot here (almost certainly by request), he is still eerily sympathetic as a mysterious drifter with severe post-traumatic issues.
Even though the whole is something less than the sum of its parts, this film is by no means a loser. It's full of rich vignettes (take a look at the tent-revival scene!) and colorful characters, and these for the most part outweigh its moments of pretentiousness and occasional murkiness of motivation. No, it's not "Night of the Hunter"--but on the other hand, it's not "Night of the Lepus" either!