Claire Griswold

Experiment in Terror

Three mental patients (a bad impersonator, a baseball player, and a gay fashion designer) escape their asylum and sexually assault their way into a girl’s private school. The girls education includes wrestling and karate, so the three mad men will find stern opposition when they least expected.A sadistic killer, Garland "Red" Lynch, uses a campaign of terror to force San Francisco bank teller Kelly Sherwood to steal $100,000 from the bank for him. Despite Lynch's threat to kill Sherwood or her teenage sister Toby if she goes to the police, Sherwood contacts the San Francisco office of the FBI, where agent John Ripley takes charge of the case. Ripley interviews a woman who implies that she is involved in some way in a serious crime, but before she can give Ripley the details, Lynch murders her. Sherwood continues to be terrorized with phone calls, an asthmatic condition making the unseen Lynch's voice all the more sinister. The FBI identifies the criminal, noting that Lynch has a record of convictions for statutory rape, forgery, criminal assault, armed robbery and murder. They track down his girlfriend, Lisa Soong, whose six-year-old son has just had a hip replaced. Lynch is paying all the hospital bills. Because of this, Lisa refuses to believe that Lynch is a criminal and will not cooperate with the investigation. Ripley nevertheless manages to get some information about "Uncle Red" from the boy. Lynch finally gives Sherwood a time and date to steal the money, and just to make sure that she does, he kidnaps her sister Toby and holds her captive. The climax is a chase through Candlestick Park after a nighttime baseball game between the rival San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. On-field action includes several closeups of Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale. Ripley and his men ultimately surround Lynch on the infield of the stadium. As Lynch takes aim at a police helicopter, Ripley shoots him and he dies on the pitchers' mound.