Peter Masterson, born in 1934, is an American actor and director recognized for his work in cult cinema. He appears as a police officer in In the Heat of the Night (1967), a film that explores racial tensions in the South. Masterson transitioned to directing with Night Game (1989), a gripping thriller that showcases his ability to weave suspense into narrative. His multifaceted career reflects a deep engagement with the themes of justice and morality, making him a notable figure in the landscape of exploitation and grindhouse cinema.
Night Game
A number of young women are found dead on or around the beaches of Galveston and the one thing they all have in common is that they were murdered when Houston Astros ace pitcher Silvio Baretto (an amalgamation of real-life pitchers Bob Knepper and Juan Agosto) pitches and wins a night game at the Astrodome. Additionally, each victim had her throat slashed by some sort of knife or hook. Scheider plays former minor league baseball player turned Galveston homicide detective Mike Seaver. Seaver is a staunch Astros fan and is the only person on the case who begins to realize the coincidence of the deaths coming after Sil Barretto's night game wins in the Dome. After 95 minutes of sleuthing, Seaver ultimately realizes that the murderer is a disgruntled former Astros pitcher named Floyd Epps. Epps had lost his pitching hand in a minor league bus accident and now wears a hook. He personally, if illogically, blames Sil Baretto for his misfortune and decides that his murders on the same night as Baretto's wins will steal the headlines from his former teammate. The penultimate scene features Seaver shooting and killing Epps at a Galveston beach front restaurant. Epps has been attempting to murder Seaver's fiancee, Roxy, but the swings of his hook prove to be as wild as his mental state, and he fails. The final scene of the film features Sil Barretto walking off the mound before the start of a game in the Astrodome to lead the entire stadium in a standing ovation for the newly married Seaver and Roxy who are standing behind the dugout.
