Slayground

An adaptation of a Richard Stark novel which, like Point Blank pits a small-time crook against an implacable, all-powerful enemy. When their driver falls victim to a marauding sex kitten, nice guy hold-up man Coyote and his chicken-farmer buddy (Luhrs) recruit a crazy punk car thief to help out, with disastrous consequences: a rich and unscrupulous promoter's little daughter is accidentally killed, and nemesis in the form of the sadistic Shadowman stalks Coyote (his partner already gunned down in his chicken house) from New York to London and a sinister finale in a Southport funfair. Unfortunately, in making the transition from cameraman to director, Terry Bedford seems to have neglected to learn about old-fashioned virtues like pace and plausibility, suspense and characterisation. Despite some eerily atmospheric photography, it's about as exciting as a rainy night in Rotherham.