| Director | Romano Scavolini |
|---|---|
| Budget | $250,000 |
George Tatum has been incarcerated in a psychiatric institution in NYC for many years after sexually mutilating and murdering a family in Brooklyn. Diagnosed with a variety of disorders, including schizophrenia, amnesia, and epilepsy, George undergoes an experimental procedure during his incarceration that "reprograms" his brain, reforming him into an upstanding citizen. However, he remains plagued by hazy nightmares of a violent incident from his childhood. Upon his release, George visits a peep show in Times Square, which triggers flashbacks to his father's murder.
The following day, George obtains a car. He leaves New York, heading south to the Florida home of his ex-wife, Susan Temper, their daughters Kim and Tammy, and their mischievous young son, C.J., who frequently plays twisted pranks that disturb her and babysitter Kathy. His car breaks down en route in Myrtle Beach, leaving him stranded overnight. There, he follows a woman home from a local bar and brutally slashes her to death. Back in NYC, George's psychiatrists discover he has fled the city and begin tracking his movements.
Meanwhile, in Florida, Susan is in a relationship with her boyfriend, Bob Rosen, and struggles with her responsibilities as a single mother. Her house begins receiving numerous disturbing phone calls, which no one realises are being made by George. While Susan is out one night, Kathy gets multiple calls, which unnerve her. C.J. begins claiming he is being followed by a strange man, his father George, unbeknownst to him, but Susan dismisses it as another of his pranks. Later, George murders Tony, a classmate of C.J., and a teenage girl named Candy in an abandoned house during a game of hide-and-seek.
Kathy agrees to babysit the children the following day while Susan attends a party. During the night, George infiltrates the house and murders Kathy and her boyfriend with a rock pick. After donning one of C.J.'s Halloween masks, an old man, George pursues the children, who have barricaded themselves in the upstairs bedrooms. C.J. obtains a revolver from his mother's dresser and uses it to shoot George a total of 8 times.
During his dying moments, George has a full recollection of his childhood, including a memory of catching his father engaging in sadomasochistic sex acts with another woman, during which he brutally murdered them both with a felling axe. Susan returns home to find police at her house removing George's body, whom Susan hysterically identifies as her husband. C.J., sitting in a police car, winks into the camera knowingly.