The mix of methodical investigative protocol and aberrant psychology against a twisty San Francisco backdrop (including a climax at Candlestick Park during a Giants game) anticipates Bay City thrillers from Dirty Harry to Zodiac.

After Carpenter and De Palma, it may seem a little dated; yet Edwards' classical feel for pure cinema remains unalloyed.

Ross Martin is memorably menacing and Lee Remick is effectively anguished in this superlative suspenser.

Even as "Experiment in Terror" tends to loosen its initially taut grip too often across an overlong 123 minutes, intriguing themes (and a deepening of the film's title) emerge in what unexpectedly becomes a triptych of women in the life of its villain.