Point of Terror

While dozing on the beach one day, singer Tony Trelos awakens from a nightmare and is greeted by a bikini-clad blonde, who introduces herself as Andrea Hillyard. When Andrea begins to flirt with Tony, he invites her to his show at the Lobster House. Later, when Andrea comes to watch Tony perform, Tony's girl friend Sally, a waitress at the Lobster House, informs him that Andrea is the wife of Martin Hillyard, the owner of National Records. Impressed, the ambitious Tony invites Andrea home after the show, where, as Andrea sensually embraces Tony, she says that since her husband was invalided in a car accident and is confined to a wheelchair, she is managing the record company, implying that if Tony pleases her, she has the power to offer him a contract. The wily Tony withholds his charms however, insisting that the contract be in writing before he prostitutes himself to Andrea. Later, Sally warns Tony that Andrea "collects men," but Tony assures her that he can take care of himself. Tony anguishes that "he wants to be someone" and recalls the miserable childhood that forged his determination to be a success, no matter what the cost: As a boy, Tony shines shoes while his mother turns to prostitution to support them. Tony lives a rootless life, moving from one place to another, seldom attending school and making no real friends. His thoughts returning to the present, Tony tells Sally that she is the only person who understands him. Soon after, at the Hillyard estate on the bluffs above the ocean, Andrea is entertaining her alcoholic friend Fran with stories of the handsome man she met at the beach when Martin angrily rolls his wheelchair toward her. Fran hurriedly excuses herself, after which Martin, who had witnessed Andrea's conversation with Tony at the beach, orders her to "straighten up or else," then reminds her of the crime they committed: Although he is already married, Martin is having a torrid affair with Andrea. When his wife refuses to grant him a divorce, Andrea and Martin arrange for her murder. In the present, Andrea goes to visit Tony, and when she finds Sally at his squalid apartment, Andrea summarily dismisses her. A week has passed since Andrea's contract offer, and when Tony impatiently challenges her, Andrea calls the record company and arranges for Tony's contract. To celebrate, Andrea invites Tony home for a tryst in her pool. After Tony leaves, Martin, who has viewed the proceedings, rolls his wheelchair to the pool and threatens to divorce Andrea and leave her "without a cent." When Andrea retorts that Martin is a "miserable cripple," he attacks her with his wheelchair and Andrea waves a towel in front of him chanting "olé" as if in a bullfight. As the violence escalates, Andrea pushes Martin's wheelchair into the pool and watches as he drowns. At Martin's funeral, Tony is transfixed when Helayne, Martin's beautiful daughter from his first marriage, appears. Afterward, Fran explains to Tony that Andrea sent Helayne away to school after her mother was killed. Enjoying Andrea's distress that Helayne has blossomed into a beautiful woman, Fran adds that Helayne inherited half of Martin's estate. One night after having sex with Andrea, Tony proposes that they elope to Tijuana. Andrea scoffs, calling him a gold digger and warning that she will ruin his career unless he does as he is told. In response, Tony reveals that he saw Andrea kill her husband, but backs down when Andrea threatens to implicate him in the crime. Now free, Andrea decides to go away on an extended trip and asks Fran to stay at the house with Helayne. When the drunken Fran makes a fool of herself at the Lobster House, Tony takes her home and sees Helayne there. The next day, Tony invites Helayne to go horseback riding, and as they spend time together over the next week, begins to fall in love with her. Discerning that Helayne has become infatuated with Tony, Fran informs her that Tony and Andrea had an affair, but Helayne replies that she sensed that was the case. That night, Helayne asks Tony about Andrea, and he reassures her that their affair, merely a business arrangement, is over. Proclaiming his love for Helayne, Tony asks her to marry him that night after the show. Later, as Tony is packing his suitcases in his dressing room, Sally enters and tells him she is pregnant. Callously suggesting she get an abortion, Tony declares that he is going away but neglects to add that he is getting married. After a quick wedding ceremony, Tony and Helayne return home on the night that Andrea returns from her trip. From his bedroom window, Tony spots Andrea strolling the grounds and walks to the overlook above the beach where he informs her that he and Helayne are married. Laughing at Tony's claim that he actually loves Helayne, Andrea informs him that under the terms of Martin's will, Helayne will be disinherited if she marries before she is twenty-five, and consequently, Tony has married a pauper. When Andrea insists on continuing their affair, Tony refuses. Taunting that she has all the money and will not let him go, Andrea grabs his leg and pulls him to the ground. When Tony stands up, Andrea hysterically jumps onto his shoulders, and trying to dislodge her, Tony whirls around, sending her hurling onto the rocks below. Helayne has witnessed the incident, and the next day, when Andrea's body is found on the rocks, she and Tony claim that they were unaware that Andrea had returned home. When the autopsy discloses that alcohol and drugs were found in Andrea's blood, the police rule it an accidental death. Just as Tony and Helayne are about to leave town for an extended vacation, Sally calls, insisting on seeing Tony. When Tony goes to Sally's apartment, Sally greets him with a burst of gunshots, sending him falling to the ground. As Tony opens his mouth to scream, he awakens on the beach and sees Andrea, who introduces herself to him.