From a technical standpoint, Welcome To Arrow Beach is not a particularly good film: the direction by its star Laurence Harvey is largely uninspired, the editing is frequently clumsy, and the cinematography is nothing special. That said, the film is still hugely entertaining thanks to its incredibly lurid story, a likeable turn by a young Meg Foster, Harvey's unhinged performance, and a wonderfully groovy '70s vibe.
Foster plays teenage runaway Robbin Stanley, who learns the hard way that hitch-hiking isn't a good idea, narrowly surviving a crash after being picked up by a coke-snorting hot-rodder. Sent on her way by the police, Robbin wanders onto a private beach where she meets Jason Henry, who lives in the big house overlooking the sea. Jason invites Robbin to have dinner with him; she is hesitant at first, but accepts when she learns that the man shares the house with his sister Grace (Joanna Pettet). After dinner, the Henry's suggest that Robbin stays the night, which she does. However, as she lays in bed, she is disturbed by a strange noise emanating from the basement and goes to see what is causing it.
What follows is a decidedly twisted tale that involves incest and cannibalism, with Robbin discovering Jason's terrible secret - that he feeds on the flesh of people who stray onto his beach. Managing to escape the house, the girl is unable to convince the police of her story, having been framed as a drug addict by the conniving Jason. Joined by medical tech Alex Heath (David Macklin), Robbin sneaks into the Henry's house to investigate.
Despite being terminally ill at the time of filming, Harvey throws himself into the role of demented cannibal with gusto, and adds to the unsettling vibe with his character's uncomfortably close relationship with his sister. The film keeps the gore to a minimum, but what there is works well, with the murder of a past-her-prime glamour model seeing the red stuff splashed around liberally in quick edits, and the final reveal of Jason's horrific handiwork being as shocking as anything to be seen in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
7.5/10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.