Funeral March

An advertising executive's jog on the beach turns into a run for his life when he is pursued and then killed by a remote-control toy plane packed with plastique. A pretty young secretary steps into a hotel shower and is electrocuted when she turns on the tap. Only their bizarre nature seems to link the two crimes until LAPD's Lt. Fred Santomassimo has an equally outre thought: Could these murders be based on the Hitchcock films North by Northwest and Psycho ? Santomassimo calls on Kay Quinn, who teaches cinema at USC. As the gruesome Hitchcock parodies continue, Quinn advises the police on themes, motives and settings. She proves too helpful; the killer decides to make her the star of a breathtakingly scary version of The Birds. When Quinn escapes, her nemesis devises a more spectacular end for her. His chilling twist on Saboteur takes them both to the Statue of Liberty, where the Hitchcock plot is given a further spin by Professor Quinn as she too is drawn into the world of cinematic obsession. Crafted with intelligence and suspense worthy of the master himself, this taut, sophisticated thriller will win new fans for De Felitta ( Audrey Rose ) . $80,000 ad/promo. (Apr.)