Psycho Killer: Only Succeeds At Killing The Vibe

When it comes to Psycho Killer, the horror crime-thriller hybrid fulfills its most basic requirement of delivering a ‘psycho’ killer, but that is where its imagination begins and ends. A sure fire contender for the worst film of the year, it struggles to deliver a coherent narrative, undercutting itself at seemingly every turn with the weakest of melodrama and unintentionally hilarious dialog, and only getting more ridiculous the longer it goes. While definitely ambitious, its glut of twists, turns, and other plot beats show signs of being something much more that was eventually cut down to a near barebones level prior to theatrical release. After all is set and done, the result is an absolute mess duct-taped together by a convoluted story made up of a series of contrivances and every derivative trope and cliche in the book. Not inspiring much in the way of tension, the film offers audiences very little to grasp on to, making for a passive experience where things just happen without consequence. Skipping the whole character development part altogether, the story proves to be a difficult one to pin down, going from one thing to the next and lacking any sense of progression, almost like throwing different ideas at the wall in the hope that one would stick. However ridiculous it may be, star Georgina Campbell, and her commitment to her role, is one of the highlights. That being said, she is essentially left on an island and forced to fend for herself as she tries to figure out her own part in all of this. Whether she does or not is up to interpretation.

Psycho Killer follows Jane Archer (Campbell), a highway patrol officer for the Kansas State Police who witnesses the brutal murder of her husband at the hands of a large masked assassin. As her world came crashing down, she struggled coming to grips with his untimely death. As a response, Jane set out on her own investigation as she looked to track down the man responsible and get justice. Progressing across the country, she continued to backtrack through the killer’s sordid history and collect new evidence in hopes of
exposing their true identity. Little did she know, the man she was chasing is a sadistic, serial Psycho Killer (Rogers) who is detached from reality and on the middle of an unhinged, cross-country killing spree. For those looking for any kind of deeper motives for the killing, they probably picked the wrong film. In order to survive, audiences are best served just accepting things as they are and not asking too many questions. Simply a polar opposite ideological adversary for Jane, the story amounts to a loosely assembled cat-and-mouse game. While it’s clear where either stood, that is about it in terms of development. As the story evolved, what was once a revenge story kept moving further and further away to something virtually unrecognizable.

With the Psycho Killer’s spree getting national attention, Jane remained undeterred as her countless attempts to request support from other police forces and the FBI went unanswered. In the end, it would be up to her to track down the killer and stop him before it is too late. Piecing together his past to try and understand him in the present, and perhaps predict his next move, Jane was on the case, whether others listened to her theories or not. Proving more effective than the hoards of other law enforcement officials tasked to track down the killer, otherwise known as the ‘Interstate Killer,’ several run-ins with the killer over the course of their trek across the country put Jane on his radar. The investigatory angle with Jane had potential, but the film seems satisfied with keeping audiences at arm’s length from anything of substance. More focused on ratcheting up the ridiculous level than staying in the moment and allowing for time to breathe, the dynamic between she and the killer withered away into next to nothing as the film forced its way to an inevitable final showdown type climax. While the outcome was never in question, the end of the story may not be, setting up an even more ridiculous angle that is likely to never be explored further.

Not scary in the slightest, nor tense, whatever atmosphere Psycho Killer may have ultimately rings hollow. Watching the cast subject themselves to such horrendous dialog is truly terrifying, tackling its treasure trove of derivative tropes and cliches in such a robotic way. Campbell, as Jane, is the only performance of note here, doing her best with what she is given while trying to give the film some energy. Be it the material or the direction, but despite her best efforts, she is not believable in the role, either trying too hard to convince her worthiness to herself, or to the audience. On the other hand, Rogers, a man of few words, perhaps fortunately, gets by on having the imposing presence worthy of the killer and similarly, handles himself physically. However, underneath his mask and garb, there is not much else there. McDowell acts as if he were in a different film altogether as Mr. Pendleton, the leader of an unhinged group of satanists.

Psycho Killer offers up an incoherent horror thriller lacking any kind of imagination whatsoever, cobbled together be a convoluted mix of tropes, cliches, and a horrendous script.

still courtesy of 20th Century Studios

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.