User reviews

SCHIZO

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Mono

A young figure skater (Lynne Frederick) is stalked by a convicted killer (Jack Watson), recently paroled from prison, whose appearance coincides with a series of vicious murders.

Typical entry from British sleaze specialist Pete Walker (FRIGHTMARE), taking its cue from the giallo shockers popular throughout continental Europe at the time. Less confrontational than some of Walker's previous outings ("It was less Gothique... I wanted less incident and outrage," he explained to journalist Alan Jones in 1983), SCHIZO still delivers the gory goods, though it takes rather too long to work up a decent head of steam. Climactic dividends are reaped by a steady accumulation of narrative details, but individual scenes are somewhat labored, not helped by Frederick's lack of presence in the leading role. By contrast, Stephanie Beacham (DRACULA A.D. 1972) is utterly charming as a family friend who turns detective when Frederick identifies Watson as her stalker - had the roles been reversed, this could have been a small masterpiece of psychological horror. Other stand-outs include veteran character actor Watson (recognizable from brief appearances in countless British movies, here given a much weightier role than usual), and a bearded John Fraser ("The Trials of Oscar Wilde") as a psychiatrist who pays the price for digging too deeply into the circumstances surrounding the death of Frederick's mother.

Aware of his own directorial limitations, Walker always allowed clever scriptwork to dictate his method, but he was no hack, as SCHIZO ably demonstrates. Here, his point-and-shoot style is punctuated by moments of genuine visual dexterity, such as the circling of a pen on a newspaper article which gives way (via dissolve) to a spinning ice-skater, or the truly unsettling séance during which medium Trisha Mortimer manifests physical signs of possession by one of the killer's former victims. The subsequent murders are blunt and bloody, with no pretence to subtlety. Peter Jessop's artful cinematography and Chris Burke's sensitive art direction make a virtue of the film's seedy locations, and while a good fifteen minutes could have been cut from the overlong narrative (most of the film's highlights are confined to the second half), editor Alan Brett manages to streamline an increasingly complicated scenario with some degree of panache.

Screenwriter David McGillivray parted company with Walker after this one, due partly to the quality of the script (based on an old work by Murray Smith, author of Walker's earlier films), which McGillivray felt was too transparent, and rendered the killer's identity obvious from the outset. Maybe so, but some of the climactic revelations still pack a hell of a punch. Bottom line: If you're a fan of Walker's output or British exploitation in general, you'll overlook the film's slow-burning tempo and enjoy its outlandish plot developments. Worth a look.

On one hand, Pete Walker's psychological horror Schizo is a pretty fun time-waster, boasting decent performances, some delightfully gruesome killings (best of all being a knitting needle in the head—implausible but cool), and a touch of nudity courtesy of its lovely star Lynne Frederick, who plays Samantha, a recently married premier ice skater who finds herself terrorised by menacing weirdo William Haskins, recently released from jail for the brutal murder of Samantha's mother.

On the other hand, the film is a little bit too long for its own good, stretching its rather thin story-line to breaking point, and you would have to be crazier than this movie's killer not to work out who is responsible for its bloody murders: given the film's blatant title, Walker's final twist is far too easy to guess, making this a far less effective thriller than it otherwise might have been.

Ultimately tipping things in its favour are Walker's assured direction, a decent supporting turn from Hammer babe Stephanie Beacham, some unnecessary but entertaining occult nonsense, and an unmissable appearance by the world's most hideous wallpaper design (at least four designs in one, all of them horrible).

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

Lynne Frederick plays a beautiful ice skater about to be married when she sees a person from her past. This person haunts her in her home, in the grocery store, at her wedding reception, and other sundry places. Frederick begins to relive moments from her past. She tells people about her past and how her mother was slain when she was six by her step-father. The man that she is seeing is that step-father. People begin dying that were in her confidence in incredibly sick, gruesome ways. One man is knifed in the throat while driving a car. A woman is brutally beaten and then thrown in front of a bus. Another woman has a knitting needle stuck through her head and coming out her eye. Director Peter Walker does a very god job creating tension and suspense in this film. Although nothing more than a typical slasher fare, Schizo is ably directed and well-acted. I knew, for the most part, who the guilty party was yet was never 100% sure. Walker is able to cast enough shadows over reality to keep you guessing a bit. The story was very interesting. Jack Watson plays the evil-looking step-father rather too well I think. The rest of the cast is all adequate with pretty Stephanie Beacham doing a good job as a close friend. Frederick shows she has some talent as an actress, but Walker must not have been too convinced as he shows her naked at least twice. Good, gory fun in that English way.

Ho-hum.............what to make of Pete Walker's "Schizo"? Considering the 70's period, and its tightish budget, it's got to be said that it's not a bad effort overall. In fact, it could easily be looked upon as a fore-runner of similar less effective efforts in the years that followed. The scenes are good generally, and the pervading sense of menace is quite effective for most of the time. Best scene of all is the creepy seance, when the medium's reactions suddenly catch the viewer by surprise. Performances, however, are somewhat mixed. Lynne Frederick provides a nondescript lead who seems to drift through the whole thing, whilst trying to remember where she's left her shopping list! Better are Stephanie Beacham, John Fraser and John Leyton. Top performance, however, comes from Jack Watson, and he alone makes the film seem better than it probably is. All in all, a worthwhile viewing for fans of the slasher-type movie, but don't expect any subtle nuances or frills!

Schitzophrenia - that eeevil murder mania! The British mental health organization MIND get angry from this - hey, Schitzo was co-written by a pornographer David McGillivray, the expert of leeringly trashy, sleazy horror movies like Frightmare, so what did you expect? Something mature or at least partly honest? Or that facts would be in the right place in your mentally-ill-as-a-murderer-story? Well, this leeringly trashy exploitation of mental illness mangles the facts and slashes some victims, the truth being one of them, and all the entertainment and other value lay in the gutter. The plot? The ice-skater Lynne Frederick is stalked, the bodies pile up and a schizophrenic - but whoooo? - is the guilty party. I just tried to stay awake.

British cult film-maker Pete Walker's "Schizo" is quite a blunt, if nastily grimy little psycho shocker (with giallo touches) that doesn't provide much in the way of story surprises, but cements a growing sense of unease that's broken up by constant its unpleasantness.

Samantha is an international ice-skater who's about to marry. This should be a happy time in her life; however she gets the feeling that someone is stalking her. Someone from her past, she would like to forget about. However that's hard to do when dead bodies start piling up and she believes it to be the man that slashed her mother to death, but no one seems to believe her.

The ensemble cast bestows some strong performances, especially in its support with standouts like the gorgeous Stephanie Beacham and a cynical John Frazer. Even Jack Watson had a creepy presence about him. A sound turn by Lynne Frederick in the lead covering a neurotic side and John Leyton is acceptable as her husband. Walker sturdily strings together the taut set-pieces with his leering, but expressive camera-work. The narrative keeps everything rather shady, building an edgy psychological imprint with its stalk and slash structure. The script stays interesting (despite never being too revealing) and playing around with a sense of paranoia (stress used as an excuse), but the red herrings are too obvious to be effective, so when it comes to the double whammy it doesn't pack much of a blow or is particularly credible. Stanley Myers' unhinged music score is jaunty, but extremely haunting and disorienting in its spells.

Nice cover artwork on the VHS case, but it does give a subtle clue to where the story might just head.

Samantha (Lynne Frederick) is a celebrity ice skater whose fabulous life includes media coverage of her marriage plans. Too bad that William Haskin (Jack Watson)--convicted of killing Samantha's mother (Wendy Gilmore)--reads the newspapers. Samantha's a neurotic mess herself, so nobody really believes her when she says she's being stalked--until, that is, the body count starts going up.

Speaking of bodies, Frederick's and Gilmore's are on full display.

Schizo is like an Italian Giallo; there is plenty of blood and nudity.

The first half of the film is the setup and it drags a bit, but things get going and it is a fun ride even though I suspect that we are being set up for a twisted ending.

And, boy did we get one.

Pete Walker and his loyal scriptwriter David McGillivray were pretty much England's most controversial duo of filmmakers back in the glorious seventies. Opposite to Hammer's and Amicus' successful but politically correct horror movies, these two provided the British (and other) genre fans with provocative and violent films, stuffed with social criticism and obscene undertones. Their movies ("Frightmare", "House of Whipcord"...) aren't genius, but at least they always have originality and a handful of effective shock-moments. Same goes for this "Schizo", which remarkably blends an innovating slasher premise with some of the genre's oldest and most delightful clichés. Newly married ice-skating champion Samantha is stalked by the frustrated and pitiful lover of her murdered mother. Even though the the guy makes no real secret of his identity and even though his perpetrating attempts are amateurish, Samantha has great difficulties convincing her entourage she's in danger. "Schizo" basically is a simplistic horror movie (up till a certain point, at least), but it's praiseworthy how Walker & McGillivray make efforts to throw in psychological terror twists. The extended fright-scenes are well mounted and the make up effects are quite nasty despite the low budget production values. As usual in Pete Walker's movies, there's a twisted and very ingenious shock ending that marvelously illustrates the director's aversion to political correctness. Highly recommended!

Not really prime Pete Walker; rather an attempt by the director to do a stalker / slasher picture, after the Italian giallo fashion.

Walker does treat us to some surprising and vivid scenes, ample shock moments and a fine use of locations - mid-70s Britain is once again a fascinatingly grim locale, as in some many films of the era! However, the crucial 'twist' is rather poor, straining all credibility that the film had.

The uncannily ubiquitous Jack Watson is actually quite sinister though, and Stephanie Beacham once more plays the very middle-class friend type as in other British horrors of the era. Lynne Frederick - to be wed to Peter Sellers the following year - is another of PW's sexy heroine-in-peril leads and, like many such characters, is not incapable or entirely cardboard. John Leyton, singer of the stupendously eerie Joe Meek-produced #1 hit 'Johnny Remember Me' (1961), is bizarrely cast as Frederick's husband, providing as much screen presence as the elusive Zeppo Marx. Sheila Keith is missing.

While this is a definite retreat from PW's previous nasty fairy tales - "House of Whipcord", - it still has a certain appeal for those who don't mind a bit of well-crafted 1970s exploitation. Those who view films purely in terms of gender politics should obviously stay well clear!

While I would NOT imagine that "Schizo" was a film made with the utmost care and sensitivity concerning mental illness (after all, it IS meant as an exploitation flick), its introduction is completely wrong and absurd. The narrator tells us that 'Schizophrenia is sometimes known as Multiple or Split Personality...". It is not and Schizophrenia has nothing to do with Multiple Personality...nothing whatsoever. This is a relatively common myth but the filmmakers should have known the difference. Enough of my rant.

Samantha (Lynne Frederick) is a woman who should be very happy. After all, she just got married. But immediately following her wedding, she sees a strange man, William Haskin. And, again and again, she sees this man to the point where it frightens her. After all, who is this strange guy and why is he following her? and, does he mean her any harm? Well, apparently Samantha has some sort of shady psychological past and because of that, folks don't believe her when she tells them about this man. What is Samantha's past and what does this guy have to do with this? See the movie and find out...or not.

While there is the basis of a good film here, the film so often took the low road and so you cannot take it seriously. First, there's the title of the film...clearly meant to titillate. And, speaking of titillation, several times through the movie, there's gratuitous nudity and the movie clearly isn't a serious story about murder and mental illness. Additionally, so often in the film Samantha is scared...but there's really no reason for this and the tension is rather false....and this becomes a bit tiresome. Not a horrible film...but one that clearly cannot be taken very seriously nor loved.

By the time Pete Walker made this little slasher-shocker he seemed to have run out of good ideas. The attacks on the courts, family and church had now been made and what could he do now? How about some sort of case-study about schizofrenia? It might have worked, but mr Walker plays his cards too soon in this movie and makes the ending show a mile ahead. With the element of a "who-is-it" suspense gone, what is there left? Some surprisingly gory murders that could shock even todays jaded audience and probably scared the wits out of them in the 70's, decent performances for a horror movie (director Walker almost always managed to get the best out of his average-talented actresses) and an overall smooth running picture. Enjoyable as a timekiller (there are many, many worse slashers than this) but easily forgotten.

"Schizo" ,has nothing British ; its main influence is the Italian giallo ,particularly Mario Bava , and most likely Dario Argento : like in " l'ucello dalle piume de cristal" ,you should not go by appearances ;and both this work and "profondo rosso " feature flashbacks in the not-so-rosy world of childhood .The movie also borrows from "psycho" (the shower, but it was already in Mark Robson's "the seventh victim" (1943))and "Marnie" (the mother ).

Neither playing nor directing is really convincing ; dead bodies pile up in mound ,and the clues the murderer disseminates are lost on the viewer ,although ,in the end , they make (roughly) sense .It's as if,towards the end ,the director appreciated how dull and repetitive it all was ,and deperately attempted to enliven the whole thing by getting tough sex and violence into the story (the shrink's death is so predictable it cannot make you shiver at all) ; and an open ending at that.

Samantha and Alan are getting married, but William Haskins is not pleased. He grabs a train south to London and begins shadowing Samantha as she tries to get on with married life. Haskins' attempts to frighten her drive Samantha to desperation, but she's having trouble convincing anyone that she's being stalked...

While I think this film is slightly less good than Walker's "Comeback", this is still a solid story with a good plot and strong characters. If there is any doubt of this film's greatness, just look at the awesome possession scene -- this not only matches but exceeds anything done in "Evil Dead". I would even go so far as to say it might pass "Exorcist".

Pete Walker is a master of horror who often gets overlooked. This is a shame. He is every bit as good as Freddie Francis, for example, and possibly even Jess Franco (though Franco is hard to categorize -- he has at least as much rubbish as gold).

This British-made "imitation Giallo" was the only one of director Walker's 8 horror outings that I had yet to catch up with; in fact, I had also watched his 3-D sexploitationer FOUR DIMENSIONS OF GRETA (1972) and own the as-yet-unseen and equally non-horror titles THE BIG SWITCH (1969), MAN OF VIOLENCE (1971) and HOME BEFORE MIDNIGHT (1979)…not bad for a film-maker who has got only 16 movies under his belt and whose work I was completely unfamiliar with (apart from what little reading material I had at my disposal) before Anchor Bay UK unveiled their 5-Disc Set in 2005! Obviously, the film under review was not included in that collection but has received comparatively muted DVD editions on both regions. Although the film reunited Walker with the screenwriter, David MacGillivray, of his two best films – FRIGHTMARE (1974) and HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN aka THE CONFESSIONAL (1975) – not to mention his most notorious one – HOUSE OF WHIPCORD (1974) – the mixture fails to rise to the expected heights this time around.

Indeed, the film tries too hard to be the English version of DEEP RED (1975) but, in spite of the best intentions on display and some decent murder sequences of its own, cannot hope to approximate the visceral impact of Dario Argento's classic slasher. The simple enough plot belies the close similarity between the two films that ultimately undermines SCHIZO: lovely Lynn Frederick is a famous ice-skating star about to wed carpet-producing businessman John Leyton who starts to be hounded by brutish ex-con relative Jack Watson as best friends Stephanie Beacham and psychiatrist lover John Fraser investigate. However, Frederick (just like musician Gabriele Lavia in DEEP RED) is a professional concealing a skeleton in her closet and is not quite the victim as she would have us believe; the spunky character played by Beacham is also very similar to that of intrepid reporter Daria Nicolodi in the earlier Italian film and her uninhibited relationship to first Fraser and then Leyton brings forth memories of the one enjoyed between Nicolodi and David Hemmings; just like DEEP RED's psychiatrist, Fraser too gets to expire via a violent death here; most prominently, there is even a séance with a murderous outcome (with the victim here bowing out the very same way that Lavia did!) and a traumatic childhood event that unbalances the beholder and turns her (or him, in Lavia's case) into a serial killer as an adult. However, Walker remains true to his exploitation roots by making the latter not a marital squabble ended by the knife-wielding youngster but a seedy, foul-mouthed and incestuous coupling between her mother and uncle!!

Needless to say, Stanley Myers' serviceable score is also no consolation for missing out on Goblin's tremendous music but the film has other faults besides that smack of carelessness: although Watson is played up to be the red herring from the outset, he is too much of a character actor to be believable as a potential protagonist and, when the twist of the killer's identity is eventually revealed in the film's latter stages, it comes as no surprise at all (although it was clever to have Frederick misremember her childhood recollections to Fraser to avert any suspicions); for being a celebrated skater, there are precious few people present at Frederick's wedding ceremony and, bafflingly, no photographers at all!; similarly, why would a star spend so much time alone at home (thus making her such an easy target) and, when she gets to go out, she only does so at the instigation of her maid – who, of all places, takes Frederick to her psychic daughter…with all the potential for embarrassing disclosures that such a public visit entails?! Although Frederick is not bad in the lead (and, thankfully, gets to be naked a few times, too!), the major trouble with her characterization is that the inherent schizophrenia is not quite believable because she never acts all that rationally when in a 'sane' frame of mind anyway! Although, as intimated earlier, the murders of Fraser (complete with an extra red herring in the shape of an uncredited bit by John McEnery – Beacham's then-husband – as a threatening suicidal patient!), Watson (in Leyton's plant), the maid (a most irreverent reversal of Christ's "eye of the needle" speech) and her daughter deliver the goods, they most certainly do not make up for the lamely unresolved "will she/won't she (revert back to her evil side)?" ending at the airport!!

Some final comments should go to the actors since they are the film's ultimate mainstay: after a not insignificant contribution to the horror genre – VAMPIRE CIRCUS (1972), THE AMAZING MR. BLUNDEN (1972) and PHASE IV (1974) – Frederick went on to marry (and, eventually, inherit) Peter Sellers but also, sadly, to an early grave from alcoholism at just 39!; the partially-deaf Beacham herself did her own stint in British horror courtesy of THE BALLAD OF TAM LIN (1970; which I just watched the other day), THE NIGHTCOMERS (1972), Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972), …AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS! (1973) HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN itself and INSEMINOID (1981). John Leyton is here a flabbier version of the one we remember from THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963) and, in fact, this was his first appearance in a theatrical film in 10 years and of which there would be just 3 more in the next 35 years!; likewise, SCHIZO proved to be John Fraser's first appearance in a theatrical feature (which had previously included 1965's REPULSION) in 8 years and his last…even though he is still alive today! Watson's film career was much more varied and prolific than that of his younger male co-stars but also included its fair share of horror outings: PEEPING TOM (1960), KONGA (1961), THE GORGON (1964), THE NIGHT CALLER (1965), TOWER OF EVIL (1972; the only one I am not familiar with) and FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE (1973).

It seems a terrible indictment that Walker's films were treated so badly at the time of release for it is undeniable that, especially considering their low budgets, they achieve everything they set out to. Being a cinema goer of the period, I of course was also guilty in that I never went to one on it's UK release and have only caught up with them more recently. The time was probably not quite right for the large audiences but now that I have seen most of the Italian giallo, I can sit in wonder and gleefully enjoy this 'terror movie' and it's surprisingly generous amounts of bloody gore and violence. The acting is at times ponderous, John Leyton of sixties pop singing fame, struggles here and there but perhaps his part is underwritten. Lynne Frederick makes a few odd gestures but these are eventually explained, as is everything else in this exciting and clever little movie.

Pete Walker's "Schizo" is a commendable take on the at the time yet to be defined stalker/slasher genre and it even has some Giallo undertones. But sadly, the film itself isn't anything too exciting. Samantha is a successful ice skater and she's getting married. After the marriage, the trouble begins as she's being followed & stalked by a strange person from her own past. Soon enough dead bodies - all friends and acquaintances of Samantha - start popping up everywhere. Walker brings his own style to the picture, presenting us a handful of gruesome killings and some female nudity along the side. But his directing efforts can't help a screenplay that's too talkative for its own good and a plot that's simply too predictable. The ending is satisfactory, so "Schizo" surely isn't a waste of time for true fans of the genre.

Samantha (Lynne Frederick) is a talented figure-skater with a troubled past who hopes to find happiness in marriage to Alan (John Leyton), a carpet manufacturer. However, the happy day is overshadowed for her by the appearance of a heavy-set stranger (Jack Watson), and things grow worse as people around her begin to die in horrible ways…

This is one of those cheesy British horror flicks that would have easily-pleased teens flocking to the local Odeon back in the mid 70s, but by the early 80s its betamax-size video box sat endlessly on the rental shelves. With a plot of a thousand holes it lurches from one improbable twist to another with little regard for rationality or realism – and perhaps that's why it's not as awful to watch as many other equally bad offerings which take themselves more seriously. Influenced by Italian gallo flicks, Schizo's plot chugs along at a fair old lick, throwing surprisingly gruesome murders at the screen whenever the pace shows signs of slowing and ensuring that you're never bored, at least. Director Pete Walker even manages to throw in a couple of effective moments, such as the spooky séance scene and a rather clever transposition from the brooding William Haskin's pen swirling over Samantha's newspaper photograph to a close-up of her skates cutting corresponding lines into the ice. For every neat touch, though, there are countless drawbacks, not least of which is the future Mrs. Sellers' acting. Fredericks can't act for toffee and even – like most of us – looks better when clothed than naked, so there's only middling compensation from her couple of gratuitous nude scenes. (I wonder what happened to the gratuitous nude scene – like Vauxhall Vivas and Basil Brush, they seem to have become something of an outdated relic these days.)

If you're of average intelligence you'll figure out who the killer is within half-an-hour, and it's only the bizarre actions of some of the characters that might occasionally plant a seed of doubt in your mind. There's some pleasure to be had from spotting familiar faces: dear old Queenie Watts for one, and a youngish Stephanie Beacham, badly miscast as Samantha's best friend. Jack Watson, a permanent fixture in 70s TV, also enjoys a larger than normal role as the sombre Haskins.