Homicidal

"Homicidal" is a very strange movie. It's among the best of William Castle's gimmicky horror films, but unlike any of them. Fans of "camp" should have a field day with this one. Jean Arless plays a fascinating part, but her obvious disguises and stilted acting are sorely out of step with everyone else's naturalistic looks and behavior. However, the story is absorbing, clever and ultimately entertaining. Films that take their cue from "Psycho" normally make me bristle, but this time it's actually quite interesting to catch the references as they continue to pile up (There are so many). Would love to know what Hitchcock thought of this movie.

perhaps this little gem was overlooked as a rip off of "Psycho"...but let's face it, no one could scare you back then except William Castle. He may have had his campy films and maybe he was no Hitchcock. But Castle's films reached into the "real lives" of people. Audiences could relate to his characters more than Hitchcock's. (unless any of you have ever been chased by a crop duster,in that case, i stand corrected) Homicidal is quite the shocker. The performances are better than the title would suggest, the end is not one to be missed. I personally think William Castle was a genius overlooked as a gimmick director. His films have never failed to make me jump (My jaw dropped at the end of Strait Jacket)and i've always felt he was the best horror film director of his time. For a movie from 1961, one of the decades of camp, it'll have the same affect on you as anything current. Castle was awesome.

William Castle claims that he had the idea for this film while he was sleeping. If so, I can only assume that he was dreaming about Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, 'Psycho' because the blatant homage to the earlier film is difficult to ignore. Castle injects all the same themes and many of the ideas from Psycho into this film, but luckily; the master of entertainment has enough ideas of his own to ensure that Homicidal isn't merely a rip-off. Besides, Castle himself had a small hand in the events leading up to the release of Hitchcock's low-budget thriller...so I guess he earned the right to homage. The film starts off with one of Castle's campy intro features, and we also get a 'Fright Break' towards the end; but on the whole, this film is slightly more serious than earlier films such as The Tingler and House on Haunted Hill. The film opens properly with a sequence that sees a beautiful blonde woman pay a hired hand at a hotel to marry her. One thing leads to another, and she quite shockingly ends up sticking the knife into the Justice of the Peace...the plot thickens with the introduction of the elderly Helga and an inheritance of $10 million.

This film is never as good as Hitchcock's Psycho, but the master of entertainment always ensures that there's enough going on to ensure that it doesn't get boring. Much of the plot takes place in a dark, creepy house; which helps the director to implement a morbid and macabre atmosphere. One of the major faults with the film with regards to the scare factor comes from Castle's own showboating. The 'fright break' towards the end kills the shocking atmosphere that Castle has spent the rest of the film implementing, and as a result; the final macabre sequence is not nearly as effective as it could have been. The final twist is a clear derivative of Psycho, but it's actually quite well worked. The film introduced the talents of Joan Marshall (appearing here as Jean Arless) to the cinematic world, and her performance is what makes the film what it is. It's a shame that she never went on to make much of a splash after this film. I wouldn't hesitate to label Homicidal as one of William Castle's better efforts, as even though it's not quite what audiences have come to expect from the master of entertainment, and it's purely derivative; Homicidal is still a fine quality B-movie shocker.

Homicidal is one of the most blatant rip offs of Psycho you're likely to see, but it has such a good time trying to hide that fact and go in its own direction that you can't help but love it. It's about a young woman who might have a little killing problem and a mysterious brother who makes life even more difficult for her.

William Castle might not be as masterful with the suspense as Hitchcock, but he knows how to spin an entertaining story.

This is yet another classic from William Castle, the king of the gimmicks. The gimmick used for this film, often compared with "Psycho", was the idea of a "Fright Break" during which the viewer has 30 seconds to determine if they want to see the 'terrifying' conclusion to the film. When released in theaters initially, there was a separate section that patrons could go to during the "Fright Break". Gimmicks aside this is a very well crafted, often goofy, and quite effective little thriller. The murders, acting, and storyline are all over the top and everyone in the movie puts on quite an effective performance. Standing out in her role as Emily is Jean Arliss. It seems that Emily is quite disturbed as the movie opens with an alarming murder sequence. The story goes downhill from there and, just when you think you have all of the answers, the film changes the questions! The ending is very shocking for first time viewers and yet this is the kind of film that also gets more and more entertaining with each additional viewing. Highly recommended for horror fans, even though it's often compared with "Psycho" I feel that the film stands out on it's own and it's ending is actually more effective than Hitchcock's. Watch this movie, you won't regret it!