Review: The Psychopath

 

A member (John Harvey) of a chamber music quartet is the latest victim in a series of murders where the calling card is a doll left at the scene of each crime replicating the victim. Inspector Patrick Wymark enters to investigate, the prime suspects are a doll-collecting, wheelchair-bound old woman (played by Margaret Johnston) and her pale son (John Standing). Judy Huxtable is a daughter of one of the victims, with Don Borisenko playing her American boyfriend, a medical student also considered a suspect. The other three string quartet members are played by Alexander Knox, Robert Crewdson, and a sniffly Thorley Walters.

 

Director Freddie Francis (“Hysteria”, “Tales From the Crypt”), writer Robert Bloch (“Asylum”, “Psycho”, “The Skull”), and Amicus studios offer up a fun 1966 mystery psycho-thriller that could’ve been really great if not for a lack of credible red herrings. Through no fault of the cast, it won’t take you long to figure out who the title killer is here. Although the underrated John Standing and Patrick Wymark are solid, and an allergic Thorley Walters tries his best to run off with the film, it’s an eccentric Margaret Johnston who comes off best here. She’s terrific in a really odd characterisation. I was less impressed by Judy Huxtable and especially Don Borisenko as her American boyfriend. He’s an absolutely terrible actor on evidence here (and he’s very clearly Canadian, not American).

 

It’s a really colourful film, well-shot by John Wilcox (“The Skull”, “Hysteria”) as well, and the story is fun despite the obviousness of the mystery. Look out for the brilliant transition from a giant pile of falling chain to a plate of spaghetti. Priceless stuff. It’s all capped off by an insane, very Robert Bloch finale. A solid film with some fine performances and attractive cinematography. Only a bit of a transparent whodunit to pull this one back slightly. Good fun, especially for Amicus fans.

 

Rating: B-