Slasher meets police procedural? Sure, why not.
That’s what’s offered up in “Psycho Killer,” where the film’s protagonist, Jane (Georgina Campbell), is hunting a murderer who’s slaying across the country. The latest in his rampage took the life of Jane’s husband and fellow Kansas state trooper. Vowing to bring him to justice, Jane launches a national endeavor of her own, trailing the suspect.
As she tracks down the man, known only as the Satanic Slasher for the symbols he leaves behind, the killer manages to find new victims. With a major deadly event planned by the killer to finalize his effort, the pressure is on Jane to stop him.
So, “Psycho Killer” is kind of a ‘what you see is what you get’ type of movie. It’s a low budget, campy slasher flick, so expectations should be measured. As a positive, it is nice to see a sort of procedural mixed with the slasher concept. Having a stressed, stop-at-nothing cop be on the chase is a nice way to break up the typical kill off one-by-one structure.
That’s not to say what’s featured here is exactly great. This is no “Silence of the Lambs” or “Se7en.” A lot of that comes down to the script which is rather lacking. Perhaps the best example of that is how unironically the flick deals with its killer’s motives. See, the Satanic Slasher does live up to his name.
The murderer is 100 percent a worshiper of the Devil and makes no bones about it. It feels like it should be tongue in cheek. Considering the history of this country with scares of the devil and the Satanic Panic, having a killer so blatantly be a worshipper of Lucifer feels like something that should be done ironically. But it’s played completely straight.
It would be one thing for this type of flick to come out in the 80s. But today, with the history there’s been with hysteria in the country, it feels dated by not having any satire. There’s also an odd connection to the disaster at Three Mile Island which feels rather shoehorned in.
Not to say it couldn’t make for anything good, that kind of nuclear subject matter can be used well with sci-fi horror. But here, it feels entirely forced and random. At the very least, some of the deaths are good. Though I will say this is a sort of “soft R.”
A few of the deaths are cut away from, which is too bad. But when it shows the kills, other than some CGI blood, it’s satisfying. Probably the biggest highlight is where the slasher kills off a bunch of poser devil worshipers. One of which was played by Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominee Malcolm McDowell, who makes a fun appearance.
A lot of credit has to go to Georgina Campbell, though, who really is the glue that holds this thing together. The recipient of a TV BAFTA, Campbell is a capable actress who delivers the material nicely here. She manages to elevate some of the scenes here to keep the film chugging along.
A legitimately good horror movie, this is unfortunately not. It’s rather surprising that it was penned by Andrew Kevin Walker, who wrote 2023’s “The Killer,” which made my Top 10 list that year. However, as a campy slasher picture, it’s not too bad. As a blood-spilling movie, it has some things that work, including a good performance from Campbell. 2.5 out of 5.
Matthew Liedke on Film 