Ok, so from a technical perspective, Psycho is the superior film. But I can't remember the last time I had such a damned good time watching an "older" horror movie. I never saw the surprise ending coming! This movie was light years ahead of its time!
I'm as jumpy as a virgin at a prison rodeo!share
I remember seeing this movie years ago as a teenager- I was babysitting late at night. It scared the hell out of me- it is just as good if not better than psycho.
shareI agree and I love the fright break!
shareAre you really serious that you didn't see the twist? The weird dubbing and the feminine guy didn't trigger anything for you. As soon as I saw the guy I said,,hey he looks just like the woman. Plus you never saw them together in the same room.
Regan: What an excellent day for an exorcism
>>I never saw the surprise ending coming!<<
Are you kidding me? The minute i saw Warren, i knew what was up. Warren had the certain...quality about him. And he had really nice cheekbones.
Thank you for recommending this movie! I really did enjoy it. Jean Arliss is my new old Hollywood obsession. She was absolutely funny in her role - especially when she stabbed the JP - those faces she made! Hilarious. And scary, too. She scared the *beep* out of me when she told Helga that the JP died SCREAMING!!
Did you hear her? She wants me to kill you with my hands.
WEll, i knew SOMETHIGN was wrong, but I didn't think that they were going to pull a gender bait and switch in the early 60s!!! I wonder if this is the first time that was done in a horror movie. i got this for 5 bucks on DDD and haven't watched it since I bought it. I think i need to revisit. I'm glad you liked it so much. I adore "Jean Arliss" too. It's a shame she didn't do much else--this is one of my favorite horror performances.
Why in pluperfect hell did you pee on the corpse?share
I agree. Was suprised to see that Time Magazine said, "It surpasses Psycho in structure, suspense and sheer nervous drive" and placed it on its top 10 films of the year list for 1962, an honor not bestowed on Psycho the previous year."
To me, the most enjoyable films are never those that we're overexposed to. Its gems like these that pop up unexpectedly and that you watch with little expectation. Yes, technically Psycho mops the floor with it. But in terms of pacing, narrative and pure entertainment value, Homicidal is fantastic and the better of the two.
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The editors of Time magazine were caught with their pants down when their reviewer trashed Psycho and then the movie went on to become a pop culture sensation. As their big editors and movie editor later admitted, they praised Homicidal because they wanted to appear hip, cool, and with-it. They were caught with their pants down yet again. Even the screenwriter of Homicidal admitted that he was embarrassed by taking the job because William Castle encouraged him to steal as much from Psycho as they could without getting sued. The movie got terrible reviews, made money because it twas made so cheaply but pretty much sank without a trace. I love watching Homicidal, though, because it's such a shameless ripoff.
Of course it's better than Psycho! I'm glad you said so. I also think that Plan Nine from Outer Space is better than Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I love rip-offs!
King of the B's
Yes, of course, William Castle. And if you listen long enough to some of the people on this site, I'm sure someone will try to convice us all that Zotz! is better than To Catch a Thief and Let's Kill Uncle is better than The Birds and 13 Frightened Girls is better than The Man Who Knew Too Much.
You left out Macabre and The Night Walker. Far superior films to Vertigo or Rear Window!
King of the B's
I did leave those out, it's true. But I was busy pondering a lengthy and exhaustive IMDB treatise on why your unsung opus Project X is a far more satisfying and profound cinematic achievement than Notorious.
Of course, BUG is much better than THE BIRDS. In the way Cheez Wiz is much better than imported Stilton.
I'm not sure that I would necessarily say 'better than PSYCHO,' but I WOULD say 'bolder than PSYCHO.'
My appreciation:
http://juntajuleil.blogspot.com/2009/12/film-review-homicidal-1961-wil liam.html
"Homicidal" is definitely NOT better than "Psycho". William Castle ripped off entire characters, scenes, and set-ups from Hitchcock, and brought none of his own style to the proceedings. The "twist" ending was obvious from the moment the character of Warren appeared onscreen.
Honestly, "Homicidal" wasn't even as good as any of the "Psycho" sequels.
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Exactly, TripleOphiuchus811,
It is a funny instance of homage/lifting/imititation/ripoff coming full circle but, in the end, it's not a serious comparison, nor should it be. The two films are simply not in the same stratosphere on any level. By the way, I enjoy some of Castle's films, especially the Robert Bloch efforts (Straight Jacket and The Night Walker).
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+1 :-)
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