Psychomania (Blu-ray/DVD)
Anthony Arrigo
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Starring Nicky Henson, Beryl Reid, George Sanders, Mark Larkin
Directed by Don Sharp
Distributed by Arrow Video
It’s almost hard to remember back to a time when movies weren’t concerned with “grounding things in reality”, desperately trying to ensure that even the most outlandish ideas have some sort of pseudo-science reasoning. Sometimes a film just needs to be fun and nothing more. Back in the fast and loose days of the ‘60s and ‘70s, horror films barely took the time to dig deep into their weird and wild stories, preferring to sell the audience on a hook and some flash. Psychomania (1973) is exactly the sort of free-wheelin’, far-out fun that just doesn’t exist much these days. Although produced by Benmar Productions this picture feels more akin to those beloved Hammer horror films of the ‘60s, with credit being given to director Don Sharp who was a stalwart of that venerable English studio during their prime. Less a horror film and more of a mildly rambunctious biker flic, Psychomania is a breezy blast of nostalgia from start to finish.
Tom (Nicky Henson) is the leader of a motorcycle gang called “The Living Dead”, which includes his buds Chopped Meat (Miles Greenwood), Gash (Peter Whitting), Hinky (Rocky Taylor), Jane (Ann Michelle), and his girlfriend, Abby (Mary Larkin). Tom’s mother, Mrs. Latham (Beryl Reid), is a Satanic medium who uses her powers to communicate with the dead. It is revealed Tom’s dad died under mysterious circumstances, likely related to Mrs. Latham’s occult practices. Their sprawling estate is tended to by Shadwell (George Sanders), the family’s ever-faithful servant. Bored with his daily routine of tormenting the locals and, even worse, being among the living Tom decides to utilize an old family secret to achieve immortality.
The secret? You have to kill yourself and, if you truly want to die, you will return… looking exactly as you did in life. Seems easy enough, really.
Tom, steadfast in his decision to meet death, rides straight off a local bridge (which is awfully low and over water; his actual fate would have been having wet clothes). His mates decide to bury him in a fitting funeral (of sorts) – sitting atop his beloved motorcycle, helmet in place, covered in a mound of dirt at “The Seven Witches”, a circle of standing stones and home to an unexplained magic. Soon after the wake, Tom bursts forth from his earthen tomb, looking dapper as ever. No rotting flesh or decayed brains here. In fact, Tom is “healthier” than ever since his “dead” body can’t be killed again. His mates are naturally quite jealous, so they decide to die for themselves, making Tom the leader of an actual group of living dead. How coincidental! Everyone is having a gas experimenting with their newfound abilities, except for Abby who isn’t quite sure about joining Tom on the other side. The rowdier Tom and his cohorts get, the more apparent it becomes to his mother, too, that something may need to be done about these ghoulish hooligans.
This is an effortlessly enjoyable film that works because it never once takes itself seriously. Tom looks like he is 37 years old and still suckling off the teat of his wealthy estate, and he acts like a petulant child with no direction. His only aim in life is to cause some general mayhem and ride his bike; a simple man’s dreams. His obsession with death is clear from the get-go, and since he has so little else going on anyway might as well commit suicide and hope for the best, right old boy?
Despite the near-total lack of actual horror I was reeled in by the riotous costumes and sheer dark humor of it all. The outfits worn by The Living Dead are a hoot; their helmets resemble skull and crossbones, the face being made out of the visors along with green-tinted bug-eyed goggles. A little artistic flourish can oftentimes go a long way on a low-budget affair. The humor here is less of the written variety and more concentrated around the sheer ridiculousness of it all; the casual attitude with which nearly every character interacts with death. In fact, the film would have been improved if certain plot elements had greater attention.
Later, once nearly the entire Living Dead have been turned into their namesake, the guys (and girl) decide to have some fun with their newfound immortality. When a policeman attempts to write one of the boys a ticket for parking, the lad spots the cop from a 10th-story window and proceeds to jump on down to settle the citation. But the film cuts right after his jump, robbing viewers of a potentially funny “WTF?” moment from the ensuing meeting. These guys might be self-proclaimed hellraisers but they don’t raise much of anything aside from their own corpses. One scene sees a few of the gang harassing two old women as they drive home; hardly a “tough guy” move by any measure. Still, this isn’t the kind of film one needs to pick apart because the seams unravel faster than Tom’s motorbike. It’s best to just sit back, get lost in a haze of the Devil’s lettuce, and revel in arcane absurdity.
As noted in the accompanying booklet, Arrow Video went through a lot of work in order to bring Psychomania to Blu-ray. The original negative is considered lost, so the company had to make due with whatever elements could be located. Be sure to read up on how this transfer was achieved because it was a laborious process. Nonetheless, you wouldn’t know that from the film’s 1.66:1 1080p picture, which is remarkable given the circumstances. Colors are a touch desaturated, though some hues pop better than others. Most of this film takes place during daylight and the strong lighting allows many details in the image to be much more apparent. Definition is generally very good, though there is some softness that is simply inherent to the image. Considering the vintage and that this isn’t the most popular British horror film out there (not by a country mile), what is presented here should fall in line with what most viewers are expecting.
An English LPCM 1.0 mono track carries the excessive exhaust and funky tunes with no problems. Dialogue comes through nice and clear, with no detection of hissing or dropouts. Some of the bigger effects don’t pack much of a punch, but then I don’t think anyone is watching this film for bombastic sound design.
“Interview with Nicky Henson” is a fun, informative chat with the film’s leading man.
“Return of the Living Dead” is a 2010 making-of piece, filled with interviews and interesting facts.
“The Sound of Psychomania” is an interview with composer John Cameron.
“Riding Free” is an interview with singer Harvey Andrews, who sings the acoustic hippie track during Tom’s funeral.
“Hell for Leather” is a neat interview with Derek Harris, owner of Lewis Leathers, who supplied the outfits for this picture (and many, many more).
“Restoring Psychomania” doesn’t run very long but this shows off some of the work Arrow Video did the restore the film back to some sort of glory.
A theatrical trailer, booklet, and DVD copy of the feature film are also included.
Special Features:
- 2K restoration from preservation negatives
- High Definition (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
- Original 1.0 mono audio (uncompressed on the Blu-ray)
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- Brand-new interview with star Nicky Henson
- Return of the Living Dead, an archive featurette containing interviews actors Henson, Mary Larkin, Denis Gilmore, Roy Holder and Rocky Taylor
- Sound of Psychomania, an archive interview with composer John Cameron
- Riding Free, an archive interview with ‘Riding Free’ singer Harvey Andrews
- Hell for Leather, a brand-new featurette on the company who supplied the film’s costumes
- Remastering Psychomania, a look at the film’s restoration from the original 35mm black and white separation masters
- Theatrical trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by the Twins of Evil
- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet containing writing by Vic Pratt, William Fowler, and Andrew Roberts
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Psychomania
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Special Features
Categorized:Reviews
