Psychosis [DVD]

!!!WARNING. THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!

A group of road protesters are brutally murdered by an axe wielding maniac. He is captured after being shot. Fifteen years later, American crime novelist Susan(Charisma Carpenter) is taken by her husband David(Paul Sculfor) to their new dream home in the English countryside. David is very pleased with the house, Susan less so as she starts to experience visions of people, that only she can see. Susan's agent Charles(Richard Raynsford) has a whispered conversation with David regarding his wife's mental health, alluding to problems in the past. Meanwhile Susan's visions are happening more regularily and becoming more horrifying, some of them involving the very same axe murderer from all those years ago.
This film is reminiscant of the Hammer psychological thriller/horrors from the past, along with many other British horrors. It also has the feel of those great British television series such as Hammer House Of Horror and Thriller. Sex scenes and swearing have been added to the mix, to the films detriment, as shorn of these unnecessary additions it could have been a nice little psychological horror. It would also take issue with the films originality, as the films enjoyable if nonsensical 'twist' ending has been used before to better effect, both in the Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense episode 'In Possession'(one of that stories actors, Bernard Kay, also appears in this), and also the British horror short 'Dream House', which director Reg Traviss bought the rights to, and what this film is based on. The problem with modern directors trying to hark back to the 'golden age' of British horror, is that they have to get the tone just right. Douglas Hickox managed to succeed more the most part with the excellent 'Knife's Edge', a film similar to this but far more enjoyable.
The film is a pain-free experience, and there are a couple of good performances, one from the afore mentioned Carpenter, the other from Ricci Harnett as Peck the Groundsman, with his big pecker. Harnett does well with the role,especially as the character has 'red herring' stamped across his forehead. On the other hand Sculfor is very wooden as David.
I would advise Traviss to tone down the sex and violence, and concentrate more on the subtle chills next time he visits the British psychological horror. It could have been so much better. 3 out of 5

I seldom write reviews, this is only my second. The first was a glowing 5* review I felt so positive about the movie I had to write a few words. This I am afraid was the opposite experience. This has to be one of the worst films I have ever seen and I can assure you I've seen some clunkers in my past! Acting and plot are extremely poor. I can't think of 1 good reason to spend time and money watching it. You have been warned, avoid like the plague.

A horrible Frankensteins monster of a mess with the salvaged remains of various Hammer productions and 'Screamtime' appropriated, put in a blender and the desiccated remains haphazardly spliced together.
The film begins with the murders of a group of eco-activists out in the woods but what should have been a pivotal part of the film was quite poorly directed with bad camera angles and little passion.
God was the rest of the film clunky. Charisma Carpenter (Susan) did ok with the mess of a script but oh my what she must have thought of her opposite and screen husband 'David' He was so wooden that a whole skip-full of Carpenters couldn't have assembled him into a passable actor. The guy who played the creepy gamekeeper was pretty good but the implausibility of the script let the performances down time and time again. Him exposing himself to a distraught Susan out in the woods was no obstacle to her agreeing with hiring him then her having an evening one-to-one dinner with him whilst her husband was away. Susan had previously experienced a mental breakdown so giving the director carte blanche to continually insert silly hallucinations which asides from at the moment didn't have much more of an emotional or psychological impression on Susan until the decision to wrap up this sorry mess was required.
Featuring the obligatory bath running with the water looking like blood scene and randomn medium/seance scene this was a largely pointless but nonetheless not wholly unentertaining mish-mash of much better fims and television productions.
Not deserving of being an 18 either which shows how prudish the film censors in this country are to sex scenes.