Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A cult favorite - for good reason, 27 Jul 2004
Do you have fond memories of shrieking and giggling with horror and delight at William Castle's old black and white spook-fests? Well, make the popcorn and settle in for one of his best: Homicidal. The story opens as a beautiful but strangely Stepford Wife-looking blonde woman checks into a run-down hotel, pays a bellboy to marry her, and promptly stabs the man who performed the ceremony. Back in the sleepy town of Solvang, California, we meet a peculiar young man named Warren, who has returned to his childhood home with this mysterious blonde, to care for his ailing childhood nurse, Helga. Warren is about to inherit a fortune on his twenty-first birthday, but strange things start happening - and what secrets are hidden in the old house? This movie is short on actual violence, but long on creepy atmosphere and things that go bump in the night. In true Castle-style, there is a gimmick in this movie: Just before the final scene, a clock appears on screen to allow those too frightened to watch the end to leave the theatre - and sit in the Coward's Corner booth in the lobby. You'll recognize many scenes, themes, and characters that were freely borrowed from Hitchcock's Psycho. All of Castle's thrillers were equal parts suspense and sly manipulation and Homicidal is no exception. You'll be caught up in the thrilling action (horror would be too strong a word) and ready to giggle as soon as it's over. A fun movie that will take you back to the more innocent times of 1961.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Cult thriller-huge twist!, 5 Mar 2009
This is a real classic William Castle thriller which was made a year after Psycho and there are several similar story twists in it.Emily is a gorgeous homicidal maniac who is married to the really weird Warren who's about to inherit $10million. Helga is Warren's old nanny and is now mute & wheelchair bound but she knows what is going on around this creepy mansion! Don't think anyone would guess the huge 'Sixth Sense' style twist at the end of the movie-but I suppose if you're looking for a twist you might just work it out! Very enjoyable!
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious creepy fun, 6 Jun 2006
Homicidal" is a very odd horror film from the master of gimmicks, William Castle. Well it's not really that odd, as the plot and structure are inspired and almost stolen from Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". But it is notably weirder and schlockier, not least of all due to the inclusion of the "Fright Break"...but more on that later! The film begins by introducing us to a mysterious blonde woman named Emily who gets married to a complete stranger and then stabs the man conducting the wedding ceremony to death, right in the middle of it. Not bad for starters! Emily flees the scene and turns up back at the home she shares with a mute, wheelchair-bound, elderly woman named Helga. As Emily's behaviour starts to attract suspicion, it's clear that Helga wants to warn people about Emily, but being unable to speak she is unable to make her fears known.
Let me say straight away that the actress playing the character of Emily is terrific. To be honest I don't know how much of the effectiveness is down to her being a bad actress or a good one, but I've seldom seen such an out-there performance by someone playing a psychopath, and the mysteriously named Jean Arless (not really an unknown actress, but actually Joan Marshall under a pseudonym) manages to pull it off with great aplomb. Wavering between seductiveness, brittle anger and sheer hysteria, Emily will keep your attention on the screen every time she appears...when her eyes start widening and she grits her teeth, you really believe this is a character capable of doing anything. The fact that she's dolled up like some crazed Doris Day-style, apple-pie cutie with candyfloss blond curls and big starched skirts only adds to her obvious dementia...no wonder Emily is one of my all-time favourite horror movie psychos!
Sadly when the deranged Emily is off-screen, the film suffers as its several weaker areas become more apparent. Although there's plenty of action, the other characters are mostly dull and insipid, especially the heroine Miriam and her boyfriend, who are far too sensible and predictably nice to be of much interest. Most troubling of all is the character of Miriam's brother Warren, who almost ruins the film with some very odd appearances. The film has a huge shock twist ending, but it's unlikely to surprise anyone, even someone without any prior information about the plot, which is a shame.
But there is still plenty to enjoy. One highlight being Emily's fabulous vandalism of a flower shop. The other being the "Fright Break"...ah yes. "Homicidal" benefits from being one of the few William Castle films with a gimmick that still works when being watched on televison rather than in a theatre. At a certain point in the film, a clock suddenly and unexpectedly appears on the screen and an announcer declares : "This is the Fright Break..."! Basically, the audience is given the chance to leave if they are too scared to watch what is about to happen...then, when the timer reaches zero, the action re-starts! It looks hilarious and adds a great interactive dimension. You'll have a lot of fun watching this movie.
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