Wheeler

Movie feels like its 3 hours long but only runs under an hour and a half. Nothing happens and when it does it takes FOREVER to! I give this movie this, it has the longest foot chase scene in the history of movies!! For Grindhouse and VHS collectors its worth seeing once.

My review was written in October 1982 after a Times Square screening.

"Psycho from Texas" is a southern-fried action film, shot on a tiny budget in Louisiana in 1974. After going through various title changes including "Wheeler", "The Mama's Boy" and "The Hurting", picture emerges as a modest example of regional filmmaking, with amateurish direction and playing suitable for undiscriminating viewers.

Filmmaker Jim Feazell is apparently too easy-going to give the film the kind of oomph action audiences crave, so he settles for a leisurely tale of a stranger in town named Wheeler (John King III) who with a local partner Slick (Tommy Lamey) kidnaps a wealthy retired oilman Bill Phillips (Herschel Mays).

Picture's current title derives from Wheeler's battered childhood at the hands of his mothe (seen in crudely inserted flashbacks), which have made him a knife-wielding rapist-murderer of unsuspecting women. This subplot is confusingly unfolded parallel to the main kidnap story.

Duo's plans go awry when Phillips escapes from the incompetent Slick, cuing one of the longest (and silliest) foot-chases ever presented, as Slick runs after his prey through the bayous for the last half of the picture (mercifully intercutting to Wheeler's scenes elsewhere). Finale serves up "Southern justice" as the sheriff calmly blows Wheeler away to revenge the psycho's murder of his daughter.

Acting by local types (with thick accents) is generally incompetent, though lead actor John King III (who looks a bit like Chuck McCann) has a pleasant personality and maniacal laugh as the nasty anti-hero. Picture is not racist, but blacks are cast in subsidiary positions (a young boy who goes fishing with Phillips, servant roles), including Juanne Bruno as an old-fashioned maid who is briefly hilariously screaming her heart out and scurrying away on all fours when she finds a femme corpse in the pantry.

While tech credits are acceptable at this level, editing and scene construction are poor.

Less of a video, more of an experience! Follow the adventures of Wheeler (John King III) and Slick (Tommey Lamey) as they plot to obtain filthy lucre from local oil baron Mr Phillips (Herschel Mays). Watching this film may make you laugh or cry, but most probably it will make you do both! Check out the over the top dialogue e.g. Slick telling Phillips "Nowwwwwww I got Your Asss" after the chase through the woods, the flashbacks to Wheelers childhood (complete with shoddy editing and booming noise!), and the legendary beer pouring over barmaid at the end. A must for all bad movie fans.

The quality of this movie can be summed up in two words, "Wanna Root?" This is the phrase that can be heard over and over in the restaurant scene where Slick meets Wheeler. It's in the background noise, which is obviously about 8 seconds worth of noise being looped over and over. Ah, What to say about this film? On every technical level, Psycho From Texas is a total failure. The editing is horrendous, you can see scratches in the film. The acting is equally bad. At some points continuity is non-existent. Despite all of this, I enjoyed Psycho From Texas on a comedic level. It tries really hard to be scary and shocking, but ends up laughable. If you can find a copy of it somewhere, rent it. Rent it just to hear Slick squeal in the chase scene near the end. Rent it to hear Wheeler say, "No! You listen here, old man!" You can probably rent it for a buck, if you can find it at all.

True to its title, this film does feature a psycho from Texas. Wheeler (John King III) rolls into a small town in order to help out in the kidnapping of a local oil businessman. He accomplishes his task early on and then spends the rest of the running time trying to get the money. He fails. This is a curious regional flick. It seems to have a message (child abuse makes people bad) but loses all that in the sleazy aspects and Southern justice. The film's highlight/lowlight has Wheeler pouring a pitcher of beer over a totally nude barmaid (Linnea Quigley in her first role) he is harassing. There is also one of the longest footchases in the history of cinema. It starts at like 52 minutes in and doesn't resolve itself (other scenes cut in) until a half hour later. If anything, it is worth seeing for John King III, who looks like a young, deranged Dick Van Patten with long hair.