Psychopath

This was a weird movie on obviously a low budget. It features a children's show host who takes matters into his own hands when he realizes some kids are being abused by their parents-by killing the parents. It was kind of lame, and the only "great" parts were the close-ups of the title character's wild eyes. All in all, just another slasher movie.

** out of ****

Tom Basham's over the top performance as a looney children's television show host is frighteningly realistic. When he discovers that some of his viewers are being abused by their parents he flips and takes matters into his own hands. Death by baseball bat, lawnmower, and strangulation are just a few of the things he has in store for the abusive parents. This seldom seen slasher is also highlighted by Basham's odd relationship with his puppets, as well as his blanket which he calls Mr.Rabbey. Psychopath also features weird music and endless close-ups of Basham's wild eyes. A must for fans of weird horror.

This is a gritty, low-budget oddity from the early 1970's that actually tried half-heartedly to tackle a serious social issue, child abuse, with less-than-sucessful results. While the abusive parents who are offed by the titular protagonist (the deranged host of a kiddie show) are definitely deserving, their gory deaths are so ridiculously over-the-top that it's hard to take the whole thing very seriously. There's nothing wrong with a horror movie having a serious social message,on one hand, or entertaining the audience with absurd, cartoon-style violence,on the other, but it just doesn't work to do both things in the same movie. Still this movie is worth seeing if you can find it. One of the only existing video prints has burned-in Spanish subtitles that will have you in stiches if you're at all bilingual--they're often NOT EVEN CLOSE to the actual English dialogue.

Pretty amazing movie directed by a guy who primarily directed gay porn (and produced by Jackson Bostwick...TV's Shazam (?!?))

It was released in the South under the title "An Eye for An Eye" with the gimmick that you voted whether the little girl at the end was guilty or innocent (by dropping a ballot in a box on the way out of the theater, so obviously it was a pretty lame gimmick).

My father called it "utter trash" (I begged him to take me to see it) and I credit it for nurturing (creating?) my love of exploitation movies. Someone should do a nice DVD release on this film.

The Psychopath (1973) A trip down memory lane. I saw this film many years ago on a old black and white t.v. A children's' show host Mr. Rabbey avenges the brutal abuse that parents inflict upon his kiddie fans. Mr. Rabbey (who looks like he's always on the verge of losing it) finally cracks and decides to go on a hunting trip. Watch out bad parents cause Mr. Rabbey is on the prowl! What happens next is priceless. However, trying to find this movie will be quite a chore.

What makes this film notable was the fact that Joe "Maniac" Spinell made a short promo reel for a film based upon this one. In his unfinished film, he plays Mr. Robbie, a t.v. clown(who looks like a pudgy out of shape Edward James Olmos) who avenges his young fans child abuse by going after their parents. Sadly, Mr. Spinell could never find the funds to complete the project. The film was going to be titled Maniac II: "Mister Robbie". Rabbey or Robbie the similarities are all too close for comfort. Pretty violent for a P.G. movie.

Recommended.