7 calze di seta insanguinate

You have to love a film that so freely admits that it has stolen a major plot element from a (then) current popular film... in fact a character actually mentions that she had just seen this great film called "The Manchurian Candidate" and goes into detail about the plot that the film then goes on to replicate... you have to admire their honesty!

Other than that there is the delightfully silly scene where they attempt to stage a suspenseful cat and mouse scene in a fully lit, sparsly furnished room that is about the size of a small car... and somehow manage to drag it out for several minutes AND make it work (to a point at least).

Until today, if asked me to name my favourite trashy '70s American grind-house movie, my answer would have been either Love Me Deadly (1972) or The Love Butcher (1975); now I reckon The Psycho Lover takes the prize. It's crazy, mean-spirited exploitation goodness from start to finish.

The film opens as it means to go on with a sleazy pre-credits murder scene that is about as un-PC as you can get: a young woman is getting ready for bed when she is attacked by a stranger with a stocking over his face. The intruder proceeds to rape the woman, who eventually starts to enjoy the experience (contentious, to say the least!), but who isn't quite so enthusiastic when the maniac strangles her. It's a taboo-busting start that really grabs the attention.

This opening assault is one of a series of similar misogynistic murders under investigation by Detective Morlock (John Vincent), who enlists the help of psychiatrist Kenneth Alden (Lawrence Montaigne), who delves deep into the psyche of suspect Marco Everson (Frank Cuva) to try and determine whether the man's confessions are real or just fantasy. While treating Marco with hypnotism, Kenneth hatches a plot to rid himself of his drunken floozy of a wife Valerie (Jo Anne Meredith) so that he can spend the rest of his days with his pretty 23-year-old mistress Stacy (Elizabeth Plumb).

In addition to several brutal murder scenes in which each victim is stripped naked, raped and strangled (but not necessarily in that order), The Psycho Lover delivers soft-core love scenes set to hippy pop songs, a hilarious surreal dream sequence featuring a topless go-go dancing woman with bad face paint, a spot of grass sledding, a truly ridiculous plot device that sees the supposedly highly intelligent Kenneth leaving behind incriminating evidence on cassette for his wife to find, a victim repeatedly evading her attacker in a small apartment by hiding behind various pieces of furniture, and a surprisingly downbeat ending. Also worthy of mention is Kenneth's amazing sports car, a really wacky gold-coloured vehicle that looks like several different cars mashed into one, and which comes complete with an electric roof and door, and radar!

9 ketchup bottles out of 10. Check it out!

Lawrence Montaigne (Kenneth) is a psychologist who is trying to get to the bottom of the murderous dreams being experienced by Frank Cuva (Mario). In the meantime, there is a murderer on the loose who is killing women just as Cuva describes. Montaigne is also in an unhappy marriage with Jo Anne Meredith (Valerie) and wants a divorce so he can start again with his younger mistress Elizabeth Plumb (Stacy). Only Meredith won't co-operate on this front. Montaigne gets an idea to involve Cuva in a plan….

It's a 1970s colourful trash fest, so you get loads of boobs. However, the ending makes it stand out as we get a seriously good 'Tales of the Unexpected' twist at the end. Ha ha. Brilliant. The film keeps going on the body count but there is no gore, thankfully. There is, however, far too much sexual activity included – not full on shagging – but you get the picture and these scenes outstay their welcome. In particular, the love scenes between Montaigne and Plumb. OK, we get the idea, please move on from this gratuitous nonsense. I don't want to watch him getting his tongue in there.

Overall, the film is worth keeping onto for the ending and, outside of the love-making scenes which drag, there are tense moments and the music is cool.

The plot of this film isn't exactly original; the film itself even admits to this by mentioning the classic film 'The Manchurian Candidate' halfway through, but for what it is; The Psycho Lover easily provides eighty minutes of entertainment, and it's an above average film to boot. The film centres on the idea of brainwashing someone into committing murder, although this plot doesn't come through until half an hour in, and it is a little difficult to ascertain what is going on at certain points. After the first half hour, I really wasn't expecting this to develop into anything, but things pick up once we see where things are going. Psychologist Kenneth Alden has a problem; he's got himself a hot girlfriend named Stacey, but his relationship with her is being held back by wife, who doesn't want to be with him because she doesn't loves him - but also doesn't want to give him a divorce because she knows not doing so will wind him up. When Stacey tells Kenneth about a film she has seen, 'The Manchurian Candidate', he gets the bright idea of brainwashing someone and having him kill his wife...

One problem I have with this film is that many of its scenes are far too drawn out. However, this isn't always a bad thing as many of these sequences are more interesting than they should be given the type of film. The scene in which we are introduced to Kenneth's wife is very strong, and the sequence that sees our serial killer stalk a victim through an empty house is actually quite exciting. The film was shot on a low budget, and this is always obvious although not that important; as there are no big stunts and the film admirably overcomes its budget restraints. The acting isn't bad either, and Lawrence Montaigne is good in the lead role. He receives good support from Jo Anne Meredith as his wife, while Frank Cuva and Elizabath Plumb bulk out the rest of the central cast. The ending is nice and ironic, and works well considering what has gone before it. Films like this are usually ten a penny, but this one stands out above similar movies, and I will say that if you consider yourself a fan of cult seventies cinema - this one is more worth tracking down than most!

The Psycho Lover (1970)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Rather interesting thriller has psychiatrist Kenneth Alden (Lawrence Montaigne) helping a patient who is having dreams that he is raping and murdering women. Pretty soon the doctor begins to think that this is guy who is actually raping and killing. Instead of calling the police he instead tries to get the psycho to murder his own wife who is refusing him a divorce.

If you're a fan of Something Weird Video then you know they saved all sorts of strange movies. I love watching the stuff they put out but there's no question that the majority of the movies were quite bad but entertaining. This one here is actually a gem as it manages to try and be something more than just your typical skin flick. THE PSYCHO LOVER isn't a completely good movie but there's no question that it's a lot better than most of its type.

What really sets this film apart is the fact that it really does try to be more like a Hitchcock film than just some quickie sexploitation picture. The kill scenes in the picture are built for suspense and I give director-writer Robert Vincent O'Neill a lot of credit for trying to build up some tension instead of just going for cheap shocks. The attack scenes are well-staged and for the most part they pack a nice little punch.

The film does have some pretty campy moments and mainly the "love" scenes between the psychicatrist and his lover. Some of these scenes with the bubby gum love songs are quite embarrassing and so more damange than anything else. The performances aren't the greatest but they're at least serviceable for this type of picture. There's also quite a bit of nudity to supply some sleaze so fans should enjoy that.

THE PSYCHO LOVER certainly has some flaws and it doesn't quite make it to what I'd consider a "good" movie but at the same time there's enough going on here to make it worth calling it a gem.