Psicomania

Tom Latham is the leader of a delinquent motorcycle gang known as The Living Dead – his fascination with the paranormal fed by the death of his father and the clairvoyant gift of his mother. When he is finally allowed into a room that has been locked since his father's death he learns a secret – that, when you deliberately die and totally believe you will return from the other world, then you will do so and will truly become one of the living dead. During a high speed chase, Tom deliberately goes off a bridge and is buried by his gang in their way – on his bike in full leathers. And this is how he returns to life again, but more powerful than an human and with his juvenile delinquent streak now turned into a murderous callousness.

Everyone is keen to stress how "bad" this film is but I do not think that that is fair in any way. OK it will not be challenging for the top of many "greatest film of all time" lists (well, maybe "greatest undead biker movies" list) but it is what it is and it works as such. What it is is a British b-movie, made cheaply and with a clear agenda to cash in on both the zombie and motorcycle youth genres by going for the base requirements of both groups. Of course, outside of the world of the b-movie it is no earthly good at all and, even as one, there are areas that could have been better. The main area of this for me is the fact that, once undead, the gang simply continue to terrify old ladies in shops, rather than becoming more ambitious in their actions. Otherwise though, the "problems" are all part of the genre – bad dialogue, basic effects, average actors and so on. All of these are at the level one would expect but add to the pleasure of the film as a b-movie; it doesn't ever take itself seriously, which again is part of it working.

The cast are mainly long-haired youths who can do limited work with the material but probably would not do much better with more. Henson is in permanent "cocky" mode but is good enough, while Larkin does a good genre performance of being freaked out and a bit frightened. She is in the shadow of Michelle looks-wise, mainly because the latter's performance is pure pouting and such. The rest of the gang are so-so biker types. The real surprise of the cast is George Sanders – for whom this was his last film as he was to commit suicide the next year. He is an effect presence and it is a shame that more was not made of his part in the film.

Psychomania has something of a cult following and you can see why because it is good enough as a genre b-movie to be a sort of trashy pleasure. Don't go into it expecting anything more than that and you will find a curiosity b-movie that is trashy but strangely enjoyable.

Like a few other people, I first saw this as a kid and it stuck. Anybody who remembers seeing 'Tommy' as a nipper and being hooked by it will know what I mean.

It's really quite a terrible movie, but something saves it from being just another unwatchable 'cult' film. In fact, I would rate it as one of the better cult films I've seen.

The film is actually well paced, and it never seems to drag. The story, although ridiculous, is easy to follow and always makes sense. The whole thing hangs together nicely.

If your a fan of retro 1970s British culture (or atleast silly interpretations of it), this is one film to add to your collection.

This is a movie you cannot watch without smiling due to its many kitschy, laughable elements. The only son of a wealthy old English family of frog-worshippers heads a bike gang called the Living Dead that discovers how to come back from the Great Beyond by wishing really, really hard. Hijinks ensue as the bikers kill themselves one by one and come back, ready to commit better mayhem than they ever could when alive because now they are indestructible. The story features unbelievably short skirts on all the girls; a hippy folk song about the glory of living and dying as a biker; young moms being terrorized by the Living Dead as they push prams in their go-go boots and hot pants; interior decor that inspired the makers of 'Austin Powers;' and arcane frog-worship ceremonies that ultimately lead to the undoing of the gang. Never a dull moment.

This is the stuff late night B-movies are made of! In more ways than you can count this simply should not work: a group of well-spoken, middle-class motorcycle *cough* rebels called (in an act of Shakespearean foreshadowing) "the Living Dead", whose whole raison d'etre seems to be raising terror in local supermarkets and such, decide to become zombie bikers for a hoot. They are able to achieve this with the aid of hidden knowledge from their leader, Tom, (who has a butler for God's sake!) who has made an occult alliance with a hoodoo frog…or something, and who get eventually get thwarted, in (it must be said) quite a chilling way, before they presumably wreck havoc by knocking over another bin. And yet…despite the ludicrous plot, executed with some ludicrous suicide scenes, and the ludicrous funeral scene for Tom (which will genuinely have you mouthing "what the…?")…not to mention Tom's ludicrous Lazarus moment, the film does have a certain eerie feel to it which, although not particularly scary, nonetheless raises it above the slight 70s campiness of it all and makes it a watchable flick. A lot of this vibe is certainly owed to the music which, in addition to the wah-wah pedal getting an inevitable seventies workout, has a memorable recurring motif and certainly adds a tinge of mystery to proceedings…especially in the morgue scene. Certainly the movie, along with the likes of 'Dracula AD 1972' and 'The Satanic Rites of Dracula', signalled the death knell of British horror which had ruled the sixties, but if you happen to come across it nestled among the late night schedules and you don't have work the next day, then with your tongue set firmly in your cheek settle down and enjoy...you could certainly do a lot worse.

For years after its release, this movie was considered as juvenile, sensationalist trash. It was also 'allegedly' one of the reasons the veteran actor George Sanders made the ultimate career move - after his involvement with the film. However with today's young directors pre-occupied with concrete, drugs and misery, this old film now looks quite stylish and appears to be maturing like a cheerful old wine.