Customer Reviews

Homicidal

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Do you remember shrieking with horror and giggling with delight at William Castle's old black and white spook-fests? Well, here's one of his best: Homicidal, a drama that borrows freely from Hitchcock's Psycho.

As the story opens, a strange woman pays a stranger to marry her and promptly kills 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 old home with this mysterious woman. Warren is about to inherit a fortune on his twenty-first birthday, but strange things start happening...and what secrets are hidden in that dark, old house?

This movie is short on actual violence but long on creepy atmosphere and things that go bump in the night. The actors are all good, but the real star is director Castle, who creates a very scary mystery with so much tension you'll be on the edge of your seat.

In true Castle-style, there is a gimmick: 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. It's all in good fun and not to be taken seriously; you'll be spooked by the thrills and chuckling as soon as it's over. A fun movie!

In 1962, my husband and I, along with many on and off campus college students, went to see the "much touted," Homicidal. Neatly seated in the small theatre, voices were booming until the movie started. Popcorn and cokes were the norm, so we settled down to view the movie we thought would be over rated by the general population of the small town.

Much to our surprise, the black and white thriller lived up to be one of the most horrid things we ever watched. Several minutes into the psycho, popcorn and cokes flew through the air and pelted every head that wasn't under the seat! Screams from men and women echoed as though we were in the Grand Canyon and couldn't get out of the enormous abyss. Taking a few deep breaths to calm our senses, the movie continued while we waited for the next knife to jab into another person's guts. Calm, we were...for awhile.

Refilling the snacks (popcorn and cokes)from the previous episode of the nerve shattering wacko woman's rage, all became quiet. Holy Moley! When the countdown came (it's on the movie) for those to exit the theatre to keep from watching the all time, teeth shattering, hair raising scene...we sat there like dummies. Then Helga, gotta love Helga, scared the beejeebers out of us. Once again, popcorn and cokes soared through the air. One of the ladies in front of us passed out, another one was yelling she was in labor and others scattered out of the movie like mice being chased by a cat.

After the movie, my husband and I had to enter a two story house to get to our apartment. The hall lights would not come on and we ran up the stairs as fast as we could. Needless to say, the movie did a number on our psyche and we talked about this movie for years.

Enter today, as we ordered the movie from Amazon to see if it was what we remembered. YEP. It still made my hair stand on end. If you love psycho movies, much like Alfred Hitchcock's offerings...order this one, but forget the popcorn and cokes...you won't have time to eat them!

One of the most pre-eminent showmen in Hollywood, William Castle, director of such films as The Tingler (1959) and House on Haunted Hill (1959) released Homicidal in 1961, one year after the release of Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, Psycho. Some will say it's a blatant rip off of Psycho, and others will say it's more of a homage, but either way, it's a very entertaining film.

The story starts off showing a woman, played by actress Jean Arliss aka Joan Marshall, checking into a hotel and offering a bellboy two grand to marry her. The bellboy is naturally curious, but the lure of the humongous pile of greenbacks keeps his queries to a minimum. They arrive at the Justice of the Peace, late in the evening, and the ceremony proceeds, only to end in a very grisly, visceral murder. Confused? I was too, but all will be revealed as the film progresses. The film's plot is fairly intricate, involving murder, money, and mayhem. The story mainly takes place in a small, southern California town focusing on the remaining family members, a brother and sister, Carl and Miriam Webster, both sharing the same father but different mothers. Jean Arliss plays Emily, a live-in caretaker for the now elderly mute woman confined to a wheelchair that cared for Warren while he was growing up. A dark, mysterious family secret drives the film that maintains a stranglehold on the viewer's attention until the very end. The plot seems very convoluted at the beginning, but the pieces slowly start to fall into place. I really don't want to get into specifics about the movie, as I fear I will give something away to someone who hasn't see the film, but I will say that Castle really was able to provide suspense pretty much throughout. You may be able to figure out the twist ending, as I caught on to it later in the film, but it was still very creepy when all was revealed at the end. There were some plotting gaps, and some of the exposition seemed a bit clunky and forced, but the movie appeared to have as more working for it as it did against it, helping to keep us interested through the 87 minute running time.

William Castle, being the showman he was, usually incorporated gimmicks into his movies, ranging from buzzers in theater seats to provide a 'shock' to various patrons for The Tingler (1959) to plastic skeletons suspended on a wire that would fly from the screen towards the audience for the film House on Haunted Hill (1958). In Homicidal, the gimmick was called Fear Break. This incorporated certificates that moviegoers would get prior to the start of the feature, which would allow people to get their money back if they got too scared and wanted to leave, but there was a catch. The Fear Break occurred near the end of the movie, with a 45 second stop clock appearing on the screen, and voice over stating that things were going to get really scary after this point, so if you wanted to leave, do so now. The catch to redeeming your certificate in order to get you money back was you had to stand in the Coward's Corner, near the exit, until all the movie viewers who stayed had filed out. Given that this would probably be very embarrassing, I doubt many people tried to take advantage of this gimmick. It was pretty obvious Castle tried to emulate Hitchcock in many areas, and there are similarities between this film and Psycho, but where Hitchcock was a master director at building up tension and suspense in often subtle methods, Castle more or less would forgo subtly for sensationalism and give it to you both barrels in the face. Effective, yes, but, in my opinion, nowhere near as frightening. Castle always seemed a showman first and foremost, and second, a director.

This picture on this DVD looks really wonderful, but in standard format. I was curious as to if someone was going to go through the trouble of digitally remastering a movie, why not present it in its' original format? Oh well...special features includes trailers for two other Castle films, Straight-Jacket (1964) and Mr. Sardonicus (1961) and a great featurette titled "Psychette: William Castle and Homicidal". If you haven't seen this film before, do not watch the featurette before the movie, as it will give away the 'surprising and shocking' ending. What would have been a great addition to this would have been a reproduction of the certificate that was handed out at the original screenings on the movie. While this film is certainly derivative to Hitchcock's Psycho, Homicidal doesn't hold up nearly as well, but then, how many movies could?

Cookieman108

DVD of "Homicidal" by William Castle
...

... It's especially terrific to see William Castle's
"Homicidal" on DVD, looking and sounding
crisp and new. It's an eerie, sometimes almost
unbearably creepy film that proves like his other
horror films, he was more than showman, he was
a fine filmmaker as well. Because his films were
basically aimed at the kid audience, it's especial
fun that this one concerns, in addition to
homicide (which was considered safe viewing for
us, somehow), homosexuality, transsexualism
and transvestitism. Coming not that long after
the Christine Jorgensen sex change landmark,
could Castle have had this in mind? Perhaps. I
can see him smiling round that huge cigar,
knowing he pulled another fast one, and was
subtly subverting legions of children whose
parents thought they were only seeing another
spook film.

With fine performances by Jean Arliss (at last we
know a bit about her, thanks to the fun, nostalgic
featurette "Psychette" on the DVD, that has also
vintage clips of Castle, the joyous hucksterism,
the glee at all the money to be made--priceless),
always heroic Glenn Corbett, and especially the
lovely, talented Patricia Breslin, a script by Robb
White that jaggedly gets in the nerves and twists

and turns most excruciatingly, and excellent
black and white photography that excels
especially in this transfer, we enter Castle
country that is bleak and grim and daring. When
the justice of the peace (the great James
Westerfield) gets it in the stomach, it still is gory
enough, still shocking, even when you already
have seen the film several times before. It's all a
haunted house distorting mirror show. Where
horrible revenge is exacted because of cruelty
experienced in childhood. Where there is an
unrelenting justice that comes from the core of
the character, that old desire to right wrongs that
can safely be righted in films. And of course
when Helga gets decapitated--how can a person
be faulted for cheering?

One of the neatest lines ever in film is spoken in
a manic whispery trill by Arliss, as she tells
creepy old wheelchair bound mute helpless
Helga that the justice of the peace
"died--screammmming." Just remembering that
chills me. The delicious claustrophobia, the
woman who seems like not exactly a woman,
with the impressive knife, in the shadow house,
making one afraid of her, hypnotized by her, and
very very frightened. It seems the movie takes
place on the weekend. Probably because that
was when it played. It makes the murders, and
that babbling well meaning doctor who bumbles
to a rescue at the end, Corbett's kind, stalwart
druggist character, Breslin's character's
compassion and decency, Emily's touching so
sadly, so gently, the top of the head of a little
boy at the malt counter, a fascinating little
puzzle, needing to be seen more than once, and
always nettled by Emily, who almost begs us to
look behind the mask, and by Warren whose
own mask belies his masculinity. Something is
wonderfully frightfully wrong with these two
persons.

It must be a terrible thing, the charade Emily and
Warren were forced to play all their lives. I can't
think of much worse, than the robbing of
identity, getting everything mixed up, not having
a place in one's self that is one's own. Castle's
film asks some serious questions. It's his most
carefully conceived thoughtful film.

Seeing Castle's films on DVD makes one feel at
home again. When you could look at a movie
screen and know you had a friend orchestrating
the proceedings. Castle always gave us our
money's worth and more. With the gimmicks,
the fright break, the cardboard skeleton
careening over audiences, the electric buzzers in
the seats, the coward's corner, the tingler loose
in the audience, all the elements to all his various
movies said this--it's fun to be scared, to be put
off guard, to be thrilled, and then feel a little
loopy after the shock wears off. "Homicidal"
especially haunts. Arliss--we know a bit more
about her from the "Psychette"--cold,
implacable, is impossible to forget. Always
baffling before the secret is revealed in the
featurette, or is it?, was the question of who
played Emily and who played Warren, reality
thus skewered, which was good enough for
children because when you're a kid, little does
seem real, and as an adult, even less. The scene,
before the curtain call, of the fallen doll and the
whip (yes, the whip) on it strikes the right chord
of chortle, sadness, scares and the terrible
business of revisiting the past when the past is a
nightmare.

The movie is beautifully atmospheric, from that
seedy motel to that dark creep fest of the twisted
souls in that house, and that long long descent of
the staircase elevator chair coming down and
down with Helga's head perched precariously on
her shoulders and then falling, in shadow,
off--well, sleep came with difficulty that summer
night when I first saw the movie on TV. And
that was just fine. Castle always took us
seriously. He did not condescend to us. He
wanted to show us a good time. These DVDs he
would have absolutely been overjoyed with. It's
a movie to luxuriate in. To dwell in. It means
something. Castle told us childhood is a sucker's
game too-- right under the noses of Those Who
Said Just the Opposite. The movie's about more
than murders of the body. Telling us then and
perhaps now, it's a ...scary world, childhood
included, don't trust anybody. They ARE after
you. For no one is as they appear.

Like all real classics, you see them years later,
there are levels there you didn't notice
before. See his movies on these brilliantly made
DVDs, with extras, including those
magnificent Castle previews, and enjoy returning
to childhood terror courtesy of one
William Castle--legend.

Most horror fans know William Castle's movies were very very low budget. He boosted his films with attention getting gimmicks. For this obvious Psycho imitation, her offered "cowards" their money back if they were too scared to see the last 10 minutes of the film. Of course, the kids watched the end, and then stayed to see the movie again to get their money back before the second showing ended! Castle remedied this by issuing different color tickets for each show!
The plot concerns a homicidal woman seemingly killing without reason, but there is a method to her madness. The ending is given away by some dialogue dubbing, which was not as sophisticated in 1961.
The film was a big hit. I am absolutely amazed it was not released in any home format until 2002 (DVD only). The DVD is taken from a great print (fullscreen). A short but interesting documentary explains the Castle gimmick.
Most importantly, the DVD contains the "fright break". This is the minute where a clock appears on the screen, and the audience is given 60 seconds to leave the theater to get their money back. Not Castle's best, but an entertaining way to spend a rainy afternoon.

In case anyone didn't notice, Richard Rust is acting everyone else off the screen in this movie. AND he's the best looking. When I was a kid going to the movies every Friday, this is the kind of movie that made me a fan of such horror genre as Straitjacket, The Alligator People and Mr. Sardonicus, that black & white kind of movie that seriously made your skin tingle! Can't be beat for forgetting every day drudgery! And what fun, NOT telling people the ending! They MUST see it for themselves...

the most underrated dvd in the catalog. much like psycho but it goes far beyond in a totally different direction. jean arliss makes tony perkins seem like a boy scout and gives the most chilling feminine performance in film history. what a shame this film destroyed her career. and best of all, unlike hitchcock, director castle gives a very brief prologue and epilogue, the former slyly giving away the very convoluted ending.

Jean Arliss is a gal with some major psychological baggage(like a lot of the chicks I've dated). She has a habit of stabbing people to death, vandalizing flower shops, being a straight up b*$!h, and other assorted mischief. She's been brought to America by her husband, Warren and is taking care of an invalid mute woman at their home. Warren's half sister is thrown into the mix as well, and pretty soon what we got here is a mystery involving murder, family and inheritance. William Castle decided to take a break from ghosties and monsters and take a....ahem....stab at Alfred Hitchcock/Robert Bloch kind of material. I must say he does a very good job, better than you think he would with this kind of material. Even his little campy introduction and the famous "fright break" doesn't hurt any of the mystery or suspense of the film, but simply reminds you you're watching a William Castle film. It's extremely derivative of "Psycho", but nobody seems to complain about this because it's so blatantly obvious that that's what Castle is doing, and he makes no attempts to hide it, but rather winks at the audience about it. It's not a spoof though, nor is it really campy(only the intro and the "fright break"), it's actually a good movie. Some people actually like it more than Psycho(as shown in the featurette). I don't know if I'd go that far, but it is a damn good movie.

It's obvious that Homicidal was trying to cash in on the success of Psycho, everything from the psychologicaly disturbed killer who has a traumatic past to the twist ending which you can easily figure out but the film had a few interesting differences and I thought that it was pretty good in a cheesy sort of way. Director William Castle who before this film made the classic horror film House on haunted hill starring Vincent Price has made this horror flick and wanted to scare and shock the audience he even uses a gimmick which you will see happen right before the last half hour of the film where it has a watch and the announcer tells the viewers to leave the theater if they felt like the film was to much to handle and of course the film is very tame but at that time in the early 60's it was probably terrifying for the cinema viewers just like Psycho. The film uses a murder and suspence storyline very much like an Alfred Hitchcock film and contains one bloody death scene but theres very little violence, the film starts with a young blond woman who checks into a rundown hotel and pays a bellboy some money if he marries her, of course he accepts and they elope in the middle of the night where she stabs the guy who is doing the ceremony to death then escapes to Solvang California where she is taking care of a childhood nurse named Helga who also happens to be a mute and is on a wheelchair her health seems to be failing. A guy named Warren also arrives to inherit a fortune on his 21st birthday along with his step sister forgot her name, but there is a dark secret that is about to be revealed you'll just have to watch the film to find out. If your the type of person that likes to watch old classic horror films like Village of the damned or The haunting then you should definetely check this out.

Here is a film that has been compared to 'Psycho', but is not much like Hitchcock's film at all. Only comparison is the twist ending that reveals the real killer, or, killers?
The acting is rather forced, but adds to the charm of what makes William Castle's films classics. The violence in the film is rather blunt for it's time (1961), but Castle was always famous for giving us at least two set-pieces in his horror films to keep us going to the end.
If you appreciate classic black and white horror, and want to just chill out with some snacks and be entertained, you will not be disappointed by this film. Trust me, as the ending is worth the price of the film, as being unique for it's time, and a gimmick that made Castle a producer/director that really cared for his craft.