Schizo (1977)

Boring, long, and too preachy.

Awesome Movie

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

I had known of this film's existence for years, first seeing the cover on the shelves, 17 years ago. I recently just saw it. What is Schizophrenia? This Britty shocker deals with Schizophrenia's original term, much like Psycho, only here is an innocent facade that becomes the twist later on, that I must say, I didn't see coming, until those lead up moment, where it all comes together. Jack Watson playing a psychotic stalker, to creepy brilliance (trust me, it'll take a while to get get this tall guy out of your mind) isn't pleased to read the latest news headlines. Lynne Frederick, who has such a photogenic sexiness to her, plays an ice skater about to marry some millionaire, where nutter Watson, has come out of the covers, boarding a train to London, to drive this woman, crazy with fear, and taunt the hell out of her. It is a fun ride, to see where the story takes you, and honestly, there's a few more nutters in this film. The film plays some great tricks on us, in the suspense department, although may'be there were a bit too much of em' as if crossing Hammyville. Some great close up shots, some tracking ones, upped the fear, attributes to this fun suspense ride. Schizo is gory too, let me warn ya, one scene involving a half broken brandy glass, hacking a neck, repeatedly, we are spared the graphics, kind of putting a bummer on us gorehounds. One scene I did find a drone, and stupid as it climaxed, was that open audience, fortune teller scene. As the film comes to wraps, it spins it's double twist, really fu..ing with ya, but the film does has it's flaws, but Frederick is a sight to behold, half clad, or better, in the buff, while other hotpot, short haired, Stephanie Beacham (Inseminoid) and I love the cute way she talks, brightens up the film with her love life, flighty character. Pete Walker is an English director I love, who's made his fair share of pics, whether sexual or violent, and again, he's made something tasty, and very suspenseful, but more so the film half of this Britty pic comes off better, but I do love those twists, as well as Frederick.

Have you seen the 1960 Hitchcock "classic" (so-called) "Psycho" ? So have I. I saw it when I was maybe 14, and thought it was rubbish then. I still do. Like it took me until a little after the first murder to realise what was happening. And at the very end, Hitchcock tries to turn it into a retrospective documentary. That doesn't work either. I realise this is a minority opinion, but for me the film fails. Right down to the "slasher" music. The only good thing about "Psycho" is that it inspired a generation of films, most of which were somewhat better, although that is not saying much.One film that was almost certainly so inspired a decade and a half later and infinitely better to boot is the 1976 British classic "Schizo". Made on a low budget, even the gratuitous nudity including of the gorgeous but tragic (dead at 39) Lynne Frederick couldn't save it. The film sank without trace. I saw "Schizo" at the cinema when I was not much older than the time I saw "Psycho", and I was utterly fooled.I watched it again last night – March 15 – and although I remembered the ending, it lost little of its charm. "Schizo" is an eerie psychological thriller. True, it does require a little poetic licence to work, but work it does.I didn't recall the séance, but it is clear from this cameo that the scriptwriter is not a true believer!Only more than an hour and a half into the film by which time there have been three murders, does the viewer get even a hint of the twist in the tale that is to come, on account of the damsel's detached attitude. And what a twist it is!

Samantha (Lynne Frederick) is a celebrity ice skater whose fabulous life includes media coverage of her marriage plans. Too bad that William Haskin (Jack Watson)--convicted of killing Samantha's mother (Wendy Gilmore)--reads the newspapers. Samantha's a neurotic mess herself, so nobody really believes her when she says she's being stalked--until, that is, the body count starts going up.Speaking of bodies, Frederick's and Gilmore's are on full display.Schizo is like an Italian Giallo; there is plenty of blood and nudity. The first half of the film is the setup and it drags a bit, but things get going and it is a fun ride even though I suspect that we are being set up for a twisted ending.And, boy did we get one.

Schizo is set in England & starts in the North East as a man named William Haskin (Jack Watson) reads a national newspaper, Haskin notices a story about ice skating champion Samantha Gray (Lynne Frederick) & her fiancé Alan Falconer (John Leyton) who are about to get married in London. Haskin takes a great interest in the story & heads off to London where he books into a hotel & starts making enquiries as to where Samantha lives, Haskin manages to discover where Samantha & Alan are holding their reception & posing as a waiter manages to leave a bloody knife next to the wedding cake which Samantha finds. Samantha then starts to get mysterious phone-calls & sees Haskin hanging around. Samantha starts to panic & confides in her friend & psychiatrist Leornard Hawthorne (John Fraser), soon after Leonard is murdered & he is just the first as other's around Samantha are also found dead but who is responsible & why?This British production was produced & directed by Pete Walker & to me felt quite similar to his next film The Comeback (1977) in which both the main character's start seeing & hearing things as those around them are killed off by a mystery killer who seems to have some sort of connection to the lead, I gave The Comeback four stars out of ten & I see no reason not to award Schizo exactly the same as it's not really any better but at the same time no worse. Schizo takes a while to get going, the first murder doesn't happen until about the hour mark so there's a lot of talk to get through which doesn't really amount to much. Sure, some may say it's necessary build-up but I'd rather describe it as padding & at an hour & fifty minutes long Schizo really didn't need any padding. The central mystery isn't that good or engaging, in fact the title of the film gives the entire twist away & I will say that I guessed the twist quite easily due to the script trying far too hard to single one character out as the killer & it's fairly obvious that they haven't killed anyone. The script takes itself very seriously & seems to think it's the cleverest thing around, while the majority of Schizo is set in the real world & tries to paint the mysterious goings-on with scientific credibility there is one totally out of place scene set at a séance which verges into the supernatural for no apparent reason. Schizo feels like a Pete Walker film, the middle class English setting & the inadequacies of authority & justice are constant themes throughout his films & they are very much evident here. I can't say I hated Schizo as it has it's moments but I found the mystery aspect weak & too predictable while there's not quite enough gore here to satisfy the exploitation crowd as Schizo falls somewhere between exploitation & psychological thriller. The ambiguous ending doesn't help end things on a positive note either, while Schizo tries to be clever & deep in it's depiction of schizophrenia it ends up looking silly so don't base any psychological studies on it.With a very middle class mid 70's British setting Schizo is one of those films that could be used in history lessons as it show's lots of fashions (I'd like to see someone wear that red bobble hat in public today that Haskins does in the opening), cars & locations as they would have been in reality back then without any fancy production design or window dressing. There's a bit of gore, someone gets a knitting needle through their head & out their eye, someones head is bashed in with a hammer & someones throat is slit although none of these scenes are that gory. The bloodiest bit is during a flashback where a naked woman is brutally stabbed several times. Schizo isn't that scary & doe shave it's daft moments like the end as a shocked panting Samantha just stands there as a demented Haskins walks up behind her pulling some very silly faces & just how did that meat cleaver get into her super market shopping trolley?Filmed entirely on locations the production values are good & it looks alright, the acting is OK with Frederick the ex-wife of Peter Sellers quite good as the lead. Stephanie Beacham has yet another minor role in a British horror film but sports a very ugly hair style.Schizo is an OK horror thriller that thinks it's smarter than it is, there's a touch of gore & a real world look & while it's not terrible I doubt I would ever want to see it again. A passable time waster that Pete Walker fans might get more out of than the average viewer.