I barely ever get to say this when it comes to horror movies, but the sequel is a lot better. Don't get me wrong, "Psycho Cop" has its moments, but obviously it sinks like a brick after the caretaker meets his demise. He was the glue that held everything together, without him the movie's plot almost seemed incoherent and moronic. And talk about screen presence, no definition is high enough to do the character justice. Oh caretaker, you were truly a God amongst men, nobody could hold an axe for vague reasons like you could. Sadly when you take this ingenious character out of the equation, you're stuck with the kind of average slasher movie people were already sick of back in 1989. Cars never start, phones never work, people keep wandering of into the woods for stupid reasons, dead killers are never as dead as they look, every teen is 35 years old, it's that kind of movie and very little more. Officer Joe Vickers is a pretty amusing psychopath, but I think he's much better in "Psycho Cop Returns". He just doesn't have material in this movie. "Psycho Cop" is not quite funny and not quite scary either, sort of a failed slasher pastiche.
50 Reviews
Hello, police? I'd like to report the world's dumbest slasher
Coventry30 October 2021
Well sure, we ALL loved "Maniac Cop", the 1988 horror semi-classic from William Lustig and Larry Cohen. "I want to do that too" is what writer/director Wallace Potts must have thought, and not even a year later "Psycho Cop" magically appeared. There's only one little problem, though. Wallace Potts is (was...) a talentless hack! He was only capable of imitating the obvious and superficial aspects, like the idea of a police officer as a horror villain, the title sequences and even blatantly the tagline (from "you have the right to remain silent ...forever" in "Maniac Cop" to "you have the right to remain dead" in "Psycho Cop"). But apart from all that, "Psycho Cop" is nothing but a mundane and terribly by-the-numbers late 80s slasher.
I'm not going to lie, I had tremendous fun watching "Psycho Cop". But mainly because it's such an unbelievably inept and dumb slasher, full of embarrassing clichés and hopelessly empty-headed characters. Even when half of the six-headed group is already killed off, the remaining ones keep assuming the others are off buying beer or playing pranks. The killer, Officer Joe Vickers, is one giant joke as well. He supposedly is a devil-worshiper, but he totally doesn't have the profile of a Satanist. Apart from drawing one stupid pentagram in the sand, he does nothing what devil worshipers would do. He simply slaughters teens whilst hysterically laughing and saying moronic things.
All this I can tolerate, but why-oh-why doesn't "Psycho Cop" feature more barbaric gore and gratuitous nudity? We have three beautiful girls (especially Palmer Lee Todd is very hot... and that even rhymes) laying by a pool half of the running time, but none of them takes the bikini top off. Lame! And now I must get my dirty little hands on the sequel.
I'm not going to lie, I had tremendous fun watching "Psycho Cop". But mainly because it's such an unbelievably inept and dumb slasher, full of embarrassing clichés and hopelessly empty-headed characters. Even when half of the six-headed group is already killed off, the remaining ones keep assuming the others are off buying beer or playing pranks. The killer, Officer Joe Vickers, is one giant joke as well. He supposedly is a devil-worshiper, but he totally doesn't have the profile of a Satanist. Apart from drawing one stupid pentagram in the sand, he does nothing what devil worshipers would do. He simply slaughters teens whilst hysterically laughing and saying moronic things.
All this I can tolerate, but why-oh-why doesn't "Psycho Cop" feature more barbaric gore and gratuitous nudity? We have three beautiful girls (especially Palmer Lee Todd is very hot... and that even rhymes) laying by a pool half of the running time, but none of them takes the bikini top off. Lame! And now I must get my dirty little hands on the sequel.
Cheapest rip-off ever
Leofwine_draca10 September 2015
Some producer had the idea to cash in on the success of cult favourite MANIAC COP by making their own version of the killer cop storyline, hence we get PSYCHO COP. Unbelievably a PSYCHO COP RETURNS follows, and I say unbelievably because this is an absolutely awful film in every respect, one of the cheesiest and worst slasher flicks I've sat through.
Watching this as an unintentional comedy works a little better and is probably the only way you're going to manage it from beginning to end. The story involves a group of teenagers who spend the weekend at a rural house before falling foul of a psychopath masquerading as a policeman. What follows is a string of death scenes accompanied by cheesy gore effects and even cheesier one liners from the titular bad guy.
It hurts to say how bad Bobby Ray Schafer's acting is as the grinning villain; we're talking TROLL 2 level of badness here, sheer over-the-top, ham-fisted ineptitude. It's one of the film's biggest draws. The rest of the cast are all wooden, although at least the actresses are pretty. Still, PSYCHO COP is largely inoffensive, and fans of horror B-movies might find it a hoot; it's a lot funnier than many intentional comedies out there.
Watching this as an unintentional comedy works a little better and is probably the only way you're going to manage it from beginning to end. The story involves a group of teenagers who spend the weekend at a rural house before falling foul of a psychopath masquerading as a policeman. What follows is a string of death scenes accompanied by cheesy gore effects and even cheesier one liners from the titular bad guy.
It hurts to say how bad Bobby Ray Schafer's acting is as the grinning villain; we're talking TROLL 2 level of badness here, sheer over-the-top, ham-fisted ineptitude. It's one of the film's biggest draws. The rest of the cast are all wooden, although at least the actresses are pretty. Still, PSYCHO COP is largely inoffensive, and fans of horror B-movies might find it a hoot; it's a lot funnier than many intentional comedies out there.
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!!
ibanez7475 April 2004
Oh God, where do I begin with this one. (Deep breath...) I am shocked and chagrined that this masterwork has not seen the light of day for a DVD release. I would love to hear B.R. Shafer's commentary on how he came up with those hilarious one liners.
In a nutshell, a group of personal friends run to the hills for some boozin' and relaxation. Their only two concerns seems to be misplaced beer and the caretaker. They missed one...a devil-worshipping cop who is on the loose and filled with one-liners and bag of tricks on how to kill. Officer Vicker's one line cliches are timely and very funny. The movie is not scary or frightening. It wasn't meant to be since it was written diligently by Wallace Potts on a weekend. It was directed and produced by Potts in about a fortnight. The attire worn by the cast is appropriate for an 80's slasher flick and adds to the air of comedy surrounding this film.
The deaths. The deaths are silly, but he employs a variety of methods as a means to killing these youths. Especially when he rips a guy's heart out and follows it with "Have a heart. HA HA". This adds to the brilliance of this movie. I prefer this movie over Manic Cop by Bill Lustig.
Overall, a night of laughter and comments like "I cant believe I'm watching this" will fill your living room as you watch this film.
Score: 10 out of 10 -- NOTE: a 6 pack should be consumed before and an additional 6 pack should be consumed during.
In a nutshell, a group of personal friends run to the hills for some boozin' and relaxation. Their only two concerns seems to be misplaced beer and the caretaker. They missed one...a devil-worshipping cop who is on the loose and filled with one-liners and bag of tricks on how to kill. Officer Vicker's one line cliches are timely and very funny. The movie is not scary or frightening. It wasn't meant to be since it was written diligently by Wallace Potts on a weekend. It was directed and produced by Potts in about a fortnight. The attire worn by the cast is appropriate for an 80's slasher flick and adds to the air of comedy surrounding this film.
The deaths. The deaths are silly, but he employs a variety of methods as a means to killing these youths. Especially when he rips a guy's heart out and follows it with "Have a heart. HA HA". This adds to the brilliance of this movie. I prefer this movie over Manic Cop by Bill Lustig.
Overall, a night of laughter and comments like "I cant believe I'm watching this" will fill your living room as you watch this film.
Score: 10 out of 10 -- NOTE: a 6 pack should be consumed before and an additional 6 pack should be consumed during.
Barely passable "Maniac Cop" ripoff.
b_kite24 January 2019
A low budget Maniac Cop rip off that is barely passable, made by people who obviously had no idea how to make a horror movie. Contains crappy kills, paranoid teens, and a killer who spits out one liners all while acting as wooden as a post. But hey it also has jokes... What has eighteen legs and two tits... the supreme court! 😂😄😀😐😒
psycho cop-out
FieCrier4 October 2002
We're promised a Psycho Cop, and while the guy is a cop, and commits a number of murders, he's rather goofy. While most of his lines consist of single sentences, they're almost without exception not one-liners. That is, they're not jokes, or double entendres, they're simply single lines.
The main characters are annoying, and hardly given characterizations. They're almost always looking for misplaced items, or for the caretaker. (Evidently Psycho Cop likes stealing items only to place them somewhere else later.)
Who is Psycho Cop? Evidently a former foster child who became a devil-worshiping, brutal police officer. He turned psycho after taking a day off. He's apparently really someone else named Gary Henley (sp?) or perhaps really a criminal, Ted something, I think. But even this sketchy characterization is scarcely given any attention in the movie.
Anyone looking for a Psycho Cop would be better off watching the cop in Psycho, or the T2- as-cop in Terminator 2, or watching Maniac Cop and its sequels. Psycho Cop 2 surprisingly is a lot better, though.
The main characters are annoying, and hardly given characterizations. They're almost always looking for misplaced items, or for the caretaker. (Evidently Psycho Cop likes stealing items only to place them somewhere else later.)
Who is Psycho Cop? Evidently a former foster child who became a devil-worshiping, brutal police officer. He turned psycho after taking a day off. He's apparently really someone else named Gary Henley (sp?) or perhaps really a criminal, Ted something, I think. But even this sketchy characterization is scarcely given any attention in the movie.
Anyone looking for a Psycho Cop would be better off watching the cop in Psycho, or the T2- as-cop in Terminator 2, or watching Maniac Cop and its sequels. Psycho Cop 2 surprisingly is a lot better, though.
A stupid, clichéd, pointless film with a smug attitude to boot...the pits!
capkronos21 May 2003
Many horror fans out there have seen the cable staple PSYCHO COP 2 and probably wondered about the existence of the relatively obscure original. Well I found it. It sucks!
Three unbearable yuppie college couples travel to a big, secluded vacation house despite the usual tell tale signs that they should go home. A psychotic, Satan-worshipping policeman (Bobby Ray Shafer), who walks like a robot (and gives a performance to match) does most of them in. The annoying characters constantly talk to themselves, wander off into the woods alone, guzzle buckets full of beer and whine about the feeling of being watched ("It's probably just a deer!"). People are killed with a knife down the throat, hatchet and crucifixion.
"It can't be!" screams the pot smoking caretaker before taking an axe to the head.
The entire cast is terrible.
Irritating!
Three unbearable yuppie college couples travel to a big, secluded vacation house despite the usual tell tale signs that they should go home. A psychotic, Satan-worshipping policeman (Bobby Ray Shafer), who walks like a robot (and gives a performance to match) does most of them in. The annoying characters constantly talk to themselves, wander off into the woods alone, guzzle buckets full of beer and whine about the feeling of being watched ("It's probably just a deer!"). People are killed with a knife down the throat, hatchet and crucifixion.
"It can't be!" screams the pot smoking caretaker before taking an axe to the head.
The entire cast is terrible.
Irritating!
Crapness personified
Bezenby29 June 2010
Review? I've mislaid it...maybe it's out by the pool! I can't find it anywhere...must ask Eric...but he's not here! Maybe he's out by the pool! I can't find him anywhere! Maybe I'll ask 'insert other name here'! But I can't find him anywhere! Maybe he's out by the pool!
What's that noise in the woods - Who's that? Who's that? I know you're out there! C'mon Eric! I know it's you! You weren't out by the pool and weren't bringing beer and I couldn't find you anywhere...it must be you...
Wait...a crap cop? ACting really badly? But not by the pool...what the AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGGGGH
Psycho Cop is crap
What's that noise in the woods - Who's that? Who's that? I know you're out there! C'mon Eric! I know it's you! You weren't out by the pool and weren't bringing beer and I couldn't find you anywhere...it must be you...
Wait...a crap cop? ACting really badly? But not by the pool...what the AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGGGGH
Psycho Cop is crap
Maniac Cop and Friday the 13th's thoroughly silly second cousin...
Zombified_6601 November 2005
Warning: Spoilers
While I hesitate to give Psycho Cop a 10 out of 10 because if I'm being honest, it's by no means perfect (or a 'classic' movie but what the hell does that mean these days anyway. Apparently The Matrix is a classic, and that movie sucks), I haven't had this much fun watching a B-horror flick in a long long time. The joy of this movie is that instead of being a laughably bad horror that's hysterical because it's so cheesy, it's a laughably bad horror poking fun at itself for being laughably bad and having a damn good time being laughably bad. As will you, watching Psycho Cop Joe Vickers chuckle his way through a veritable army of victims with axe, billy club and even in one instance, a car.
It isn't big, it isn't clever (you want clever, check out Maniac Cop instead, it's just as cool but much more serious) but it's damn funny. The people who took this seriously really missed the point, as this is a blatant genre spoof. It leaves no stone unturned in it's quest to lovingly lampoon 80s slashers. Bad Continuity? Check. Killer who materialises in front of the heroine after chasing her from BEHIND? Check. Hilarious 'let off some shteam' style one-liners? Check. I laughed all 90 minutes, and for once not because of spurts of comedy gore, just because of the pure comedy value.
If you're a pretentious jerk go watch Saw a fortieth time, but if you like a good slasher and don't mind a hefty dose of broad stupid humour (Classic segment: Caretaker:'No! It can't be!' Psycho Cop:'Oh, but it is!' SPLAT!) with your horror check this hidden gem out, it rocks my world.
It isn't big, it isn't clever (you want clever, check out Maniac Cop instead, it's just as cool but much more serious) but it's damn funny. The people who took this seriously really missed the point, as this is a blatant genre spoof. It leaves no stone unturned in it's quest to lovingly lampoon 80s slashers. Bad Continuity? Check. Killer who materialises in front of the heroine after chasing her from BEHIND? Check. Hilarious 'let off some shteam' style one-liners? Check. I laughed all 90 minutes, and for once not because of spurts of comedy gore, just because of the pure comedy value.
If you're a pretentious jerk go watch Saw a fortieth time, but if you like a good slasher and don't mind a hefty dose of broad stupid humour (Classic segment: Caretaker:'No! It can't be!' Psycho Cop:'Oh, but it is!' SPLAT!) with your horror check this hidden gem out, it rocks my world.
Psychocop
Scarecrow-8816 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Disposable twenty-somethings, renting a summer house in the woods while on vacation from college, fall prey to a psychopathic police officer(..radio report proclaims that he was under investigation for police brutality, hinting that a psychotic break might've occurred)who worships the Devil(..he has 666 tattooed in pen on his hand)getting a good giggle when stalking and killing someone.
Palmer Lee Todd is established as the final girl, playing Laura, whose unease, feeling something's amiss, is rejected by the rest of her friends, except hunky Doug(Jeff Qualle)who also has misgivings. While the gang pooh-poohs their consistent pleas towards leaving the house, psycho-cop Joe Vickers(Bobby Ray Shafer)lurks in various places on the premises, awaiting the right times to strike. Other insufferable characters include Zack(Greg Joujon-Roche), an annoying practical joker, constantly downing beer, Eric(..a truly terrible Dan Campbell)always toiling with his walkman, Sarah(Linda West), who seems to be at odds with Laura because she won't quit regarding her worries, balking at her for being too paranoid, and Julie(Cindy Guyer), a birdbrain always at her hair with a brush, throughout bitching, moaning, and whining. I'm sure most viewers will be longing for them to die horribly, but such is not the case..they couldn't die fast enough, as far as I'm concerned. The gang go on and on about the caretaker long past his expiration date.
Tepid slasher fare, relatively bloodless, with the grating performances only making matters more intolerable. Shafer's laughable performance doesn't help any(his pitiful humorless wisecracks are hard to endure, often using cop lingo)..he sure is no Z'dar! I'm surprised so many like this movie, I thought it was rather unexciting and rather tedious. Lots of kids running around in circles throughout the woods, with Shafer bulging his eyes, working a John Wayne monotone, walking drone-like. An ax to the skull, billy club down a throat, snapped neck, taser to the groin, bullet to the head, and heart pulled from a stomach(..Shafer reaches from the victim's lower torso!)are methods of execution, but none leave a lasting impact. Like other killers in these kinds of movies, Shafer seems to move about the woods, able to pop up now matter where the kids run. Preposterous sequence where a stick is thrown, by someone with damaged ribs, through a person.
Palmer Lee Todd is established as the final girl, playing Laura, whose unease, feeling something's amiss, is rejected by the rest of her friends, except hunky Doug(Jeff Qualle)who also has misgivings. While the gang pooh-poohs their consistent pleas towards leaving the house, psycho-cop Joe Vickers(Bobby Ray Shafer)lurks in various places on the premises, awaiting the right times to strike. Other insufferable characters include Zack(Greg Joujon-Roche), an annoying practical joker, constantly downing beer, Eric(..a truly terrible Dan Campbell)always toiling with his walkman, Sarah(Linda West), who seems to be at odds with Laura because she won't quit regarding her worries, balking at her for being too paranoid, and Julie(Cindy Guyer), a birdbrain always at her hair with a brush, throughout bitching, moaning, and whining. I'm sure most viewers will be longing for them to die horribly, but such is not the case..they couldn't die fast enough, as far as I'm concerned. The gang go on and on about the caretaker long past his expiration date.
Tepid slasher fare, relatively bloodless, with the grating performances only making matters more intolerable. Shafer's laughable performance doesn't help any(his pitiful humorless wisecracks are hard to endure, often using cop lingo)..he sure is no Z'dar! I'm surprised so many like this movie, I thought it was rather unexciting and rather tedious. Lots of kids running around in circles throughout the woods, with Shafer bulging his eyes, working a John Wayne monotone, walking drone-like. An ax to the skull, billy club down a throat, snapped neck, taser to the groin, bullet to the head, and heart pulled from a stomach(..Shafer reaches from the victim's lower torso!)are methods of execution, but none leave a lasting impact. Like other killers in these kinds of movies, Shafer seems to move about the woods, able to pop up now matter where the kids run. Preposterous sequence where a stick is thrown, by someone with damaged ribs, through a person.
Where's the caretaker?
pizowell31 October 2000
Forget about Me, Myself, and Irene and all those stupid comedies if you wann to laugh until you wet yourself, I suggest Psycho Cop. This is probably the most cheesy, ridiculous movie ever, but it cracks me up. If you thought the teens in those Friday the 13th flicks were stupid, you've not seen anything until you see Psycho Cop. I must admit they do think of the well being of others though, primarily the caretaker. They spend most of the movie asking about him and who stole their beer. Lets not forget the Psycho Cop himself, well he's a satanist and a bit of a comic. He always has a funny zinger to say after he kills someone. The dialogue is awesome, for instance: "I felt someone was watching me, but it turned out to be a deer." I love this movie! Ridiculously awesome.
You have the right to remain... "dead"
PredragReviews13 June 2016
This movie is devoid of any thread of invested time. It seems like the writer/director (Wallace Potts) thought of the idea, wrote it, and filmed it all in the same weekend. For this reason, it is hilarious! This 'horror' film is the funniest of it's genre. All because they were seriously trying to make a good movie. They thought they were doing a good job, and that's why it's funny. All through our history, humor has come from failure...and this movie is the epitome of that philosophy. In the basic common sense, logic and continuity departments, this movie scores a 0 out of 10. Scenes magically switch from day to night, cans of soup go missing and cause more alarm than friends going missing, and - although there's no nudity - characters bathe together for unknown reasons.
The killings themselves aren't all that impressive, and the endless one-liners from Psycho Cop get pretty annoying, but I still enjoyed watching events play out in this film. Bobby Ray Shaefer fully embraces his character, and there's nothing like watching a Satan-worshipping, lunatic Psycho Cop serial killer who truly enjoys his work. This is kind of a poor man's Maniac Cop but it is bad for all the right reasons if you like B movies.
Overall rating: 6 out of 10.
The killings themselves aren't all that impressive, and the endless one-liners from Psycho Cop get pretty annoying, but I still enjoyed watching events play out in this film. Bobby Ray Shaefer fully embraces his character, and there's nothing like watching a Satan-worshipping, lunatic Psycho Cop serial killer who truly enjoys his work. This is kind of a poor man's Maniac Cop but it is bad for all the right reasons if you like B movies.
Overall rating: 6 out of 10.
Oh, Boy, Give me more!
mauro-129 July 1999
Great horror movie, with all the elements that a horror fan could ask for! The psycho cop himself is a work of art, as he is witty, has a death stare, and finds imaginative ways of killing his hapless victims. The rest of the cast also does a nice job, some behaving like morons, some like scared rabbits, and some like real men (and women). The effects are appropriate, there is a lot of blood, nicely filmed nudity, and the music is sticky and gloomy in a way that it makes your heart go faster for no reason at all. I wish they would make a third release of this movie, since it is a definite improvement over the first Psycho Cop flick.
So Bad its good.
liamstanbury5 April 2001
It has to be one of the worst movies ever but is very good to watch. We quite often play drinking games to it, for example everytime they say "beer" which is a lot take a drink. I think it has to be watched more than once to be fully appreciated.
It has some good ideas but how the hell the cop catches up to people when he is walking and they are running or even in a car i don't know.
Overall worth a watch and a laugh.
It has some good ideas but how the hell the cop catches up to people when he is walking and they are running or even in a car i don't know.
Overall worth a watch and a laugh.
"Wonder what a policeman is doing out here"?
lost-in-limbo21 February 2014
Poor man's "Maniac Cop"
yeah somewhat, but it actually had me thinking of late 80s occult horror "Evil Alter". Mix those two together and then you get "Psycho Cop". Is it better for it? Not particularly. Very dumb and shoddy, but I couldn't argue that wasn't fairly entertaining in its hysterical slasher origins. Every cliché is used and imagination is lacking, but what hurt it more than anything was its antagonist's goofy manner. Bobby Ray Shafer stars as Officer Joe Vickers, but no way was he menacing when he decided to open his mouth to blab off some weak one- liner. Even his smiley appearance just was laughable. Along with his ability to be in the right spot at the right time
but hey I guess that's the devil's work for ya. What happens is that of a usual slasher outing, with some young adults heading to a remote country resort for some fun, but actually finding them selves trying to stay alive as a devil-worshiping police officer picks them off one by one. While cheaply made, it's resourcefully made with some decent make-up FX and an isolated backdrop. The foreboding electronic score is over-kill and the victims are amusedly clueless. Most of the time these characters are simply wandering around trying to find misplaced items. Stupidly entertaining stalk and slash.
Astonishingly Bad (spoilers)
jacobnunnally17 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I just finished watching this movie and wow...I'm amazed how bad it was, it must be seen to be believed. I have seen that some folks really think highly of it, and that surprises me because this movie is terrible and cheap and lazy and incompetent and pointless in every way.
This hour and a half movie is a 15 minute short filled with 75 minutes of fluff. Like this dialogue, paraphrased from memory:
"What happened to the caretaker?"
"Just because you think something bad happened, doesn't really mean it happened. The caretaker is fine."
"But what if the caretaker isn't fine?"
"You're being paranoid."
"No, I'm not, I'm not being paranoid."
Ugh!! We get it! Over and over and over, the same repetition of the paper-thin "conflicts" of this movie. It's so shallow, it's so lazy...
"What happened to the beer?"
"I don't know what happened to the beer."
"Just because there's no beer doesn't mean something bad happened."
"You're being paranoid."
"No I'm not, I'm not being paranoid."
WE GET IT.
That's the whole movie's dialogue dynamics. Besides the incompetent writing, the movie has all amateur actors - there are no stars, no star power. Compare this with Bruce Campbell and Robert Davi in "Maniac Cop" or Donald Pleasance in "Halloween".
But, as you will see with the quality of production in this movie, there's no money in it - there's no money for stars, quality writing, quality actors. It's a cheap, cheap movie up and down, left to right. Everything about it is cheap and shallow.
Back to the "movie is all boring filler" aspect. The "final scene" of the movie lasts about 30 minutes. They struggle. They struggle some more. She gets away. Runs around a tree. He finds her. They struggle more. Guy comes in, they struggle. WE GET IT. Thirty minutes of that, ugh. Now, compare that with the amazing, exciting "twist" ending of "Friday the 13th"!
Acting in this movie - terrible to non-existent. Clear amateur actors due to no budget. The bad guy is a joke...the least scary bad guy of just about any movie that is trying to take itself seriously, which this one was. No hint of camp or meta-poking fun at ourselves, just over the top amateur hour, freshman in college caliber acting. Pitiful! And annoying.
Let me share this with you - do not see this movie. There is no reason to. You won't get anything out of it. It's pointless, it says nothing, there was no reason for this movie to be made.
I truly adore all 3 "Maniac Cop" movies, that's why I watched this one. This movie sucks!
This hour and a half movie is a 15 minute short filled with 75 minutes of fluff. Like this dialogue, paraphrased from memory:
"What happened to the caretaker?"
"Just because you think something bad happened, doesn't really mean it happened. The caretaker is fine."
"But what if the caretaker isn't fine?"
"You're being paranoid."
"No, I'm not, I'm not being paranoid."
Ugh!! We get it! Over and over and over, the same repetition of the paper-thin "conflicts" of this movie. It's so shallow, it's so lazy...
"What happened to the beer?"
"I don't know what happened to the beer."
"Just because there's no beer doesn't mean something bad happened."
"You're being paranoid."
"No I'm not, I'm not being paranoid."
WE GET IT.
That's the whole movie's dialogue dynamics. Besides the incompetent writing, the movie has all amateur actors - there are no stars, no star power. Compare this with Bruce Campbell and Robert Davi in "Maniac Cop" or Donald Pleasance in "Halloween".
But, as you will see with the quality of production in this movie, there's no money in it - there's no money for stars, quality writing, quality actors. It's a cheap, cheap movie up and down, left to right. Everything about it is cheap and shallow.
Back to the "movie is all boring filler" aspect. The "final scene" of the movie lasts about 30 minutes. They struggle. They struggle some more. She gets away. Runs around a tree. He finds her. They struggle more. Guy comes in, they struggle. WE GET IT. Thirty minutes of that, ugh. Now, compare that with the amazing, exciting "twist" ending of "Friday the 13th"!
Acting in this movie - terrible to non-existent. Clear amateur actors due to no budget. The bad guy is a joke...the least scary bad guy of just about any movie that is trying to take itself seriously, which this one was. No hint of camp or meta-poking fun at ourselves, just over the top amateur hour, freshman in college caliber acting. Pitiful! And annoying.
Let me share this with you - do not see this movie. There is no reason to. You won't get anything out of it. It's pointless, it says nothing, there was no reason for this movie to be made.
I truly adore all 3 "Maniac Cop" movies, that's why I watched this one. This movie sucks!
You shouldn't run from the law!
boondocksaint209 July 2001
This movie rules. Not for it's ingenius script or acting prowess, but for it's sheer enjoyment value. A buddy of mine told me about it and he went to a million different video stores until he found one with it (it still isn't in mass production so a copy, as it says on the box will cost you $89.95). This is the perfect drunk movie, it just leaves itself open to be made fun of so damned well. Most people can enjoy this flick b\c they know ITS OKAY to watch a cheesy movie and enjoy it. I can't stand it when people only watch movies with gargantuan budgets, 'top rate actors' and what not. Yes, I admit, this movie is nowhere near one of the greatest movies of all time, but come on, it is laugh out loud funny, especially the horrible editing (like the opening two deaths where a woman is backing up and there is a shed in the background WITHOUT a body of her boyfriend on it, but when she turns around, somehow ala Star Trek a body of her boyfriend transported itself on the shed). Psycho Cop's one liners are absolutely hilarious, especially when the caretaker finally buys it. Bobby Ray Shafer is by no means a high caliber actor, but he does pull the demented psycho cop from hell off very well, especially with those twisted eyes of his and laugh out loud ridiculous but effective manical laugh of his. Overall, check this flick out if you've got 'a case and a half of beer' and a few 'boxes of soup' to kill.
Just plain stinks
Woodyanders2 June 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I have seen many an abominable slasher teenkill body count film in my lifetime, so it's saying a lot that this hideously lame'n'tame loser qualifies as perhaps the worst slice'n'dice stinker I have ever had the grace misfortune to suffer through. A demented Devil-worshiping Los Angeles police officer (horribly overplayed to the annoyingly hammy hilt by the dorky, singularly unmenacing Bobby Ray Shafer) stalks and bumps off six wholly unlikeable, peevish, beer-swilling jerk teens partying their empty heads off in some typically creepy abandoned house located deep in the remote woods (boy, that's a fresh and novel premise for a horror film ... NOT!). Writer/director Wallace Potts does a simply super job of messing this putrid porker up big time: we've got nil suspense, painfully lurching pacing, grating false scares (which include the ever-popular and irritating cat jumping out of a cupboard and startling the hell out of someone phony jolt), obnoxiously atrocious acting, bloodless and moronic murders (a nightstick down the throat gag is especially execrable), no gratuitous sex or nudity to speak of, the flipped-out flatfoot cracks these horribly witless sub-Freddy Kruger one-liners every time he kills someone, and, naturally, there's an awesomely awful, groan-inducing and dissatisfying "he ain't dead yet" sequel set-up ending (sadly enough, said "nobody asked for it" sequel was actually made, which only goes to show you can't keep either a bad loony fuzzball or even worse fright film series down). Mark ("Blue Monkey," "Deep Space") Williams did the mild, middling gore f/x. If you ever happen to catch "Psycho Cop" in your rear-view mirror or God forbid come across a copy of it for rent at your local mom'n'pop video rental outlet, by all means make as much distance as you can from both this chortling, insufferable maniacal a**hole and his deplorable, no-account slasher flick series.
Some reason I like it
acidburn-1024 October 2011
The plot = A cop whose into devil worshipping, decides to go out on a killing spree, he comes across a group of teens on they're way to cabin in the woods for the weekend, so he decides to follow them and kill them off one by one.
Okay I knew off hand that this would be a cheesy routine slasher flick and a pretty bad one, I watched the trailers so I went into this movie not expecting much anyway, but for some reason I was still drawn to it and for some sort of strange reason I actually kind of liked it. Maybe the reason I was drawn to it was because of the title "Psychocop". This movie was obviously a cash in movie, because of the much better Maniac Cop and this is in no way even compares it has The acting is absolutely dire, the script is excruciatingly inept, shamelessly rehashing every horror movie cliché in the book – in particular the often improvised dialogue is atrocious. The special effects are terrible. But this must have been successful in some way to spawn a sequel which I haven't seen yet. The one thing that kind of saves this movie is Psycho Cop himself (Bobby Ray Shafer), okay it was a badly acted performance, but you can he had fun with it with his awful one liners, but at least he had a smile on his face and that aspect I actually liked and he moves around like he's got a stick up his butt and the teen cast are awful even the main heroine whose incredibly dull, to be frank he should have killed them all off a lot sooner.
All in all not a movie I strongly recommend but if you're into bad slashers then I suggest this and most probably the sequel.
Okay I knew off hand that this would be a cheesy routine slasher flick and a pretty bad one, I watched the trailers so I went into this movie not expecting much anyway, but for some reason I was still drawn to it and for some sort of strange reason I actually kind of liked it. Maybe the reason I was drawn to it was because of the title "Psychocop". This movie was obviously a cash in movie, because of the much better Maniac Cop and this is in no way even compares it has The acting is absolutely dire, the script is excruciatingly inept, shamelessly rehashing every horror movie cliché in the book – in particular the often improvised dialogue is atrocious. The special effects are terrible. But this must have been successful in some way to spawn a sequel which I haven't seen yet. The one thing that kind of saves this movie is Psycho Cop himself (Bobby Ray Shafer), okay it was a badly acted performance, but you can he had fun with it with his awful one liners, but at least he had a smile on his face and that aspect I actually liked and he moves around like he's got a stick up his butt and the teen cast are awful even the main heroine whose incredibly dull, to be frank he should have killed them all off a lot sooner.
All in all not a movie I strongly recommend but if you're into bad slashers then I suggest this and most probably the sequel.
Not quite what I expected.
big-gun25 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I went into this expecting some cheesy Maniac Cop knockoff. But Joe Vickers (played by Bobby Ray Shafer) and Matt Cordell (played by the late Robert Z'Dar) are two very different animals. Cordell was an undead cop out for vengeance. Vickers is a devil worshiping cop who's out for blood. Cordell committed his killings with not a word spoken. Vickers has a cheesy one-liner (or two, or three) for every occasion.
Psycho Cop was also a bit more formulaic. The typical 80's horror movies, as a general rule, included a bunch of horny young people at a camp site or a house, always out in the woods. Easy targets for a killer.
Some of the more annoying parts of this flick are the overuse of the word paranoid (in all its forms), the many references to the caretaker (Vickers' first victim), and the highly unlikely way Vickers met his demise.
On the whole, I found the movie quite enjoyable in a "so bad it's good" kind of way. But, if I had to choose between Joe Vickers and Matt Cordell, I choose Cordell hands down.
Psycho Cop was also a bit more formulaic. The typical 80's horror movies, as a general rule, included a bunch of horny young people at a camp site or a house, always out in the woods. Easy targets for a killer.
Some of the more annoying parts of this flick are the overuse of the word paranoid (in all its forms), the many references to the caretaker (Vickers' first victim), and the highly unlikely way Vickers met his demise.
On the whole, I found the movie quite enjoyable in a "so bad it's good" kind of way. But, if I had to choose between Joe Vickers and Matt Cordell, I choose Cordell hands down.
Move Along, Folks. Nothing To See Here.
refinedsugar30 January 2024
If you took 'Friday the 13th' and combined it with 'Maniac Cop' you'd get this 1989 number called 'Psycho Cop'. A been there, done that horror film that only barely stands out from the pack because the murderous killer is a satanic cop instead of some nutcase in a mask. You get the usual foray of jump scares, characters acting retarded because they have to for the sake of the story & a villain mugging for the camera.
A young couple driving in rural America spot a police motorcycle out of place on a back road. So doing what people logically do they stop to investigate and naturally get murdered. Radio reports mention a cop with brutality complaints against him who's gone missing and may be up to satanic rituals. What fate do you think awaits three more young couples on a trip to the countryside who've rented a house for the weekend?
The story is unoriginal and borderline boring. The phone lines get cut. Friends start slowly disappearing. The only other person around for miles - the house's caretaker - goes missing. By the time the creepy cop - Officer Joe Vickers (Robert R. Shafer) - pops up individually to the victims to explain away odd events (like say all the missing people) the writing was on the wall. Some mild blood, but nothing creative to the kills. Very little suspense given the isolation vibe. Surprisingly no female nudity.
'Psycho Cop' looks decently made and the acting is passable. It's just one of those low budget dtv titles that used to line video store shelves without an ounce of style to set itself apart. It must have did alright on home video though because four years later a sequel emerged. This time the nutty cop is in an office building with trapped horny guys & strippers. Seriously. I can't make this up.
A young couple driving in rural America spot a police motorcycle out of place on a back road. So doing what people logically do they stop to investigate and naturally get murdered. Radio reports mention a cop with brutality complaints against him who's gone missing and may be up to satanic rituals. What fate do you think awaits three more young couples on a trip to the countryside who've rented a house for the weekend?
The story is unoriginal and borderline boring. The phone lines get cut. Friends start slowly disappearing. The only other person around for miles - the house's caretaker - goes missing. By the time the creepy cop - Officer Joe Vickers (Robert R. Shafer) - pops up individually to the victims to explain away odd events (like say all the missing people) the writing was on the wall. Some mild blood, but nothing creative to the kills. Very little suspense given the isolation vibe. Surprisingly no female nudity.
'Psycho Cop' looks decently made and the acting is passable. It's just one of those low budget dtv titles that used to line video store shelves without an ounce of style to set itself apart. It must have did alright on home video though because four years later a sequel emerged. This time the nutty cop is in an office building with trapped horny guys & strippers. Seriously. I can't make this up.
watchitwatchitwatchit!
madmadbastardevilstef23 April 2003
this movie is briiilllllliant! i laughed all the way through! the acting is terrible, the victims are unbelievably (and hilariously) stupid, and the psycho cop in question gets to utter some of the funniest lines, while laughing, grinning & murdering like a true nutcase! watch this film! you'll love it!
you have the right to remain ... meh ....basic i guess
godinamachine3 March 2022
HEY EVERYBODY ITS ME (4) and today we review .... maniac cop part 7 ???? The movie !!!!!!!
But for reals .... lets just consider this the "asylum" release of maniac cop lol.... however this one has a more "leprechaun" or nightmare on elmstreet" feel with the one liners the psycho cop delivers regularly .... it REALLY reminds me of JACK FROST ..... no NOT the one with batman in it ...the other one ...in fact i almost swore that the cop in this one WAS the same guy who played jack frost just by some of the facial expressions he made .... but NOPE completely different actors .... my bad THOUGH a psycho cop VS jack frost ..... just saying ..... too bad awesome trash films of the 90's are a dead and gone era .........too too bad .........
NOW this film comes out the year after maniac cop? .... something like that ....is it TRYING to bank off the success , ride those coat tails OR was it trying to just be its own fun and silly thing ? ... i mean you have tons of killer cop films throughout the late 80/90s , including rotor the robot cop one lol.... so ripping off films AND the cop theme isnt just for ripping off JUST cop zombie films ...but this one isnt a cop zombie film ..so is it ripping off maniac cop or is it just ripping off the name ??? MANIAC cop - PSYCHO cop ..... maybe ... "crazy cop" ...or "seriously close to the edge police officer" .... has a nice ring to it ........ they might have been able to avoid the being accused of ripping it off IF they just changed that name up OR maybe they banked off the name like the asylum films do using blockbuster films and mocking them and BAM people watch your film thinking its the other one ...CONFUSION = SUCCESS ???? Right ???
Well the acting is 80/90's so is everything else .... so its great in a bad kind of way, ... same old story , young people going somewhere private + killer = DOOM nothing new ....even for back then it wasnt new .... its basically a TON of people running in circles .... literally same location and someone goes outside looking for someone else then back in to find out something happened just to go back outside and repeat just with different people asking about "wheres ______" then going to look for ______ lol.... until die ........
35 minutes " i swore i brought 6 boxes of soup ? " ..boxes of soup ????BOXES ..... OF ..... SOUP !!!!!!!!!!! What ?????????
The editing leaves me asking who invented time travels because at points the girls running from upset officer ....then suddenly shes not ....and he lost her ? Even though 0.5 seconds ago he was 2 feet behind her ?????? So not sure if they were drunk when editing OR maybe accidental editing ? .... maybe they hired a REALLY impressive dog to edit BUT still guys keep in mind ...its IS a dog all the same .... no matter how impressive his resume was .... paws just cant edit very well .... obviously ........
so was it a GOOD film ? ...not really ..... same old crap in a same old package, looking alot like all the others of the era so it doesnt have much special going for it to make it something WOW you know .... was it a fun film ...yea it was ........ the one liners are terrible ...and the entire thing is just awful in that nostalgic kind of way from the 90s ........so if your a fan of lost treasures of the 80/90s then yea youll love it .. IF your not / dont like films that are terrible from the 80/90s ..then skip it like hop scotch
6 /10.
But for reals .... lets just consider this the "asylum" release of maniac cop lol.... however this one has a more "leprechaun" or nightmare on elmstreet" feel with the one liners the psycho cop delivers regularly .... it REALLY reminds me of JACK FROST ..... no NOT the one with batman in it ...the other one ...in fact i almost swore that the cop in this one WAS the same guy who played jack frost just by some of the facial expressions he made .... but NOPE completely different actors .... my bad THOUGH a psycho cop VS jack frost ..... just saying ..... too bad awesome trash films of the 90's are a dead and gone era .........too too bad .........
NOW this film comes out the year after maniac cop? .... something like that ....is it TRYING to bank off the success , ride those coat tails OR was it trying to just be its own fun and silly thing ? ... i mean you have tons of killer cop films throughout the late 80/90s , including rotor the robot cop one lol.... so ripping off films AND the cop theme isnt just for ripping off JUST cop zombie films ...but this one isnt a cop zombie film ..so is it ripping off maniac cop or is it just ripping off the name ??? MANIAC cop - PSYCHO cop ..... maybe ... "crazy cop" ...or "seriously close to the edge police officer" .... has a nice ring to it ........ they might have been able to avoid the being accused of ripping it off IF they just changed that name up OR maybe they banked off the name like the asylum films do using blockbuster films and mocking them and BAM people watch your film thinking its the other one ...CONFUSION = SUCCESS ???? Right ???
Well the acting is 80/90's so is everything else .... so its great in a bad kind of way, ... same old story , young people going somewhere private + killer = DOOM nothing new ....even for back then it wasnt new .... its basically a TON of people running in circles .... literally same location and someone goes outside looking for someone else then back in to find out something happened just to go back outside and repeat just with different people asking about "wheres ______" then going to look for ______ lol.... until die ........
35 minutes " i swore i brought 6 boxes of soup ? " ..boxes of soup ????BOXES ..... OF ..... SOUP !!!!!!!!!!! What ?????????
The editing leaves me asking who invented time travels because at points the girls running from upset officer ....then suddenly shes not ....and he lost her ? Even though 0.5 seconds ago he was 2 feet behind her ?????? So not sure if they were drunk when editing OR maybe accidental editing ? .... maybe they hired a REALLY impressive dog to edit BUT still guys keep in mind ...its IS a dog all the same .... no matter how impressive his resume was .... paws just cant edit very well .... obviously ........
so was it a GOOD film ? ...not really ..... same old crap in a same old package, looking alot like all the others of the era so it doesnt have much special going for it to make it something WOW you know .... was it a fun film ...yea it was ........ the one liners are terrible ...and the entire thing is just awful in that nostalgic kind of way from the 90s ........so if your a fan of lost treasures of the 80/90s then yea youll love it .. IF your not / dont like films that are terrible from the 80/90s ..then skip it like hop scotch
6 /10.
More funny than anything else!!!
thediva-8911411 July 2020
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