The Psycho Lover

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!

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).

Sexploitation whodunnit, in which a stocking masked creep commits a series of rapes and murders...but is the perpetrator the lothario doctor with a younger mistress and a ball busting, drunk wife? Or his patient? A raving misogynist who has been having a little too vivid dreams about the murders? Or the Edgar Allan Poe lookalike police inspector?

Around half way through the film tires of concealing the killer's identity and drops that angle in favour of lifting ideas from The Manchurian Candidate. A bit of pilfering that the filmmakers obviously felt guilty enough about to explicitly acknowledge the Manchurian Candidate influence in the dialogue. Director Robert Vincent O'Neil would soon after be making another sexploitation-noir "Blood Mania" for Crown International, and if anything The Psycho Lover feels like O'Neil's calling card to Crown International. It's very much in their slick, shot in L.A. style, with the rape-murder nastiness sharing the screen with trippy psychedelic flourishes, gyrating bewbs, T&A make-out scenes and romantic strolls around California beaches scored to soft rock songs. The screenwriter's idea of hip dialogue includes nuggets like "your ego hangs between your legs" and "the hairs on my ass stand on end every time I catch his scent". The doctor's flash car is also a sight to behold, and may temporary bamboozle you into thinking that The Psycho Lover is meant to be a futuristic film. The film overflows with so much love for that vehicle every time it's onscreen...you just know it had to be either someone's pride and joy, or that they'd been slipped a generous backhander to plug it in the movie.

Dare I confess to admiring this misogynist wallow in depravity? Say what you will about its politics, THE PSYCHO LOVER is way above average of its type in terms of cinematography, editing and entertainment value. The plot concerns a psychiatrist who is treating a patient who police suspect of being a serial rape murderer. The film is punctuated by several almost psychedelic attack scenes, which bristle with an energy rarely seen in films of this budget. Ultimately the doctor tries to use the killer as a tool to release him from his miserable marriage, attempting to hypnotize his patient to do his bidding. This sequence must be seen to be believed: as the diminutive woman-hater sleeps he is plagued by visions of his victims. Acid rock cranks on the soundtrack, a woman with Gene Simmons makeup whispers "Kill...kill," another go-go dances. It doesn't get any better than this, folks. And hardly anyone lives happily ever after. The director also made the equally mean-spirited BLOOD MANIA which is worth a look, but PSYCHO LOVER deserves a cult following.

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.