Secrets of a Psychopath (2015) User Reviews

Mr B.I.G. is back - but don't expect quality results

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 30 May 2016]

Now here's something incredible: SECRETS OF A PSYCHOPATH marks the return to the screen, after a 26 year hiatus, of writer/director Bert I. Gordon, aka the notorious Mr. B.I.G., famed director of 1950s monster fare such as THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN and BEGINNING OF THE END! Bert's last film was 1989's SATAN'S PRINCESS, and I think I can safely say that we all assumed he had hung up his hat and taken a long-overdue retirement after that movie. Well, now he's back at the tender age of 93 and making films again!

Sadly, this is hardly a return to form for the old timer, as SECRETS OF A PSYCHOPATH is a near-unwatchable mess; an independent horror film featuring the talents of the ever-sexy Kari Wuhrer and not a lot elsewhere. The storyline is about a pair of unusual siblings and the murder plots that surround them, and of course there are the requisite flashbacks to earlier events that may or may not have had traumatic effects.

What it all boils down to is a lot of talk and not a lot else. The story is padded out with dull sex scenes and even duller murder scenes. I like Wuhrer as a B-movie starlet, I always have done, but the supporting cast that surrounds her here is uniformly awful, with some truly embarrassing overacting going on in places. Sadly, SECRETS OF A PSYCHOPATH is a curious footnote in Gordon's long-term career rather than anything truly of merit.

Average Thriller

[Michael_Elliott · 26 October 2017]

Secrets of a Psychopath (2015)

** (out of 4)

Henry (Mark Famiglietti) and Catherine (Kari Wuhrer) are a strange brother and sister pair who have some dark secrets. Henry, a social weirdo, meets various women online and we see the horrors that await them as they become too close to the pair.

The 93-year-old Bert I. Gordon returned to the director's chair for the first time in twenty-six years to direct this horror movie that's certainly far from awful but at the same time there's certainly nothing great here either. The movie certainly showed a lot of promise and featured a nice twist at the end but at the same time there were some flaws that kept it from being better.

I must say that for the most part I enjoyed the performances in the film and especially by Famiglietti and Wuhrer. I thought both of them were quite believable in their roles and I thought the whole brother-sister aspect was sold quite nicely. I also thought the film was very well-made and when you consider the budget it's even more impressive. A lot of these cheap direct-to-video releases look quite cheap and poor but that's not the case here.

The story itself was interesting enough to where it should have worked better but there's no question that there's very little impact here. The film was meant to be psychological thriller but there's really not any thrills here and the film is certainly never scary. I'd also argue that the film just never fully explored the dark nature of the story like it could have.

With that said, if you're a fan of the director's work then you'll notice this is far away from his "big" pictures. SECRETS OF A PSYCHOPATH isn't a masterpiece or even a good movie but there's certainly much worse out there.

AWFUL acting, AWFUL script, WASTE of time .

[desiraelily · 1/10 · 22 January 2017]

I don't see how someone people saw these idiots as great actors/actresses for many reasons:

They pause a lot as if they don't know their lines. I don't know if they're trying to be more suspenseful but they SUCK at it if that's the case.

The script is AWFUL as well. I don't know what tf they were thinking while writing this crap.

The first woman literally looked straight into the camera for a second & was definitely OVERDOING the "seduction" scene. That "dirty talk" was SO ridiculous! I laughed so hard!!

Don't waste your time with this crap or you'll definitely regret it!

Worst movie I've seen all year and it's December 30th

[colanemo · 1/10 · 30 December 2015]

Major spoiler warning for this movie equivalent to stepping on Lego's. Despite "popular" belief, this movie was an atrocity. Right off the bat the characters were about as deep as a very un-deep thing (if you think of a better analogy tell me) and the dialogue was forced and unrealistic. The acting made me want to brand my eyes. I've never seen flatter and more monotoned characters than when I watched, "The Room" which is at least funny in a terrible, distorted way. I know I can't expect much on a psycho thriller but I did not know I was signing up for a soggy sock of a film. So many things don't make any sense at all. Why the hell did two 10 year olds left in a kiddie pool for 2 minutes drown? Did they both head-butt each other and pass out? Are the two main characters related or was that some sort of act? Are those previously mentioned dead 10 year olds their kids? Why can't the dude have sex? How did he have kids if he can't? Or was it something that happened after having children? Was it the fact that his kids died? And why the hell do they dress up in creepy doll costumes to kill people? If you want to know the answer to any of those questions you're not getting them when you watch this. This movie leaves so many things unanswered and not in the good theories- and-thoughts- that-keep-you- coming-back way. In the I-want-my-goddamn- money-back- for-wasting-my-time way.

Dreadful. Cringe.

[ru_thaker · 1/10 · 5 June 2017]

After reading all the reviews, they more or less pinned it down to one thing- dreadful. In every sense.From the amateur acting,script to the general messy organisation of it all. I found myself cringing lots and it was unintentionally funny. The only thing that redeemed this film was the music score perhaps.

Surprisingly pleasant

[blumdeluxe · 7/10 · 19 February 2017]

To be honest, I don't really get what everybody dislikes so much about this movie. "Secrets of a psychopath" is one of the smaller Horror releases, that tells the story of two murderous siblings that are in a dysfunctional relationship resulting in the murder of numerous women.

In my opinion, the story works. I'm quite sure a lot of it is scientifically nonsense but if you can ignore that it is actually quite easy to get drawn into the plot. I can't see that the film tries to make points with unnecessary sex scenes, either I missed them or my understanding of sex scenes differs a bit. At some points the movie tries to be humorous and while this is maybe a bit unneeded, I somehow liked it because it is rather subtle compared to most movies and doesn't break down the whole atmosphere.

Just a few things I noticed, randomly ordered:

1) I'm quite sure these are not the questions a psychologist would ask plus he told nothing about girls.

2) The amount of hot girls this guy collects is ridiculous. Did the producers ever try out a dating site in preparation for the film?

3) When will people learn to provide some kind of plausible context. Can they please share two sentences in the cinema at least before she starts grabbing him?

4) Somehow I dislike that everything is explained through her beauty. It's like a hierarchy stating that she is worth more than the other girls.

That said, "Secrets of a psychopath" is not a great movie, not a game changer or anything. But it is a solid and nice little Horror movie that will keep you entertained for its playtime.

Mr. BIG and Kari Wuhrer!

[Arek-kerA · 10/10 · 5 October 2015]

The long wait is over: SECRETS OF A PSYCHOPATH - the new film from the acclaimed director Bert I. Gordon is here. Bert I. Gordon also known as Mr. BIG brought us such classics like THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN, EARTH VS. THE SPIDER, THE FOOD OF THE GODS and EMPIRE OF THE ANTS.

The story goes like this: Henry (Mark Famiglietti) and Katherine (Kari Wurhrer) are a loving brother and sister who live in their large old family home. But they are not your typical brother and sister. They are couple of psychos, who kill young women in order to to try to „heal" Henry's sexual disjunctions.

SECRETS OF A PSYCHOPATH is a spellbinding psychological thriller. Yes, its a low budget, indie film, and yes it has some flaws here and there, but overall it is a great movie you should not miss. Bert I. Gordon still got „it". His directing is very stylish, fluid and confident. Mr. BIG is a great storyteller - he creates the suspense in the movie through cleverly chosen shots (the house of the siblings becomes almost an independent character in this film!), inventive camera angles and wonderful, moody music by Scott Glasgow. Contributing greatly to the film's success are a solid screenplay by Mr. BIG himself, warmly handsome photography by Brett A. Hart .

SECRETS OF A PSYCHOPATH gives us chance to take a look inside the mind of the serial killer, learn what makes him tick. You can find some interesting echos of the classic Hitchcook' PSYCHO but the idea is to see the world through the eyes of a madman. As in every good thriller there is a twist at the end but obviously I want spoil it here. You have to find out for yourself what the titular secrets are.

But to save the best for last, the acting is terrific, with a standout performance by Kari Wuhrer as the film's Catherine - a complex and powerful character, the real tour de force of this story. Driven mad by sick love to her brother Catherine is a an evil, yet tragic person. Wuhrer commands attention whenever she's on the screen. She crafts her role very well with many layers and nuances. She's beautiful, sexual and deadly, but at the same time totally unstable and crazy. Without any doubt this is a triumphant return of the actress who unfortunately was rarely seen on the screen in the last few years. Oh and there's a special treat for the fans: Catherine's „I'm the emergency" on-liner gets a super cool meaning thanks to Kari. You'all understand when you see the film, here let me just say that Kari still is a „Perfect Ten"! Kudos to You, Miss Wuhrer.

All to all if you like good psychological thrillers, with a high suspense and great performances, you should definitely see SECRETS OF A PSYCHOPATH. And one more thing: I can't wait for the next film from Mr.BIG!

DEFINITELY pretty good

[feev · 7/10 · 26 August 2019]

Gorgeous woman, steadily moving story, decent acting and KARI WURHER!!!