kapelusznik18 ****SPOILERS**** British Giallo slasher flick that has ice skating queen Smantha Falconer, Lynne Frederick, stalked by this just released from prison, for the murder of Samantha's mom, William "Uncle Bob" Haskin, Jack Watson, who at first seems to have the hots for Samantha in him slobbering all over a newspaper photo of her. Taking a train trip to London to attend, uninvited, Samantha's wedding to businessman Alan Falconer, Uncle Bob is determined to make this blessed event for Samantha instead into a living hell for her. It turns out that Samantha's testimony, in her mom's murder, back in 1961 sent Uncle Bob away for 15 years. Now he's out on bail and looking for revenge.The film "Schizo" goes the usual way of a slasher film but with a truly twist ending that makes the villain in it to be far less scary or obvious. The killings that take place in the film are done in such a matter where you don't see the killer's identity making you feel that Uncle Bob who's been painted as the villain right from the start may well not be the killer. As for Samantha her freaking out at every opportunity makes the police and good friend Beth, Stephanie Beacham, as well as family friend and head shrinking psychiatrist Leonard, John Fraser,feel that she in some way needs psychiatric help herself.****MAJOR SPOILERS****By the time the truth come out due to Uncle Bob's revelations it's too late for him as well as too late in catching the killer who in the end gets away Scot-free to murder again. One of the better slasher movie from the 1970's that holds the audience interest while keeping the body count down to a minimum. The killer is always on the scene but never noticed by anyone and the person who does know who he is just happens to be the one who everyone suspects who does the killings! That's until he ends up becoming a victim himself!

a_baron 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!

happyendingrocks Despite its inclusion in the EuroShock Collection DVD series, this British number borrows more from Hitchcock than Argento, though it never builds the sustained tension of the former or the grand guignol wetwork of the latter, nor explores the dizzying and inventive camera work of either auteur.In true British style, this film is very dry, never trying to reach beyond the stilted limitations director Pete Walker seems to think the genre carries with it. It's also way too long, nearing the 2-hour mark, with nary a murder to be found until about 60 minutes into the affair. The pacing becomes a bit frustrating, especially with bits like a trip to a "psychic brotherhood" meeting, which introduces a supernatural subplot that isn't subsequently explored. This 10 minutes of run time is an excessive space-filler that merely introduces a victim and mistakenly offers a revelation that is rendered a confusing gaffe when the murderer is revealed.The pretty basic plot involves a newly-married woman being stalked by a paroled man who murdered her mother several years before. Since we see him from the start, the scenes where he lingers on the street near her house and spies on her while she shops for produce don't have much impact... old British men don't imply the same menace that masked boogeymen like Michael Myers do. When the murders begin to occur (and don't expect much here; this is one of the more conservative body counts you'll find in a slasher movie), the film picks up a bit, but the extended stalking that dominates the first half of the film is rendered moot and perplexing when the murderer is unveiled in the final act.The twist ending isn't surprising, and if you know in advance this film is supposed to have a twist ending, you'll probably guess it on the first try. The final showdown between our heroine and her stalker is limp and over before any tension is built, leaving the climax a bit stilted. However, the last moments of the film do finish things out in a nicely subdued fashion, and leave plenty room for viewer's imaginations to concoct the nastiness that seems apt to unfold after the curtain drops.There is some diverting gore to be had, and a shower scene that seems tacked on just to establish that the female lead is pretty cute (as reported before, the horror elements in this scene only become confusing after the final revelation), but largely the film relies on a cat-and-mouse approach that would be more effective if the final reel actually built to something substantial. Best scene in the film honors undoubtedly go to a particularly well-executed and edited bit of grue with a sledgehammer, and nice details like the victim's shattered and bloody glasses on the ground next to their body are what keep this film viewable despite its unnecessary length. There are also a few fun unintentional laughs, like a scene where a victim in a car looks over his shoulder directly into the back seat where the killer is... and somehow doesn't see the black-clad wraith clutching a butcher knife sitting behind him. Overall, this is an interesting piece for those who prefer suspense and acting over splatter money shots, but despite its best moments, Schizo is miles away from essential.

rose-294 Schitzophrenia - that eeevil murder mania! The British mental health organization MIND get angry from this - hey, Schitzo was co-written by a pornographer David McGillivray, the expert of leeringly trashy, sleazy horror movies like Frightmare, so what did you expect? Something mature or at least partly honest? Or that facts would be in the right place in your mentally-ill-as-a-murderer-story? Well, this leeringly trashy exploitation of mental illness mangles the facts and slashes some victims, the truth being one of them, and all the entertainment and other value lay in the gutter. The plot? The ice-skater Lynne Frederick is stalked, the bodies pile up and a schizophrenic - but whoooo? - is the guilty party. I just tried to stay awake.