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Psychomania
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - British Film Institute Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (17th September 2016). |
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The Film
 “Psychomania” (1973) Tom (played by Nicky Henson) is the leader of the biker gang The Living Dead, a group of 6 guys and 2 girls in their early twenties wreaking havoc on motorists and local townsfolk with their skull like bike helmets and black leather clothes. While they seem like kids from the wrong side of town, Tom in fact comes from a lavish home where he lives with his mother (played by Beryl Reid) and butler Stadwell (played by George Sanders). His mother (played by Beryl Reid) is a medium that can talk to the dead and lends her services for people trying to reconnect to loved ones that had passed away. While all seems a bit theatrical and fake, she is in fact able to connect with the dead, as the family has a deep secret - one that crosses life and death. Tom eventually finds a way to take his dangerous way of rebellious living even further - by finding out the way to die and return from the dead, giving him immortal power to do anything without consequences. The other gang members are at first skeptical with his seemingly inconceivable status of immortality, but eventually Tom creates the most powerful and unstoppable gang out there with his mates Jane (played by Ann Michelle), Bertram (played by Roy Holder), Hatchet (played by Denis Gilmore), Chopped Meat (played by Miles Greenwood), Gash (played by Peter Whitting), and Hinky (played by Rocky Taylor) all taking the oath to also become immortal. It is only the more innocent member Abby (played by Mary Larkin) that fears death, and puts a strain on the gang’s future… “Psychomania” was a cross between the popular Hammer and Amicus horror productions with the biker action genre that were quite popular at the time - filling double bills theatrically with high returns in ticket sales. But the film was made in 1973 - not exactly a peak year in terms of cinema. The Hollywood studio system collapsed giving rise to independents and lower budget efforts. Japan also had a mirroring effect in their film industry. Television was also on the rise and the number of theaters decreased heavily by the early 70s. The UK industry also had its issues - English theatrical film production reached past its creative and popular peak by the early 1970s. “Psychomania” in all efforts is a pretty bad by looking at the creative aspects - the dialogue is very poorly written with quite a few cringeworthy lines. The optical effect of the superimposition scene is very poorly done. Much of the film makes very little sense logically - what was the purpose of the talisman to be thrown into Tom’s grave? Why suddenly did mother and Shadwell reveal the secret of the family? As much as it has its “Mystery Science Theater 3000” moments of easy mockery, it does have its charms - the stunt scenes are very fun, exciting, and sometimes extremely dangerous. (Good thing for cardboard boxes in very conspicuous placements!) The psychedelic funk / rock soundtrack by John Cameron is wonderful - like a mix of David Axelrod, Quincy Jones, and Ennio Morricone - that it’s almost a crime that the theme song has not been sampled for any hip hop / electronic tracks. Guess the 7” single it was not part of DJ Shadow’s library of acquisitions. The film is not to be taken seriously at all. There are lots of hilariously funny moments like when Tom and Jane freeride into the police station, the many ways of the characters offing themselves over and over like a Looney Tunes short, and what is the obsession with frogs? For a film that deals with the undead, the occult, suicides, and biker gang violence, it is surprisingly a bloodless film. It does not have the nasty effects seen in many British horror/supernatural movies made the years prior, though there are some scenes like Abby’s nightmare sequence, the highway overpass suicide scene, or the crashing into the baby carriage in the supermarket that disturbs and shocks even without blood or gore. While the production can be seen as a throwaway cheapie made for exploitation purposes, it is these kids of films that fully represent the youth culture and trends of the time - the post-hippie Woodstock flower-child culture and social concerns of the way youth culture was headed. It certainly would have been a different movie if it had been made 10 years prior or 10 years after. The film was directed by Don Sharp who had previously directed at Hammer with films such as “The Kiss of the Vampire” (1963), ”The Devil Ship Pirates” (1964), and ”Rasputin the Mad Monk” (1966), but his directing here is not the most impressive in his overall career. For the actors, the young bikers do what they can with the cheesy dialogue but there was only so much that they could do. For veteran actors George Sanders, Beryl Reid, and police inspector Robert Hardy, they play surprisingly well considering the material. Not exactly Peter Cushing or Vincent Price standards in similar genre films, but respectable nonetheless. Sadly this was George Sanders’ final film. It is often said that he had seen a rough cut of the film in Spain and that night he offed himself with an overdose. He was a hard drinking overly depressed man and that was no surprise, but whether he was that unhappy with the film that he killed himself or that he wanted to kill himself as an homage to the film - we will never know. Either way, it was a great loss to the film world. “Psychomania” was released in the UK in 1973 and was not a hit with the critics and not a success with audiences quickly fading into obscurity. Years down the line, it became a frequently broadcast late night movie in England, and in the United States a fairly easy to see film in budget VHS and DVD releases - often unlicensed unauthorized versions which are a few minutes shorter. A cult following for the film continues more than 40 years later. At first it was a film that most of the actors frowned upon or were embarrassed by. But like the characters it dies and lives on with no end in sight. Even a frog can’t stop it now! Note this is a region B Blu-ray which can only be played back on region B and region free Blu-ray players
Video
BFI presents the film in its Flipside series - their collection of British cult films. The film is in 1080p in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.66:1 in the AVC MPEG-4 codec. The original negative has been lost for the film and previous DVD releases and television broadcast masters were created from inferior source materials. For restoration of the film, a set of 35mm B&W separation masters held at the Filmoteca Espanola in Madrid, Spain were utilized, which were struck from the original negative. The three separation masters were each scanned at 2K resolution, recolored to red/green/blue respectively, digitally cleaned and recombined into a new full color master. Recombining separation masters is no easy task - as each element has different wear, tear, warping, so the restoration was a very meticulous one. The finished result is miraculous but still with faults. Damage is mostly gone - with an impressively clean image with dust, specs, and major damage removed. There is no sign of noise reduction and film grain is completely visible without artificial softening or sharpening of the image. As for the non-perfect points, there still is some minor damage that could not be removed but only on close inspection can these truly be detected, colors are sometimes washed out or fluctuating within the scene due to damage, but for the most part, the colors look very impressive. The artsy living home of Tom’s place, the colors of Abby and Jane’s clothes, the greens of the grass and trees are full. Sure, it’s not perfect but an incredible step up from previous versions of the film. Another impressive restoration from BFI. The film is presented uncut and the runtime on the Blu-ray is 90:30.
Audio
English LPCM 1.0 The original mono is presented in lossless LPCM. The audio has also been remastered from the 35mm optical track negative, removing all damage such as hisses and cracks. Dialogue is always clear and easy to understand, the music sounds good if not great in the mono track, with John Cameron’s very cool score. There are optional English HoH subtitles for the main feature.
Extras
This is a dual format Blu-ray + DVD set with identical content on both discs, just with the Blu-ray having everything in high definition while the region 2 DVD has everything in standard definition PAL. An Interview with Nicky Henson (13:57) This new 2016 interview with lead actor Nicky Henson has him recalling various aspects of the production - from the reason why he took the job, his acting experience at the time, George Sanders receiving a chair with his name misspelled, the immaturity of the young cast, and the reaction to the cult following years later, plus more. All good information, although if you watch the following “Return of the Living Dead” featurette, he does repeat much of the information here. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles "Return of the Living Dead" featurette (25:02) This featurette was created by Severin Films (US) for their DVD release in 2010. Featuring interviews with actors Nicky Henson, Mary Larkin, Denis Gilmore, Rocky Taylor (who also did stunts yet didn’t have a bike license!), and Roy Holder, they separately recall their experience with the making of the film and the cult following years later. in 1080p (upscaled from NTSC) AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles "Sound of Psychomania" featurette (9:06) This featurette was also created by Severin for their DVD release, features composer John Cameron interviewed about the score. Cameron talks about his break working with Donovan, composing for Ken Loach on “Poor Cow” and “Kes” and how he composed the psychedelic score for the film. in 1080p (upscaled from NTSC) AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles "Riding Free" featurette (6:25) Another featurette by Severin is ported here, this one with singer/songwriter Harvey Andrews who wrote and sang the song “Riding Free” which was used in the upbeat hippie funeral scene in the film. He talks about his early music career, how he was excited to have the song used, and his disappointment that he wasn’t cast in the scene and was lip synched by Miles Greenwood instead. He also gives a special performance of the song on the same guitar he originally composed it with. 15 pounds commission for the song to be used? 15 quid must have been worth quite a lot back 40 years ago! in 1080p (upscaled from NTSC) AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles "Hell for Leather" featurette (7:52) In this newly produced featurette, Derek Harris, the owner of Lewis Leathers is interviewed about biker clothing specifically worn by the cast of the film. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles "Restoring Psychomania" featurette (1:47) This short restoration featurette is a way too short look at the process involved with the meticulous restoration process for the film. Wish it had been longer with additional before/after shots. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in Dolby Digital 2.0 with on screen English text Wilson Bros. Trivia Track Horror aficionados Kevin and Nick Wilson produced a trivia track for the film, filled with anecdotes on the film, references to other films, and occasionally funny insights such as how strangely positioned ladders are begging to be knocked over by the bike gang and how cheesy the frog amulet looks in high definition. As there is no audio commentary on this release, it is pleasing to see an extra that is just as entertaining. While usual trivia track commentaries make you nod your hear with “Huh, so that’s how it was done”, in this track there were times that I busted out laughing, like the Mary Whitehouse comment! Trivia that the Wilsons didn’t bring up - the brothers appeared in “Shaun of the Dead” as the memorable twin biker zombies. An homage to “Psychomania” perhaps? in English, text as second subtitle stream on the main feature "Discovering Britain with John Betjeman" 1955 short film (3:17) A short film produced by the Shell Corporation presenting Avebury, Wiltshire. in 1080p (upscaled from NTSC) AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles "Roger Wonders Why" 1965 short film (18:23) This film produced by Apostle Christian Venture is a church youth promo film, which positively connects the youth bike culture with Christianity. This amateur film is very weak in quality - with amateur shooting, editing, narration, and everything overall. To add to that it has extremely weak picture with scratches, damage, and blurriness, and audio is just as bad with buzzing noises, dropouts, and pops. Quite a curiosity piece. in 1080p (upscaled from NTSC) AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitles Theatrical Trailer (2:50) The UK trailer is presented here. Colors are pretty good and there is good audio, but with the usual dust, specs, and damage. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.66:1, in English Dolby Digital 1.0 with no subtitles Booklet There is a fully illustrated 30 page booklet with essays, credits, special features information, transfer information, and acknowledgements. New writing includes “An Outstanding Appointment with Fear: The Peculiar Power of Psychomania” by BFI curator Vic Pratt, “The Last Movie: George Sanders and Psychomania” by BFI curator William Fowler, and “Psychomania - Riding Free” by film historian Andrew Roberts.
Packaging
This is spine #33 of the BFI Flipside series, showcasing various offbeat, forgotten, and overlooked British films. The inlay has reversible alternate artwork.
Overall
“Psychomania” is not exactly a great film but it is one that is perfect for midnight viewings as it is fun, silly, and weird altogether. From a cult appeal it certainly gets an “A” but for quality it is a “C” so overall will give the score a middle “B”. BFI’s latest entry in the Flipside series is another winner with an excellent restoration and worthy extras. Very recommended for fans of cult cinema and frog worshipers.
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