Suicide Solution: The History Of Psychomania
For me, There's two kinds of bad Horror movies. The one's I buy off Amazon, these days. Some I like, some I love, and some make me want my money back. Then, there's the one's I rented on VHS as a teenager back in the 90's. I love them all, period. I guess that makes me one of those nostalgia weirdos, who's biased enough to love all sorts of abominations of cinema. Fine by me. Not everyone can get pleasure out of Silent Night Deadly Night, Part 2. But I can. Which brings me to another movie I haven't watched in a long time. I remember renting it around 1997, as well as which of the many video stores I rented it from. I think I'm a little biased when it comes to Psychomania. Of course, it's far from unwatchable. It's pretty entertaining, actually. However, when watching this otherwise bad film, I can't help but be in a good mood. Partly because I genuinely like it, but also because of the pleasure and laughter it provided years ago. I don't know how I would feel about it had I recently discovered it, but as bad as it may be, I have to love Psychomania. That's just how it is.
Psychomania is about one man's hunger for the ultimate power: immortality. As well as his ignorance of the source of said power. Possibly Satan. It's not all that clear, as they didn't really seem to think things through at all when writing this story. So, to elaborate, this very British production is about some pussy rich kid, named Tom. Tom surrounds himself with his biker gang, conveniently called The Living Dead. These little rascals are a bit of a problem in town, these days, causing all sorts of mayhem. Tom seems to be a bit of a sociopath, as well as a cocky sonofabitch. But given the right opportunity, and Tom could be very dangerous.
Tom's mother and her butler know a secret involving a locked room, his father's death, and a frog. The secret of immortality. And Tom isn't going to let up until they spill it. After nearly shitting himself and fainting in the room, which he apparently has to hang out in for a while in order to get what he wants, he overhears mother and Shadwell talking, finally getting that important info that the room failed to give up. What Tom learns is that if you want to live forever, you have to kill yourself, believing with all your heart that you will return from the dead. And that's all there is to it. Groundbreaking stuff in this one, gang!
Tom gathers up his crew, and convinces them to go on a havoc wreaking spree with him, right before he and his motorcycle fly off a bridge. Tom is now dead, and as far as his mates go, gone forever. They have a nice funeral for him, while one of them plays this sweet hippie tune called "Riding Free". Soon, Tom rises from the grave, more arrogant than ever, and seemingly invincible. Tom now has three goals in mind. convince his fellow living dead-ites to off themselves, go wreak more havoc with them without the threat of dying in a wreck. And of course, the next logical step would be world domination. Tom may be a terrible person, but he certainly has ambition.
While we watch Tom's mates commit suicide in various ways, we get the idea that with power as precious as immortality, comes a hefty price. Especially when you're a bunch of assholes. Which is weird, as the root of this whole thing seems to be very much Satanic. One would think they'd be on the right path, considering their plans and all. But the more havoc and murders we witness, the more obvious it becomes. The Living Dead are fucked!
So, yeah. A half assed story, with a serious lack of character development. A bad movie, indeed. But it has no problem redeeming itself with a likable cheesiness, along with a catchy/menacing score, complimenting the rebellious tone of it all. Technically, Psychomania is a Zombie flick, and seems to be considered one by many. I guess that's the one thing the early 70's was missing... A Biker Zombie flick. And a fun fact for any Psychomania fans who may not know, but the legendary George Sanders, who played Shadwell the butler, committed suicide after watching what would end up being his last film. Sure. it's bad. But it's not THAT bad, is it? The poor old guy probably wasn't doing great to begin with, but it's been said that after seeing himself in such a piece of shit, he just had enough from this world. But there's no reason to have such high standards as the late Mr. Sanders did. You weren't in it. So, never mind the flaws. Just kick back, relax, and check out some classic British cheese. 6/10
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