Psycho Killer has plenty of gore and plenty of flaws

James Preston Rogers in Psycho Killer - Courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Psycho Killer opens with quite a bloody hook. Kansas police officer Jane Archer, played by Georgina Campbell, watches a killer known as the Satanic Slasher (James Preston Rogers) pull a gun on her husband, highway patrolman Mike (Stephen Adekolu), and murder him. From that point on, Jane becomes obsessed with stopping the Satanic Slasher, as the death toll rises across several states.

Directed by Gavin Polone, with as script by Se7en screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker, the film works best when it's a Silence of the Lambs-style cat and mouse game. Jane nearly stops her husband's killer more than once, but each time, he evades her. There's one especially intense scene where she tracks him to a rural hotel and barely escapes alive. He bashes her against a wall and even throws her through a window. The Satanic Slasher is an imposing villain who doesn't have much dialogue but makes short work of his victims. There's another unsettling scene where he stalks and eventually murders a pharmacist, before stealing a whole bunch of pills for himself. He also writes Satanic verses in his victims' blood. There's plenty of brutal kills throughout the movie that gore hounds will lap up. Rogers, who's a former pro wrestler with several roles in TV and film, makes a good villain with his towering height and heavy footsteps.

The feature's real highlight, however, is Campbell. Ever since her breakout performance in Barbarian, she's been a mainstay in the genre. Here, she gives a compelling and heartfelt performance, playing a grieving spouse who has nightmares of her husband's murderer. She also shows steely determination to stop the killer. This film only made me more excited to continue following her career.

While the performances and the gore deserve accolades, the script and tone are the weak points. Though the killer is given some backstory, it's not quite enough to justify his brutality or warped sense of the world. In comparison, Campbell's Jane Archer is a much more interesting character who generally avoids cliches. Meanwhile, the third act entails a diabolical plan involving Three Mile Island in Central, Pennsylvania, but it feels so sudden and rushed, as if it was suddenly shoehorned into the script to up the stakes. The film works much better when it's anchored to Jane's determination to track down her husband's elusive killer and bring him to justice once and for all, even when the feds don't exactly welcome the help.

The tone also sometimes jumps from a grisly and serious thriller to a horror comedy, at least with some of the dialogue. There's even a scene where Malcolm McDowell instructs a bunch of would-be Satanists, and it's played for laughs but also feels out of place in the context of the rest of the movie. At times, the shifting tone is easy to overlook, while at other points, it becomes a bit jarring. The film should have remained more consistent. It could have been a horror comedy, especially considering the killer. It would have worked well, or it should have stayed more serious and grounded. At times, it feels like it's unsure what exactly it wants to be.

Overall, Psycho Killer, despite its flaws, is an enjoyable time at the movies. There's a high body county and plenty of bloodshed to appease horror diehards. Campbell gives a solid performance, and Rogers transforms into an intimidating villain. His ominous footsteps signal that murder and mayhem are near. The film falters in its third act and has a muddied tone, but there's still enough here to enjoy.

Psycho Killer is currently playing in theaters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwq8gwdVxts