Psychopaths (2017) Poster

(2017)

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4/10
Visuals in Support of Nothing
seriouscritic-4256922 June 2018
Sadly, another well made film by Mickey Keating that is ultimately disappointing (following Darling and Carnage Park and POD - but that was a super low budget first film so the positives outweighed the negatives in that case). Keating has an excellent visual eye, and this film is nothing if not a testament to the skills of it's editing, but it is all in the service of absolutely nothing. And even though I personally prefer films that are intelligent, offer new insights and observations within their genre, and approach their subjects with depth, I can still sit back and enjoy movies that seek only to entertain. And during the first half hour of this film I was willing to cut it a lot of slack, even though it announced its conspicuous lack of depth with the line "There ain't no why to evil" and a faceless narrator whose ramblings skirt perilously close to "crap happens". But regardless of the "hook" the film hangs it's narrative on there is no story to speak of and no characters of any depth or real interest even though many of them are given monologues that frequently serve no purpose except adding to the run-time. Keating is too influenced by other directors so there are extended sequences of figures dancing against black or performing old songs in the white light of a stage spotlight (thank you Mr. Lynch) or too-sleazy characters (a totally unbelievable police officer) who gets to have a lengthy, profanity laced monologue saying nothing worth listening to and punctuated by beating another character (an attempt at Tarantino?). Plot? Narrative? Follow-through? Anything??? He doesn't even develop the idea he started with as his hook. You watch the film without engagement, succumbing to frustration that you wasted your time and the director wasted an opportunity to make a good film. And at the end everything dribbles away and we're supposed to see that as clever because the unseen and omnipotent narrator apologizes if it was all "too ambiguous". Keating obviously needs to spend more time re-writing and polishing his screenplays (or find himself a co-writer who will push him toward creative AND coherent), but there is still no reason for the slew of improbabilities and impossibilities that litter the film even if the director's excuse would be "it's supposed to be stylized", such as a character doused in gasoline who wrestles with another man holding a lit cigarette, before taking out a lighter and using it to ignite even more gas - all without attracting a spark. And tossing the fingerprint-laden metal lighter into the fire. Those fingerprints would remain. Or the fact that the same record album contains stylistically divergent music by completely different artists, or an officer is going door to door at 4:30 in the morning and greets a woman with "I hope I didn't wake you". And that same officer's hair (especially if it's a period film as all the accouterments suggest), and the way characters react around a very public crime scene etc etc etc. This film is almost enough to make me give up on Mr. Keating eventually producing a successful film. But I have nothing, if not hope; which is why I turned this on in the first place.
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5/10
An Art-House Right Up My Alley, yet I Can't Ignore the Flaws
TwistedContent22 September 2019
I've loved what Mickey Keating is doing since the day one, I've seen all of his works except for "Ritual", can't find that one anywhere. As an (using cliche words) aspiring filmmaker I relate to Mickeys ever changing style, writing themes, low-budget effectiveness and a filmmakers independce that can be truly felt. Sadly, it took some time for me to catch up with "Psychopaths", but here we are.

Madness, mayhem, darkness, neo-noir, also just neon and just noir - "Psychopaths" is an effortful & mean spirited art-house horror movie, full with beautiful shots, psychadelic imagery, murder and a handful of songs that successfully add to the atmosphere. I read in some review the acting's weak, but I oppose to that, I thought the characters & the performances completely justified the very name of the movie. For all the horror buffs there's a bonus in a form of a few seen names and faces. I'm always happy to see Larry Fessenden getting on screen from behind the camera, even if for just a few scenes. What I can't ignore or deny is the absence of plot, purpose and any kind of structure, the latter of which didn't matter to me much. Being devoid of a more substantial storyline, the 80 minute runtime is quite stretched out & I believe a lot of viewers will be bored by the pacing issues. However, I liked the directors self-awareness at the end, told in two lines by the narrator near the end. I won't tell, because You should see it yourself.

Everyone who knows me knows I hold dear the kind of horror movies which can be described as arthouse / experimental / surreal / weird and so on and so forth - "Psychopaths" fit the bill well. I recommend this one to those who relate to the aforementioned taste, because "Psychopaths" is a movie for very specific audiences. My (intendedly objective) rating: 5/10.
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4/10
It's alive
nogodnomasters4 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Henry Earl Starkweather, mass murderer, is executed during a full moon as he gives a curse about evil. Upon his death, a handful of people across town start to kill people.

The killings didn't have much of a relationship. There was no special effect showing "evil" entering someone upon Henry's death. There is some narration, perhaps from the guy in the mask on the cover. The film also uses a split screen that wasn't too effective other than to make a short film, shorter.

Henry Earl spoke with a Charlie Manson type quality. The film is more of an artsy slasher and requires a special audience and I wasn't it.

DVD extras are trailers. No subtitles.

Guide: F-word, brief near sex, no nudity.
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2/10
Natural born killers..the outakes
andymaranam24 March 2019
Charlie is older now & his name is changed to Henry starkweather with the voice of manson? So if your not slightly lost yet, you will be after watching this pointless mess of gratuitous violence. Some ok visual styling & a not too bad backing track may keep you captivated.
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4/10
disappointing
jeffdivinsky29 April 2019
I had really high hopes for this flick...the acting & directing were great, but the story itself & the way the movie ended made no sense.
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2/10
Arty and that's it
Leofwine_draca16 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
PSYCHOPATHS is an arty indie horror flick about a serial killer who faces execution only for his spirit to live on in his various followers. The whole thing concentrates on visuals with very little in the way of meaty storytelling, leaving it an empty-headed mess. The lack of narrative cohesion leaves this feeling like nothing more than series of vignettes and if the director had focused more on storytelling and less on the intricacies of lighting this might have been interesting.
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3/10
Bizarre Mishmash Of A Movie
Very weird movie and I really have a hard time getting behind it. It seemed long for as short as it was and I think that was because it was just boring. It wasn't a fun movie at all. 3/10.
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5/10
Wanted to love it
pattywatkins-055789 March 2021
If the description hadn't stated something about a serial killer dying and his spirit going into all of these other peoples bodies (or something like that) the audience would have like no idea that was even a thing....it seems like a producer watched it and was like.....we got some splainin' to do here. Ashley Bell was amazing as always, highlight of the movie. Not a bad movie at all, but uneven and beautifully shot.
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6/10
Bad all around (the world)
kosmasp15 January 2018
So the movie does not concentrate just on one person or one story. It actually feels like short movies put together with the theme of people acting in a bad manner (or being Psychopaths as the title suggests). The movie therefor has some flow and pacing issues, but that comes with the territory. If you have multiple strings and strands that have to make sense themselves but also in the overall picture, that is what happens.

The acting is good, the editing is good. And if you don't mind there is a lot of violence in it too. There are some surprising elements and if you like darker themed movies, you will like this movie. While you may argue, this movie paints a picture of society and there might be evidence that this sort of evil does exist in the real world, this still is a movie
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10/10
one of the most underrated horror movies of 2017
Mr-Player_Noob25 March 2018
I'm fan of mickey keating (i really like POD, loved DARLING and enjoy CARNAGE PARK) so in his new movie PSYCHOPATHS have a bad score and critics but in my opinion, this movie is great. not boring or trash as all.

this movie is so much of tribute the Giallo horror style (some Dario Argento films) to has many visually stunning and colorful cinematography mix in the 80's slasher movies with many difference characters to kill the victims.

in my opinion. this movie is visually stunning, insane editing, beautiful cinematography, all of the great performance from many actor and actress (ashley bell is so insane performance! ), the great score and soundtrack.

10/10
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7/10
Let Me Call You Sweetheart
avacado-113 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Yeah. This movie was all about loonies that escaped the asylum and the characters were great. I really loved Ashley Bell and her "conversation" between her sweet persona and her evil persona. After all. She is a "good person!" All while her slashed up victim is listening and trying to "survive". Also loved the morbid Blondie. Such cool evil. Loved the Freddie Kruger hands she gave her victim. Also the movie had a really cool retro vibe. Something different. Looking forward to more from this Director. Stay Original.
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7/10
Sure it's poorly acted but damn it's underrated!
UniqueParticle13 June 2019
Some really cool masks, super weird cheesy shots that make you wonder what the hell? I like a few of the actors in it like Larry Fessenden, Jeff Daniel Phillips's, James Hebert and Ashely Bell is gorgeous! This movie is so ridiculous especially the cop, something is wrong with that guy! Decent movie though I'm a little surprised only 8 others reviewed.
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8/10
A night of chaos and violence
Woodyanders7 September 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Several psychopaths wreak all kinds of bloodthirsty mayhem over the course of a single night in the wake of the execution of serial killer Starkweather (a lively cameo by Larry Fessenden).

Granted, the slight story doesn't add up to much, but writer/director Mickey Keating more than compensates for this with an astounding surplus of dazzlingly gaudy and trippy psychedelic style, an engaging flip'n'hip tone, a wickedly funny sense of pitch-black humor, and a great groovy retro soundtrack. The moments of sadistic bloody violence pack a jolting punch. Moreover, it's acted with tremendous gusto by an enthusiastic cast, with especially stand-out contributions from Ashley Bell as spunky schizophrenic Alice, Mark Kassen as the luckless George, Jeremy Gardner as an obnoxiously hearty cop, James Landry Herbert as a suave mad strangler, and Angela Trimbur as lethal, but enticing seductress Blondie. Good twisted fun.
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6/10
An experimental piece from the heart
TuesdayThe17th4 January 2018
This is Mickey Keating's fifth or sixth film that he both wrote and directed. Its nice to see a director writing and directing all of his movies. It allows for a full vision into the directors mind. Mickey Keating has had a kind of amateur style in his past films, with "Darling" being his highest rated film at 5.5 which to me,is a shock because I didn't think Darling was anything special. The black and white was clearly only used because of a minimal budget and the editing is pretty bland. Keating uses that split screen technique which he led into Psychopaths as well. I went into Psychopaths excited. I seemed it out the day it came out on DVD. Although Keating's directing has been amateurish, he is still a big influence of mine as I am,working on my first feature film myself. Just looking for some people to stand behind it. Keating is a true horror fan. His shudder series is great and its cool how he shot himself up the ladder through deep passion for the genre. Psychopaths surprised me. Its his best looking film yet. That amateur directing style is gone. Besides a few minor editing blunders, It seems like he finally is really getting the hang of this. Psychopaths didnt have a legit story with a climax. It was more of like a montage of murder, or an anthology film about a bunch of different serial killers. A really cool aspect is that its a true indie horror. I LOVE Larry Fessenden. He is one of my top idols. Keating has an all star indie horror cast. Ashley Bell, James Landry Hebert, Josh Ethier, Graham Skipper, Joe Begos, Jeremy Gardener, Helen Rogers, Matt Mercer, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Padraig Reynolds, PLUS it has Angela Trimbur AND Larry Fessenden!! Mark Kassen gave a very good performance in this movie too. Very heartfelt and true. So did Gardener. Most of these people are directors and trekked a very similar path I am currently trekking. This film is truly kind of brilliant. Its refreshing and violent and dark and like a neon noir at the same time. Its a movie about the killers. Imexcited for Mickey and am excited to see what's next for him. You can tell he is happy with what he is doing.
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