Psycho Killer, 2026.
Directed by Gavin Polone.
Starring Georgina Campbell, James Preston Rogers, Malcolm McDowell, Logan Miller, Grace Dove, Aaron Merke, Nigel Shawn Williams, Michael Antonakos, and Tracy Penner.
SYNOPSIS:
A police officer tracks a killer after her husband, a highway patrolman, becomes one of his victims.
How a film is sold and marketed is irrelevant when it comes to assessing quality (and, in this case, it was mostly nonexistent), but the team behind Psycho Killer has done a disservice in that department by plastering Se7en screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker’s name all over every piece of that material. This is as generic, nondescript, and psychology-averse as masked-serial-killer thrillers come, leading one to wonder whether David Fincher (the two had even reunited for the mostly solid, sharply dry, and satirical The Killer in 2024) is speed-reading the scripts and taking the bulk of them in his own direction. Maybe he tosses them into a shredder after having a sense of the story being told, spicing it up from there. Sure, that’s a slight exaggeration, yet also one of the only logical conclusions to draw here, given the steep decline in quality with debut director Gavin Polone putting his words on the big screen.
This also brings to mind something I read on social media this week, where someone (I wish I could remember who) essentially said that, while screenwriting unquestionably requires talent, you don’t necessarily hear of famous or slam-dunk screenwriters, or at the very least, not in the same vein as the moviegoing populace reveres directors. Andrew Kevin Walker’s name might (being generous) be a selling point for anyone who recognizes Se7en or 8mm. After having watched Psycho Killer, it’s more proof that any respected screenwriter can be a part of a pile of nonsense, regardless of whether or not Gavin Polone was the right filmmaker for this or not. The plot here is so razor-thin, with almost no characterization, that one also wonders whether the screenwriter brought the project to David Fincher, who then rejected it, thinking even he couldn’t have done anything exciting, suspenseful, or provocative with this material.
Considering Psycho Killer opens with a blatant copy of Se7en‘s credits (without any Nine Inch Nails, who thankfully are spared being a part of this boring exercise), perhaps it is Andrew Kevin Walker trying to recapture some of that glory or proof that he still has it in him to weave a compelling serial killer tale. If that is the case, here, he demonstrates no understanding of why that film became a pillar of the genre (and a beloved classical around), with no interest in exploring the killer’s psyche beyond “he is a crazy Satanist” even though, unlike Se7en where the killer was kept offscreen for so long that it’s A-list star at the time wasn’t listed in the opening credits or promotional materials, James Preston Rogers’ titular Psycho Killer as a co-lead alongside Georgina Campbell’s highway patrol officer Jane Archer doggedly hunting him down seeking vengeance for murdering her husband. By the way, they also share the same job, so the film can conveniently establish who they are and that they love one another, so that he can be offed instantly afterward. It’s sheer lazy screenwriting.
Little happens in this film, as it switches perspectives from Jane Archer searching for clues and growing increasingly frustrated with incompetent bodies of law enforcement (all the way up to the FBI, who dismiss some of her reasonable, plausible findings), to Psycho Killer, well, killing random individuals with no style, terror, or menace. These scenes are similarly lazy; one of them is a clichéd impaling from the back seat of a car. The kills almost feel like a film trying to meet an obligation rather than trashy entertainment, making good on the fun part. There is one exception, which sees the killer briefly imply something about his past that could have both turned him into a serial killer and put him on a path of Satanism, although it is a laughably reductive plot point.
James Preston Rogers is a hulking, imposing figure, so there is, admittedly, some fright in the character’s conceptual design. Wearing a gas mask and a voice disguise, the latter, unfortunately, undoes some of that as he has a habit of extending the last syllable of every word, sounding silly. Even when the film feels as if it might fully unleash some of his brute power in an orgy-slaughter, the filmmakers resort to cheap CGI blood that comes across as if this is intended to be a schlocky 3D flick. There are also other moments where one can’t tell whether some of this is meant to be ironic or a lame attempt at humor (the frame contains a shot of a welcome mat saying “peace be with you,” which the killer stains with the blood after leaving a church upon killing a priest).
As for Jane, she doesn’t have much to do but poke around and solve a goofy riddle. Georgina Campbell is delivering a solid performance as a woman desperate for another shot, literally and figuratively, at the killer, and subconsciously, trying to prove herself and male-dominated workforce that doesn’t take much of what she says seriously. She is also not currently concerned with that or psychological therapy. Nevertheless, the few encounters she and the killer do have are largely forgettable outside the stark red color palette and satanic iconography. That also puts into perspective that the problem with the film is less so with the direction or performances. Andrew Kevin Walker might feel similarly, wanting another shot at the genre to prove that Psycho Killer was a fluke, not his actual good scripts.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder
