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{{Short description|1973 British film by Don Sharp}}
{{About|the 1973 British film|the 1963 American film also released under this title|Violent Midnight|the song|Psychomania (song)|the record label|Psychomania Records}}
{{About|the 1973 British film|the 1963 American film also released under this title|Violent Midnight|the song|Psychomania (song)|the record label|Psychomania Records}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2016}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=November 2012}}
{{Infobox film
{{Infobox film
| name = Psychomania
| name = Psychomania
| image = Psychomania Poster.jpg
| image = Psychomania Poster.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Don Sharp]]
| director = [[Don Sharp]]
Line 27: Line 26:
| studio = Benmar Productions
| studio = Benmar Productions
| distributor = Scotia-Barber Distributors
| distributor = Scotia-Barber Distributors
| released = 1973
| released = {{Film date|1973}}
| runtime = 95 minutes
| runtime = 90 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| language = English
}}
}}


'''''Psychomania''''' (originally released in the United States as '''''The Death Wheelers''''')<ref>{{cite book|last=Hischak|first=Thomas S.|title=The Encyclopedia of Film Composers|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|page=115|year=2015|isbn=978-1442245495}}</ref> is a 1973 British [[outlaw biker film|outlaw biker]] [[horror film]] starring [[Nicky Henson]], [[Beryl Reid]], [[George Sanders]] (in his final film) and [[Robert Hardy]].<ref>PSYCHOMANIA Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 40, Iss. 468, (Jan 1, 1973): 82.</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg |url=https://www.filmink.com.au/unsung-aussie-filmmakers-don-sharp-top-25/|magazine=Filmink|title=Unsung Aussie Filmmakers: Don Sharp – A Top 25|date=July 27, 2019}}</ref>
'''''Psychomania''''' (U.S. title:'''''The Death Wheelers''''')<ref>{{cite book|last=Hischak|first=Thomas S.|title=The Encyclopedia of Film Composers|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|page=115|year=2015|isbn=978-1442245495}}</ref> is a 1973 British [[outlaw biker film|outlaw biker]] [[supernatural]] [[horror film]] directed by [[Don Sharp]], and starring [[Nicky Henson]], [[Beryl Reid]], [[George Sanders]] (in his final film), and [[Robert Hardy]].<ref name="BFIsearch">{{Cite web |title=Psychomania |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150031079 |access-date=24 March 2024 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}</ref><ref>PSYCHOMANIA Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 40, Iss. 468, (Jan 1, 1973): 82.</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg |url=https://www.filmink.com.au/unsung-aussie-filmmakers-don-sharp-top-25/|magazine=Filmink|title=Unsung Aussie Filmmakers: Don Sharp – A Top 25|date=July 27, 2019}}</ref>

The plot follows the adolescent leader of a biker gang, who has started practicing [[black magic]]. After meeting the Frog God, which his mother worships, the leader commits suicide on his 18th birthday. His mother resurrects him as one of the undead, and the process grants superhuman abilities to the boy. He proceeds to turn most of his gang into fellow undead, but his mother [[Petrifaction in mythology and fiction|petrifies]] them all in a magic ritual.


==Plot==
==Plot==
Tom Latham, an amiable psychopath and the leader of a violent youth gang named "The Living Dead", enjoys riding his motorcycle with his girlfriend Abby and loves his mother. Tom dabbles in black magic and spends much time at an ancient ruin located in the [[Surrey]] countryside known as "The Seven Witches" (a Stonehenge-like circle of standing stones). In a similar vein, his mother and her sinister butler Shadwell get their kicks out of holding séances in their home while they worship some sort of Frog God. Tom's father vanished in a mysterious room shortly after Tom's birth, a room which Tom enters on his 18th birthday and where he sees the Frog God.
Tom Latham, an amiable psychopath, is the leader of a violent youth gang named The Living Dead, which includes his girlfriend Abby. Tom dabbles in [[black magic]] and spends much of his free time at an ancient [[Surrey]] countryside ruin known as The Seven Witches, a [[Stonehenge]]-like circle of standing stones. In a similar vein, his mother and her sinister butler Shadwell get their kicks out of holding [[séance]]s in their home while they worship the Frog God. Tom's father vanished in a mysterious room shortly after Tom's birth, a room Tom enters on his eighteenth birthday and where he sees the Frog God.

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This incident leads to Tom committing suicide and, with his mother's help, returns from the dead. Being one of the [[undead]] means that Tom cannot be killed and has superhuman strength, which he demonstrates when he massacres those at a local pub. One by one, his fellow bikers commit suicide with the goal of returning as one of the "undead", gathering at The Seven Witches to plan their campaign of terror against the locals. Only Abby refuses to participate.


Police Chief Inspector Hesseltine is overwhelmed by the crime wave committed by bikers who are known to be dead; believing that someone is stealing the corpses of the dead bikers, he releases a false report that Abby has died. Hesseltine and his force plan to trap the culprit when he shows up to claim Abby. The Living Dead kill the policemen, while seizing Abby. However, Tom's mother, disgusted with her son's crimes, decides to break her bargain with the Frog God.
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This incident leads to Tom committing suicide and, with his mother's help, Tom returns from the dead. Being one of the "undead" means that Tom cannot be killed and has superhuman strength, which he demonstrates when he massacres the people drinking at the local pub. One by one, his fellow bikers commit suicide with the goal of returning as one of the "undead", gathering at "The Seven Witches" to plan their campaign of terror against the locals. Only Abby refuses to commit suicide.


Police Chief Inspector Hesseltine is overwhelmed by the crime wave committed by bikers who are known to be dead; believing that someone is stealing the corpses of the dead bikers, he releases a false report that Abby has died. Hesseltine and the other police plan to trap the culprit when he shows up to claim Abby. Tom and the other bikers kill all the policemen while seizing Abby. However, Tom's mother grows disgusted with the crimes committed by her son and decides to break her bargain with the Frog God. Tom and the other bikers tell Abby to commit suicide but she again refuses to, instead shooting Tom, who is immune to the bullets. As Tom prepares to kill Abby, his mother performs a ritual which breaks the pact. Tom's mother is transformed into a frog while Tom and the rest of the undead bikers are turned into stone, becoming new standing stones at "The Seven Witches". Abby is left alone surrounded by the stones that once were her friends.
The gang tell Abby to commit suicide, but she again refuses, instead shooting Tom, who is immune. As Tom prepares to kill Abby, his mother performs a ritual that breaks the pact. Tom's mother is transformed into a frog while the undead bikers are turned into stone, becoming new statues at The Seven Witches. Abby is left alone, surrounded by those that once were her friends.


==Cast==
==Cast==
Line 57: Line 60:
* [[Patrick Holt]] as Sergeant
* [[Patrick Holt]] as Sergeant
* [[Alan Bennion]] as Constable
* [[Alan Bennion]] as Constable
* [[John Levene]] as Constable
* [[John Levene]] as Constable
* [[Roy Evans (actor)|Roy Evans]] as Motorist
* [[Roy Evans (actor)|Roy Evans]] as motorist
* [[Bill Pertwee]] as Publican
* [[Bill Pertwee]] as publican
* [[Serretta Wilson]] as Stella
* [[Serretta Wilson]] as Stella
* [[Denis Carey (actor)|Denis Carey]] as Coroner's Assistant
* [[Denis Carey (actor)|Denis Carey]] as Coroner's assistant
* [[Lane Meddick]] as Mr. Pettibone
* [[Lane Meddick]] as Mr. Pettibone
* [[June Brown]] as Mrs. Pettibone
* [[June Brown]] as Mrs. Pettibone
* Fiona Kendall as Monica
* Fiona Kendall as Monica
* [[Martin Boddey]] as Coroner
* [[Martin Boddey]] as Coroner
* [[Heather Wright]] as Girl with Parcels
* [[Heather Wright]] as girl with parcels
* Penny Leatherbarrow as Woman in Police Station
* Penny Leatherbarrow as woman in police station
* [[Larry Taylor (actor)|Larry Taylor]] as Lorry driver (uncredited)
* [[Larry Taylor (actor)|Larry Taylor]] as lorry driver (uncredited)
}}
}}


==Production==
==Production==
===Background===
The film was produced by Benmar Productions, which predominately made [[Spaghetti Westerns]] in Spain but also produced ''[[Horror Express]]'' later that same year.<ref name="screem"/> (''Horror Express'' had the same writers as ''Psychomania''.)<ref>*{{cite magazine|magazine=Fangoria|url=https://archive.org/details/Fangoria_186_1999_Stir_Of_Echoes_HQS_c2c/page/n70|title=Riding the Horror Express |first=Mike |last=Hodges|issue=186 |date=September 1999|pages=70–75}}</ref> It was made in association with the company Scotia, who had director Don Sharp under long term contract.<ref>{{cite interview |last=Sharp |first=Don |subject-link= |interviewer=Teddy Darvas and Alan Lawson |title=Don Sharp Side 5|work= |date=2 November 1993 |publisher=History Project |location=London |url= https://historyproject.org.uk/interview/don-sharp|access-date=14 July 2021}}</ref>
''Psychomania'' was produced by Benmar Productions, best known for [[Spaghetti Westerns]] in Spain, but also made ''[[Horror Express]]'' later that same year,<ref name="screem"/> which shares the same writers.<ref>*{{cite magazine|magazine=Fangoria|url=https://archive.org/details/Fangoria_186_1999_Stir_Of_Echoes_HQS_c2c/page/n70|title=Riding the Horror Express |first=Mike |last=Hodges|issue=186 |date=September 1999|pages=70–75}}</ref> It was made in association with Scotia, who had director Don Sharp under long-term contract.<ref>{{cite interview |last=Sharp |first=Don |subject-link= |interviewer=Teddy Darvas and Alan Lawson |title=Don Sharp Side 5|work= |date=2 November 1993 |publisher=History Project |location=London |url= https://historyproject.org.uk/interview/don-sharp|access-date=14 July 2021}}</ref>


===Pre-production===
Nicky Henson said, "I was a mad motorcyclist," adding "I never had a car. So this script comes through the door and I open it up and it says, ‘Eight Chopped Hog Harley Davidsons crest the brow of a hill.’ I rang my agent and said, ‘I'll do it'."<ref name="nicky"/>
Star Henson said, "I was a mad motorcyclist," adding "I never had a car. So this script comes through the door and I open it up and it says, ‘Eight Chopped Hog Harley Davidsons crest the brow of a hill.’ I rang my agent and said, ‘I'll do it'."<ref name="nicky"/>


Henson said when he arrived on set he saw "eight clapped-out [[AJS 7R|350 AJS]]’ and [[Matchless]] [[B.S.A. Company|BSA]]s. I said, 'Where's the Harley Davidsons?’ They said, ‘You gotta be kidding!’ It's the only show I’ve ever been on where there were eight mechanics working the whole time to keep the bikes fanning because they got ’em in some second-hand shop somewhere and they were falling to bits."<ref name="nicky"/>
Henson said when he arrived on set he saw "eight clapped-out [[AJS 7R|350 AJS]]’ and [[Matchless]] [[B.S.A. Company|BSA]]s. I said, 'Where's the Harley Davidsons?’ They said, ‘You gotta be kidding!’ It's the only show I’ve ever been on where there were eight mechanics working the whole time to keep the bikes fanning because they got ’em in some second-hand shop somewhere and they were falling to bits."<ref name="nicky"/>


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Henson said the script was written by "two expatriate [[Communism|Communist]] sympathisers" and that Sanders' scenes were shot in ten days to save money as he was paid more than the rest of the cast.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Fangoria|first=Chris|last=Alexander|url=https://archive.org/details/Fangoria_297_2010/page/n15|title=Born to Be Undead: Psychomania|issue=297|date=October 2010}}</ref> Henson said Sanders "was great fun on the movie. We laughed and laughed and laughed and spoiled an awful lot of takes. I mean, it must have been a nightmare for the director because we were all so young and behaving so badly and realized that we were all working on something that was kind of peripheral, that would just disappear. But of course it hasn't. That's the weird and wonderful thing about it. People come up to me in the street and quote lines from it now."<ref name="nicky"/>
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Henson said he did all his stunts in the film except three. He says the stuntmen who performed these three were injured after each one.<ref name="nicky">{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/Rue_Morgue_106_Nov_2010/page/n48|magazine=Rue Morgue|date=November 2010|title=Hell Bent for Leather|first=Stuart|last=Andrews|page=49}}</ref>


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===Filming===
⚫
He said the script was written by "two expatriate Communist sympathisers" and that George Sanders' scenes were shot in ten days to save money as he was being paid more than anyone else in the cast.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Fangoria|first=Chris|last=Alexander|url=https://archive.org/details/Fangoria_297_2010/page/n15|title=Born to Be Undead: Psychomania|issue=297|date=October 2010}}</ref> Henson said Sanders "was great fun on the movie. We laughed and laughed and laughed and spoiled an awful lot of takes. I mean, it must have been a nightmare for the director because we were all so young and behaving so badly and realized that we were all working on something that was kind of peripheral, that would just disappear. But of course it hasn't. That's the weird and wonderful thing about it. People come up to me in the street and quote lines from it now."<ref name="nicky"/>
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Originally produced under the title ''The Living Dead'', [[principal photography]] took place at [[Shepperton Studios]] in 1971<ref name="screem">{{citation|last=Smith|first=Adrian |title=Psychomania |journal=Screem|volume=1|issue=32|pages=14–16| year=2016}}</ref> with some exterior scenes filmed in the (now demolished and rebuilt) Hepworth Way shopping centre and Wellington Close housing block in [[Walton-on-Thames]], [[Surrey]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://psychomania.bondle.co.uk/ |title=Psychomania Locations |publisher=Psychomania.bondle.co.uk |access-date=2014-03-04}}</ref> The stone circle was made for the film.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stone circles: 10 staggering standing-stones on screen |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/stone-circles-film |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=BFI |language=en}}</ref>


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Henson said he did all but three stunts. He says the performing stuntmen were injured following each one.<ref name="nicky">{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/Rue_Morgue_106_Nov_2010/page/n48|magazine=Rue Morgue|date=November 2010|title=Hell Bent for Leather|first=Stuart|last=Andrews|page=49}}</ref>
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Sanders committed suicide soon after making the film, putting an end to a period of life marked by heavy drug use, deterioration of the cerebellum and resultant speech problems.<ref>{{cite AV media notes|last=Fowler|first=William|title=The Last Movie: George Sanders And Psychomania|publisher=[[Arrow Video]]|page=12|year=2017|url=https://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=38667}}<!-- This is pretty weak url, but it is the best we have --></ref>


Director Don Sharp called the film "great fun to do, especially after doing several films in a row like ''[[The Violent Enemy]]''. It was a great change, geared for a younger audience as it was."<ref>Midnight p 18</ref> Sharp recalled Sanders as "a sad man... so lonely."<ref>{{cite interview |last=Sharp |first=Don |subject-link= |interviewer=Teddy Darvas and Alan Lawson |title=Don Sharp Side 6|work= |date=2 November 1993 |publisher=History Project |location=London |url= https://historyproject.org.uk/interview/don-sharp|access-date=14 July 2021}}</ref>
Director Sharp called the film "great fun to do, especially after doing several films in a row like ''[[The Violent Enemy]]'' (1969). It was a great change, geared for a younger audience as it was."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=The Midnight Writer|magazine=Fangoria|url=https://archive.org/details/Fangoria_031/page/n14|title=Sharp Turns|pages=14–18|issue=31|date=December 1983}} {{Dead link|date=March 2024}}</ref> Sharp recalled Sanders as "a sad man... so lonely."<ref>{{cite interview |last=Sharp |first=Don |subject-link= |interviewer=Teddy Darvas and Alan Lawson |title=Don Sharp Side 6|work= |date=2 November 1993 |publisher=History Project |location=London |url= https://historyproject.org.uk/interview/don-sharp|access-date=14 July 2021}}</ref>


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Sanders committed suicide soon after filming wrapped, putting an end to a period of life marked by heavy drug use, deterioration of the cerebellum and resultant speech problems.<ref>{{cite AV media notes|last=Fowler|first=William|title=The Last Movie: George Sanders And Psychomania|publisher=[[Arrow Video]]|page=12|year=2017|url=https://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=38667}}<!-- This is pretty weak url, but it is the best we have --></ref>
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===Shooting===
⚫
The film was originally shot under the title ''The Living Dead''. It was filmed at [[Shepperton Studios]] in 1971<ref name="screem">{{citation|last=Smith|first=Adrian |title=Psychomania |journal=Screem|volume=1|issue=32|pages=14–16| year=2016}}</ref> with some exterior scenes filmed in the (now demolished and rebuilt) Hepworth Way shopping centre and Wellington Close housing block in [[Walton-on-Thames]], [[Surrey]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://psychomania.bondle.co.uk/ |title=Psychomania Locations |publisher=Psychomania.bondle.co.uk |access-date=2014-03-04}}</ref>


===Soundtrack===
===Music===
The film's soundtrack, composed by [[John Cameron (musician)|John Cameron]], was released on LP and CD in 2003 by Trunk Records.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Psychomania-Frog/dp/B00009EFVF/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1390087836&sr=1-1&keywords=psychomania+soundtrack |title=Psychomania: Amazon.co.uk: Music |publisher=Amazon.co.uk |access-date=2014-03-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trunkrecords.com/turntable/psychomania.shtml |title=Psychomania |publisher=Trunkrecords.com |access-date=2014-03-04}}</ref>
The film's soundtrack, composed by [[John Cameron (musician)|John Cameron]], was released on LP and CD in 2003 by Trunk Records.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Psychomania-Frog/dp/B00009EFVF/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1390087836&sr=1-1&keywords=psychomania+soundtrack |title=Psychomania: Amazon.co.uk: Music |publisher=Amazon.co.uk |access-date=2014-03-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trunkrecords.com/turntable/psychomania.shtml |title=Psychomania |publisher=Trunkrecords.com |access-date=2014-03-04 |archive-date=29 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140129014737/http://www.trunkrecords.com/turntable/psychomania.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>


Cameron later said, "“I knew we needed a score that was spooky and different but had kind of a rock feeling to it and it was kind of pre-synthesizer... We had to use Shepperton's recording studios and it hadn't been updated since before the war. The hilarious thing is actually having these hooligan musicians all trying to do strange things, scratch inside pianos and turn sounds inside out, but the recording engineer still had a suit and tie on. It was so anachronistic."<ref name="nicky"/>
Cameron later said, "“I knew we needed a score that was spooky and different but had kind of a rock feeling to it and it was kind of pre-synthesizer... We had to use Shepperton's recording studios and it hadn't been updated since before the war. The hilarious thing is actually having these hooligan musicians all trying to do strange things, scratch inside pianos and turn sounds inside out, but the recording engineer still had a suit and tie on. It was so anachronistic."<ref name="nicky"/>


Two of Cameron's pieces from the score—"Witch Hunt (Title Theme from the Film Psychomania)" and "Living Dead (Theme from the Film Psychomania)"— were released in 1973 as a 7" single on the Jam label, using the artist name "Frog". This Frog record was reissued in 2011 by Spoke Records as a limited edition vinyl 7".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spokerecords.co.uk/releases_spk1202_frog.html |title=Spoke Releases: Home Page |publisher=Spokerecords.co.uk |access-date=2014-03-04}}</ref>
Two of Cameron's score pieces — "Witch Hunt (Title Theme from the Film Psychomania)" and "Living Dead (Theme from the Film Psychomania)" — were released in 1973 as a 7" single on the Jam label, using the artist name "Frog". This Frog record was reissued in 2011 by Spoke Records as a limited edition vinyl 7".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spokerecords.co.uk/releases_spk1202_frog.html |title=Spoke Releases: Home Page |publisher=Spokerecords.co.uk |access-date=2014-03-04}}</ref>


==Reception==
== Reception ==
The initial reception was mixed (one reviewer for the London Times even wrote that the film was only fit to be shown at an "SS reunion party"), but over time, the film has come to be more highly regarded.<ref name="screem"/> It holds a rating of 86% at ''[[Rotten Tomatoes]]'' based on 7 reviews.<ref>{{rotten-tomatoes|id=1016879-psychomania}}</ref>
The initial reception was mixed (one reviewer for ''[[The Times]]'' even wrote that the film was only fit to be shown at an "SS reunion party"), but over time, the film has come to be more highly regarded.<ref name="screem"/> It holds a rating of 86% at ''[[Rotten Tomatoes]]'' based on 7 reviews.<ref>{{rotten-tomatoes|id=1016879-psychomania}}</ref>


''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote: <blockquote>Although a few moments (the shimmering, ghostly credits sequence, with the motorcyclists silently encircling the druid stones) recall the gloomy beauty of his earlier films, Sharp has wisely decided to treat his material here as black comedy rather than horror. He is careful not to let the tone slip into farce and to keep the action as realistic as possible; and the result of his poker-faced direction is that a ludicrous plot&nbsp;... emerges as both innovatory and humorously macabre. The film has its limitations (it was evidently made on a modest budget), but it develops its central idea with enjoyable consistency and sometimes achieves images of startling comic originality&nbsp;... Sharp's talent for stunt-work also ensures that the gang's hell-raising activities are convincingly exciting, and the kids' joyous obsession with death sometimes seems like an eerie extension of the whole Hell's Angel ethic (itself prefigured in Cocteau's representation of death as a black-leathered motorcyclist in Orphée). ''Psychomania'' is at its worst when attempting to delineate the motorcycle gang as individuals, and this makes the beginning rather heavy going.&nbsp;... But once the plot takes over, the action is sufficiently well handled to make up for these inadequacies.&nbsp;... Hopefully, we won't have to wait another six years for Sharp's next venture in the field.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1973 |title=Psychomania |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305830737 |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=40 |issue=468 |pages=82 |id={{ProQuest|1305830737}} |via=ProQuest}}</ref></blockquote>''The [[Radio Times]] Guide to Films'' gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "This British horror cheapie is so ridiculous it works. For much of the time this psychedelic zombie biker frightener is utter drivel, but director Don Sharp throws in some cracking scenes, notably the one in which leader of the gang Nicky Henson rises from the grave, bike and all. Henson has a hoot as the Angel from Hell, and he is superbly supported by Bery Reid as his devil-worshipping mum and George Sanders as his ghoulish butler."<ref>{{Cite book |title=Radio Times Guide to Films |publisher=[[Immediate Media Company]] |year=2017 |isbn=9780992936440 |edition=18th |location=London |pages=744}}</ref>
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Henson said "At that time, I thought if you do dodgy films, nobody pays to see dodgy films. Of course, you're not realizing that years later they come out on DVD and become 'cults'."<ref name=nicky/> However, film historian/director Bruce G. Hallenback stated that the film has a cult following in a book published before it was released on DVD.<ref>{{cite book|title=Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History, 1914-2008 |url=https://archive.org/details/comedyhorrorfilm00hall|url-access=limited |last=Hallenbeck |first=Bruce G.|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|year=2009 |isbn=9780786453788 |pages=93–94}}</ref>


[[Leslie Halliwell]] said: "Arrant nonsense of the macabre sort, sometimes irresistably amusing."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Halliwell |first=Leslie |title=Halliwell's Film Guide |publisher=Paladin |year=1989 |isbn=0586088946 |edition=7th |location=London |pages=822}}</ref>
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''[[Shock Till You Drop]]'' called the film "a great one-shot horror movie filled with weird, sometimes eerie atmosphere, crazy stunt work, cheeky performances, mild kink and a unique charm all its own".<ref>{{cite web|last=Alexander|first=Chris|title=Psychomania Blu-ray Review|url=https://comingsoon.net/dvd/blu-ray-releases/reviews/817741-psychomania-blu-ray-review#/slide/1|publisher=[[Shock Till You Drop]]|date=23 February 2017|access-date=23 February 2017}}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called it "a low-budget, well-done shocker with a tightly-knit plot and a believable surprise ending".<ref>{{cite web|title=Review: 'Psychomania'|url=https://variety.com/1963/film/reviews/psychomania-1200420573/|publisher=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=31 December 1963|access-date=23 February 2017}}</ref>'' [[Nerdist Industries|Nerdist]]'' called it "very effective thanks to the mixture of heavy action, moody guitar music, and dreamy visuals."<ref>{{cite web|last=Anderson|first=Kyle|title=Schlock & Awe: PSYCHOMANIA|url=http://nerdist.com/schlock-awe-psychomania-horror-zombies-arrow-video/|publisher=[[Nerdist Industries|Nerdist]]|date=23 February 2017|access-date=23 February 2017}}</ref>


⚫
''[[Shock Till You Drop]]'' called the film "a great one-shot horror movie filled with weird, sometimes eerie atmosphere, crazy stunt work, cheeky performances, mild kink and a unique charm all its own".<ref>{{cite web|last=Alexander|first=Chris|title=Psychomania Blu-ray Review|url=https://comingsoon.net/dvd/blu-ray-releases/reviews/817741-psychomania-blu-ray-review#/slide/1|publisher=[[Shock Till You Drop]]|date=23 February 2017|access-date=23 February 2017}}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called it "a low-budget, well-done shocker with a tightly-knit plot and a believable surprise ending".<ref>{{cite web|title=Review: 'Psychomania'|url=https://variety.com/1963/film/reviews/psychomania-1200420573/|publisher=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=31 December 1963|access-date=23 February 2017}}</ref>'' [[Nerdist Industries|Nerdist]]'' called it "very effective thanks to the mixture of heavy action, moody guitar music, and dreamy visuals."<ref>{{cite web|last=Anderson|first=Kyle|title=Schlock & Awe: PSYCHOMANIA|url=http://nerdist.com/schlock-awe-psychomania-horror-zombies-arrow-video/|publisher=[[Nerdist Industries|Nerdist]]|date=23 February 2017|access-date=23 February 2017|archive-date=24 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224060551/http://nerdist.com/schlock-awe-psychomania-horror-zombies-arrow-video/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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==Home media==
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[[Severin Films]] released a restored print on DVD in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|title=PSYCHOMANIA STREETS TODAY, PRESS ROUND-UP PART 1|url=https://severin-films.com/psychomania-streets-today-press-round-up-part-1/|publisher=[[Severin Films]]|date=26 December 2010|access-date=23 February 2017}}</ref>


⚫
Henson said "At that time, I thought if you do dodgy films, nobody pays to see dodgy films. Of course, you're not realizing that years later they come out on DVD and become 'cults'."<ref name="nicky" /> However, film historian/director Bruce G. Hallenback stated in a book published before it was released on DVD that the film already had a cult following.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hallenbeck |first=Bruce G. |url=https://archive.org/details/comedyhorrorfilm00hall |title=Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History, 1914-2008 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |year=2009 |isbn=9780786453788 |pages=93–94 |url-access=limited}}</ref>
⚫
[[BFI Flipside]] released a dual-format [[Blu-ray]]/DVD edition in the EU on 26 September 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://shop.bfi.org.uk/pre-order-psychomania-flipside-033.html#.Xb2hJiWnzYU|title=Buy Psychomania (Flipside 033) (Dual Format Edition) - Shop|website=shop.bfi.org.uk|access-date=2019-11-02}}</ref>

⚫
== Home media ==
⚫
[[Severin Films]] released a restored print on DVD in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|title=PSYCHOMANIA STREETS TODAY, PRESS ROUND-UP PART 1|url=https://severin-films.com/psychomania-streets-today-press-round-up-part-1/|publisher=[[Severin Films]]|date=26 December 2010|access-date=23 February 2017|archive-date=24 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224055950/https://severin-films.com/psychomania-streets-today-press-round-up-part-1/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2024, Severin included the film on the first disc in its [[folk horror]] Blu-ray collection ''All the Haunts Be Ours, Volume Two'', sourced from a [[4K resolution|4K]] scan of the original camera negative.

⚫
[[BFI Flipside]] released a dual-format [[Blu-ray]]/DVD edition in the EU on 26 September 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://shop.bfi.org.uk/pre-order-psychomania-flipside-033.html#.Xb2hJiWnzYU|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805065342/http://shop.bfi.org.uk/pre-order-psychomania-flipside-033.html#.Xb2hJiWnzYU|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 August 2016|title=Buy Psychomania (Flipside 033) (Dual Format Edition) - Shop|website=shop.bfi.org.uk|access-date=2019-11-02}}</ref>


[[Arrow Films]] released a dual-format [[Blu-ray]]/DVD edition in the USA on 22 February 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=NEW US TITLE: Psychomania Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD|url=https://www.facebook.com/ArrowVideo/photos/a.157131957654140.32409.124795987554404/1350107875023203/?type=3&theater|publisher=[[Facebook]]|date=11 November 2016 |access-date=23 February 2017}}</ref>
[[Arrow Films]] released a dual-format [[Blu-ray]]/DVD edition in the USA on 22 February 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=NEW US TITLE: Psychomania Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD|url=https://www.facebook.com/ArrowVideo/photos/a.157131957654140.32409.124795987554404/1350107875023203/?type=3&theater|publisher=[[Facebook]]|date=11 November 2016 |access-date=23 February 2017}}</ref>
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== References ==
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

==Notes==
*{{cite magazine|last=The Midnight Writer|magazine=Fangoria|url=https://archive.org/details/Fangoria_031/page/n14|title=Sharp Turns|pages=14–18|issue=31|date=December 1983}}


==External links==
==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0067630}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0067630}}
* {{Amg movie|153751}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|id=1016879-psychomania}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|id=1016879-psychomania}}
*[https://letterboxd.com/film/psychomania/ Psychomania] at Letterbox DVD
*[https://letterboxd.com/film/psychomania/ Psychomania] at Letterbox DVD
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[[Category:Outlaw biker films]]
[[Category:Outlaw biker films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Don Sharp]]
[[Category:Films directed by Don Sharp]]
[[Category:Films scored by John Cameron]]
[[Category:Films scored by John Cameron (musician)]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Arnaud d'Usseau]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Arnaud d'Usseau]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
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[[Category:Films about deities]]
[[Category:Films about deities]]
[[Category:Films about frogs]]
[[Category:Films about frogs]]
[[Category:Films about mother–son relationships]]
[[Category:Films about filicide]]
[[Category:Films about undead]]
[[Category:English-language horror films]]

Latest revision as of 04:26, 22 December 2024

This article is about the 1973 British film. For the 1963 American film also released under this title, see Violent Midnight. For the song, see Psychomania (song). For the record label, see Psychomania Records.

Psychomania
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDon Sharp
Screenplay by
Produced byAndrew Donally
Starring
CinematographyTed Moore
Edited byRichard Best
Music byJohn Cameron
Production
company
Benmar Productions
Distributed byScotia-Barber Distributors
Release date
  • 1973 (1973)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Psychomania (U.S. title:The Death Wheelers)[1] is a 1973 British outlaw biker supernatural horror film directed by Don Sharp, and starring Nicky Henson, Beryl Reid, George Sanders (in his final film), and Robert Hardy.[2][3][4]

The plot follows the adolescent leader of a biker gang, who has started practicing black magic. After meeting the Frog God, which his mother worships, the leader commits suicide on his 18th birthday. His mother resurrects him as one of the undead, and the process grants superhuman abilities to the boy. He proceeds to turn most of his gang into fellow undead, but his mother petrifies them all in a magic ritual.

Plot

[edit]

Tom Latham, an amiable psychopath, is the leader of a violent youth gang named The Living Dead, which includes his girlfriend Abby. Tom dabbles in black magic and spends much of his free time at an ancient Surrey countryside ruin known as The Seven Witches, a Stonehenge-like circle of standing stones. In a similar vein, his mother and her sinister butler Shadwell get their kicks out of holding séances in their home while they worship the Frog God. Tom's father vanished in a mysterious room shortly after Tom's birth, a room Tom enters on his eighteenth birthday and where he sees the Frog God.

This incident leads to Tom committing suicide and, with his mother's help, returns from the dead. Being one of the undead means that Tom cannot be killed and has superhuman strength, which he demonstrates when he massacres those at a local pub. One by one, his fellow bikers commit suicide with the goal of returning as one of the "undead", gathering at The Seven Witches to plan their campaign of terror against the locals. Only Abby refuses to participate.

Police Chief Inspector Hesseltine is overwhelmed by the crime wave committed by bikers who are known to be dead; believing that someone is stealing the corpses of the dead bikers, he releases a false report that Abby has died. Hesseltine and his force plan to trap the culprit when he shows up to claim Abby. The Living Dead kill the policemen, while seizing Abby. However, Tom's mother, disgusted with her son's crimes, decides to break her bargain with the Frog God.

The gang tell Abby to commit suicide, but she again refuses, instead shooting Tom, who is immune. As Tom prepares to kill Abby, his mother performs a ritual that breaks the pact. Tom's mother is transformed into a frog while the undead bikers are turned into stone, becoming new statues at The Seven Witches. Abby is left alone, surrounded by those that once were her friends.

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

Background

[edit]

Psychomania was produced by Benmar Productions, best known for Spaghetti Westerns in Spain, but also made Horror Express later that same year,[5] which shares the same writers.[6] It was made in association with Scotia, who had director Don Sharp under long-term contract.[7]

Pre-production

[edit]

Star Henson said, "I was a mad motorcyclist," adding "I never had a car. So this script comes through the door and I open it up and it says, ‘Eight Chopped Hog Harley Davidsons crest the brow of a hill.’ I rang my agent and said, ‘I'll do it'."[8]

Henson said when he arrived on set he saw "eight clapped-out 350 AJS’ and Matchless BSAs. I said, 'Where's the Harley Davidsons?’ They said, ‘You gotta be kidding!’ It's the only show I’ve ever been on where there were eight mechanics working the whole time to keep the bikes fanning because they got ’em in some second-hand shop somewhere and they were falling to bits."[8]

Henson said the script was written by "two expatriate Communist sympathisers" and that Sanders' scenes were shot in ten days to save money as he was paid more than the rest of the cast.[9] Henson said Sanders "was great fun on the movie. We laughed and laughed and laughed and spoiled an awful lot of takes. I mean, it must have been a nightmare for the director because we were all so young and behaving so badly and realized that we were all working on something that was kind of peripheral, that would just disappear. But of course it hasn't. That's the weird and wonderful thing about it. People come up to me in the street and quote lines from it now."[8]

Filming

[edit]

Originally produced under the title The Living Dead, principal photography took place at Shepperton Studios in 1971[5] with some exterior scenes filmed in the (now demolished and rebuilt) Hepworth Way shopping centre and Wellington Close housing block in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.[10] The stone circle was made for the film.[11]

Henson said he did all but three stunts. He says the performing stuntmen were injured following each one.[8]

Director Sharp called the film "great fun to do, especially after doing several films in a row like The Violent Enemy (1969). It was a great change, geared for a younger audience as it was."[12] Sharp recalled Sanders as "a sad man... so lonely."[13]

Sanders committed suicide soon after filming wrapped, putting an end to a period of life marked by heavy drug use, deterioration of the cerebellum and resultant speech problems.[14]

Music

[edit]

The film's soundtrack, composed by John Cameron, was released on LP and CD in 2003 by Trunk Records.[15][16]

Cameron later said, "“I knew we needed a score that was spooky and different but had kind of a rock feeling to it and it was kind of pre-synthesizer... We had to use Shepperton's recording studios and it hadn't been updated since before the war. The hilarious thing is actually having these hooligan musicians all trying to do strange things, scratch inside pianos and turn sounds inside out, but the recording engineer still had a suit and tie on. It was so anachronistic."[8]

Two of Cameron's score pieces — "Witch Hunt (Title Theme from the Film Psychomania)" and "Living Dead (Theme from the Film Psychomania)" — were released in 1973 as a 7" single on the Jam label, using the artist name "Frog". This Frog record was reissued in 2011 by Spoke Records as a limited edition vinyl 7".[17]

Reception

[edit]

The initial reception was mixed (one reviewer for The Times even wrote that the film was only fit to be shown at an "SS reunion party"), but over time, the film has come to be more highly regarded.[5] It holds a rating of 86% at Rotten Tomatoes based on 7 reviews.[18]

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote:

Although a few moments (the shimmering, ghostly credits sequence, with the motorcyclists silently encircling the druid stones) recall the gloomy beauty of his earlier films, Sharp has wisely decided to treat his material here as black comedy rather than horror. He is careful not to let the tone slip into farce and to keep the action as realistic as possible; and the result of his poker-faced direction is that a ludicrous plot ... emerges as both innovatory and humorously macabre. The film has its limitations (it was evidently made on a modest budget), but it develops its central idea with enjoyable consistency and sometimes achieves images of startling comic originality ... Sharp's talent for stunt-work also ensures that the gang's hell-raising activities are convincingly exciting, and the kids' joyous obsession with death sometimes seems like an eerie extension of the whole Hell's Angel ethic (itself prefigured in Cocteau's representation of death as a black-leathered motorcyclist in Orphée). Psychomania is at its worst when attempting to delineate the motorcycle gang as individuals, and this makes the beginning rather heavy going. ... But once the plot takes over, the action is sufficiently well handled to make up for these inadequacies. ... Hopefully, we won't have to wait another six years for Sharp's next venture in the field.[19]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "This British horror cheapie is so ridiculous it works. For much of the time this psychedelic zombie biker frightener is utter drivel, but director Don Sharp throws in some cracking scenes, notably the one in which leader of the gang Nicky Henson rises from the grave, bike and all. Henson has a hoot as the Angel from Hell, and he is superbly supported by Bery Reid as his devil-worshipping mum and George Sanders as his ghoulish butler."[20]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Arrant nonsense of the macabre sort, sometimes irresistably amusing."[21]

Shock Till You Drop called the film "a great one-shot horror movie filled with weird, sometimes eerie atmosphere, crazy stunt work, cheeky performances, mild kink and a unique charm all its own".[22] Variety called it "a low-budget, well-done shocker with a tightly-knit plot and a believable surprise ending".[23] Nerdist called it "very effective thanks to the mixture of heavy action, moody guitar music, and dreamy visuals."[24]

Henson said "At that time, I thought if you do dodgy films, nobody pays to see dodgy films. Of course, you're not realizing that years later they come out on DVD and become 'cults'."[8] However, film historian/director Bruce G. Hallenback stated in a book published before it was released on DVD that the film already had a cult following.[25]

Home media

[edit]

Severin Films released a restored print on DVD in 2010.[26] In 2024, Severin included the film on the first disc in its folk horror Blu-ray collection All the Haunts Be Ours, Volume Two, sourced from a 4K scan of the original camera negative.

BFI Flipside released a dual-format Blu-ray/DVD edition in the EU on 26 September 2016.[27]

Arrow Films released a dual-format Blu-ray/DVD edition in the USA on 22 February 2017.[28]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hischak, Thomas S. (2015). The Encyclopedia of Film Composers. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 115. ISBN 978-1442245495.
  2. ^ "Psychomania". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  3. ^ PSYCHOMANIA Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 40, Iss. 468, (Jan 1, 1973): 82.
  4. ^ Vagg, Stephen (27 July 2019). "Unsung Aussie Filmmakers: Don Sharp – A Top 25". Filmink.
  5. ^ a b c Smith, Adrian (2016), "Psychomania", Screem, 1 (32): 14–16
  6. ^ *Hodges, Mike (September 1999). "Riding the Horror Express". Fangoria. No. 186. pp. 70–75.
  7. ^ Sharp, Don (2 November 1993). "Don Sharp Side 5" (Interview). Interviewed by Teddy Darvas and Alan Lawson. London: History Project. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Andrews, Stuart (November 2010). "Hell Bent for Leather". Rue Morgue. p. 49.
  9. ^ Alexander, Chris (October 2010). "Born to Be Undead: Psychomania". Fangoria. No. 297.
  10. ^ "Psychomania Locations". Psychomania.bondle.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  11. ^ "Stone circles: 10 staggering standing-stones on screen". BFI. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  12. ^ The Midnight Writer (December 1983). "Sharp Turns". Fangoria. No. 31. pp. 14–18. [dead link‍]
  13. ^ Sharp, Don (2 November 1993). "Don Sharp Side 6" (Interview). Interviewed by Teddy Darvas and Alan Lawson. London: History Project. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  14. ^ Fowler, William (2017). The Last Movie: George Sanders And Psychomania (Media notes). Arrow Video. p. 12.
  15. ^ "Psychomania: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  16. ^ "Psychomania". Trunkrecords.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  17. ^ "Spoke Releases: Home Page". Spokerecords.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  18. ^ Psychomania at Rotten Tomatoes
  19. ^ "Psychomania". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 40 (468): 82. 1 January 1973. ProQuest 1305830737 – via ProQuest.
  20. ^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 744. ISBN 9780992936440.
  21. ^ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 822. ISBN 0586088946.
  22. ^ Alexander, Chris (23 February 2017). "Psychomania Blu-ray Review". Shock Till You Drop. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  23. ^ "Review: 'Psychomania'". Variety. 31 December 1963. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  24. ^ Anderson, Kyle (23 February 2017). "Schlock & Awe: PSYCHOMANIA". Nerdist. Archived from the original on 24 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  25. ^ Hallenbeck, Bruce G. (2009). Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History, 1914-2008. McFarland & Company. pp. 93–94. ISBN 9780786453788.
  26. ^ "PSYCHOMANIA STREETS TODAY, PRESS ROUND-UP PART 1". Severin Films. 26 December 2010. Archived from the original on 24 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  27. ^ "Buy Psychomania (Flipside 033) (Dual Format Edition) - Shop". shop.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  28. ^ "NEW US TITLE: Psychomania Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD". Facebook. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
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