Psychos in Love (1987)

Psychos in Love Film Details

Overview: A strip-joint owner and a manicurist find that they have many things in common, the foremost being that they are psychotic serial killers. They fall in love and are happy being the family that slays together, until one day they come

Tagline: Love hurts…

Review: After reading the reviews on this film, there isn’t much to say in a review that hasn’t been said. What I will note, however, is that Psychos In Love is a perfect example of how budget constraints shouldn’t determine the worth of a film. Considering Psychos was made for (an estimated) $75k, I was more entertained with the film than some movies with 1000 times the budget! Yes…1000 times (ie $75 million). What makes it so good? Let’s talk content. * first and foremost, the script is fantastic. It should be noted that nothing in this movie takes itself too seriously. It was made to be schlocky, hokey, corny, campy…whatever you want to call it. The one-liners are abundant and rapid fire, often coming like bullets from an automatic weapon – one after another in rapid succession. This illustrates how connected the writers were to cultural milieu of the time (mid 80’s) and lemme tell you…some of the puns are downright hilarious, even the ones done as subtlety as the day is long. The most impressive aspect of these hilariously witty quips is that they don’t happen the same way, twice in a row. Examples could be as subtle as lines that play off a shampoo commercial with no interruption in dialog, all the way up to a character looking straight in the camera like a vaudevillian mage. If you were born late or weren’t “with it” or connected in the 80’s, there’s a good chance you’ll miss some of this, but make no mistake…what might appear as bad acting or bad writing is most certainly intentional. * speaking of actors, in my opinion the two leads are simply Divine! (<- it's puns like this that make it fun) I can see how some folks find their acting to be wooden or just plain bad, but much like the script, these folks were picked for a reason, and they not only perform well in their own rights, but they are even better when paired in dialog. They play off each other as well as puppies in litter - naturally. Their timing is amazing, their ability to BE psycho killers and tell the other this while looking deeply in to his/her eyes is as convincing as it gets, and they just look like they're having fun! That is a recipe for the chemistry missing from so many low budget films. My personal opinion is that the man's performance is slightly better, but that only serves to improve on an already good product. Do I think these are Oscar worthy performances? Oh heavens no. And I'm fact, if you put either of these two folks in a big budget production they would likely fail, but for Psychos In Love they are perfect. * as for the directing, I'll keep it short and say that appreciates everything about it. Nicely used musical interludes, effective use of both closeups and pans. Interesting angles, and a great command of character performance and using it as an advantage during the campier scenes. Very well done. * did I mention how good the script is? Not everything is great. While there nothing I truly despised, the editing and post production could be better, as well as the special fx, but in some ways what is lacking in these areas makes the movie more endearing as to what it is: a low budget horror campfest. Overall, this was just a pleasure to watch. For all the flicks I've watched over the years, I cannot figure out how this one slipped through the cracks. Thankfully, it was un-cracked! This will definitely be one I buy, as this type of humor is the kind that never ages, and can be watched over and over. Notes on parental content: * quite a bit of profanity. I mean, come on...this is basically an exploitation flick that includes serial killers, cannibals, nude dancers, and a bar. * there is nothing intense or scary about this film. While it is listed as a horror flick, it's really a comedy film with a horror theme. * lots of drinking and smoking, as well as drug connotations. Half the movie takes place in a bar. * loads of nudity!!! Countless topless women inside the strip club, several individual scenes of nudity and sexual situations, and one or two near-full frontal shots of women. This is the exploitative aspect I mentioned above and it is indeed gratuitous...thankfully 😉 * there is killing in the film, so I guess technically it is violent, but it's all done in a campy manner. Same with the gore. The blood is definitely not a realistic color, and the body parts are intentionally fake, but it's done in a way that adds to the entire package. Probably 8-10 killings. It would have been great to have better practical fx, but only because I'm a gorehound. The "fakeness" has no negative impact on the movie. Unless you simply can't stand the thought of killing, anybody could watch these scenes and not feel grossed out. So there you have it. I'm definitely a fan of this movie. It's certainly not for everyone, but if you: * like campy horror * appreciate comedic witticism * grew up in it just before the 80's, or * simply like low budget indie flicks ...you will definitely have fun with Psychos In Love

Country: United States

Language: English

Duration: 88 min

Genre: Comedy, Horror

Also known as: Влюбленные психопаты,Psychos in Love,Zakochani psychopaci,Amor asesino,Végzetes vágyak bárja