Psychomania (1973)

Director:

Don Sharp

Writers:

Julian Zimet (writer)
Arnaud d'Usseau (writer)

Release Date:

January 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Ride with the Living Dead!

Plot:

A Gang of young people call themselves the Living Dead. They terrorise the population from their small town...

Plot Keywords:

Suicide | Bullfrog | Mother Son Relationship | Back From The Dead | Eyeglasses

Cast

Nicky Henson	...	Tom Latham
Mary Larkin	...	Abby Holman
Ann Michelle	...	Jane Pettibone
Roy Holder	...	Bertram
Denis Gilmore	...	Hatchet
Miles Greenwood	...	Chopped Meat
Peter Whitting	...	Gash
Rocky Taylor	...	Hinky
Robert Hardy	...	Chief Inspector Hesseltine
Patrick Holt	...	Sergeant
Alan Bennion	...	Constable
John Levene	...	Constable
Beryl Reid	...	Mrs. Latham
George Sanders	...	Shadwell
Jacki Webb	...	Mother

Also Known As:

Death Wheelers Are... Psycho Maniacs (Australia) (video box title)
The Death Wheelers (USA)
The Frog
The Living Dead

Runtime:

85 min (theatrical version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:X | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Benmar Productions

Trivia:

For the shot where Tom rides through the brick wall on his motorcycle, a Styrofoam wall was build and painted to look like brick. When the stunt was first performed with the fake wall the motorcycle shot through the structure but the rider was knocked off the cycle.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: One of the chase scenes where the bikes are followed around a road, pre 1959 road markings are seen. While it is possible older style UK road markings were still in existence in 1972, they would not have been on main roads. This probably confirms that the road used was a test track for motor vehicles rather than national highways.

Quotes:

Chief Inspector Hesseltine: From the look of those skidmarks, something must have forced him over. Did you get anything out of the witnesses?
Sergeant: Yes sir. Exactly the same story from all of them. Two motorcyclists jabbing at his tyre with a knife.
Chief Inspector Hesseltine: Any identification?
Sergeant: Yeah, The Living Dead again.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dellamorte Dellamore (1994)

Soundtrack:

Riding Free

weak Script, apathetic acting, but strangely entertaining

This film is hindered by a weak script and quite apathetic acting, but somehow it's ridiculousness makes the film work. Unintentionally Psychomania is an amusing farce, the story of a group of bikers who discover the secret of eternal life, and intend to use this gift for nefarious purposes. The gang themselves are meant to be hardened troublemakers, but the scene where they descend on a town to cause mayhem, is hilarious. I would have thought the Girl Guides could cause more trouble. Saying that, the film has some wonderful one liners, and there is fun to be had in watching this oddball of a movie. Best of all is the sequence where the bikers all commit suicide in order to return as invincible, not for them a simple death the varied ways are way overelaborate and funny. Biker Horror is an odd genre, but the film is great fun and worth a look. Finally, the film does has a cracking soundtrack, a strange blend of gothic high pitched keyboards and hip wah wah guitar, that is always lurking and ably partnering the high jinks on the screen.