Schizo (1976)

A newly married woman becomes convinced someone from her past is stalking her, but nobody believes her until the bodies start to pile up.

Director:

Pete Walker

Writer:

David McGillivray (screenplay)

Stars:

Lynne Frederick, John Leyton, Stephanie Beacham

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lynne Frederick	...	Samantha
John Leyton	...	Alan Falconer
Stephanie Beacham	...	Beth
John Fraser	...	Leonard
Jack Watson	...	William Haskin
Queenie Watts	...	Mrs. Wallace
Trisha Mortimer	...	Joy
Paul Alexander	...	Peter McAllister
Robert Mill	...	Maitre d'
Colin Jeavons	...	Commissioner
Victor Winding	...	Sergeant
Raymond Bowers	...	Manager
Pearl Hackney	...	Lady at Seance
Terry Duggan	...	Editor
Lindsay Campbell	...	Falconer

Storyline

Samantha and Alan are getting married, but William Haskins isn't pleased. He grabs a train south to London and begins shadowing Samantha as she tries to get on with married life. Haskins' attempts to frighten her drive Samantha to desperation, but she's having trouble convincing anyone that she's being stalked. Even her psychiatrist dismisses her concerns as part of her neurosis. As bodies begin turning up, Samantha's story becomes more believable, and her dark secret from the past begins to reveal itself.

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Plot Keywords:

giallo | psychotronic film | grindhouse film | multiple personality disorder | starts with a definition | 

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Taglines:

Schizophrenia... When the left hand doesn't know who the right hand is killing!!

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lynne Frederick's biggest starring role.

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Goofs

The first establishing shot, vaguely captioned North East England doesn't make any sense when paired with the next establishing shot. The first is of the Transporter Bridge on the River Tees, the next - suggesting Haskin lives in Newcastle - is the Swing Bridge on the River Tyne, about 40 miles away.

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Alternate Versions

The original UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to edit the stabbing of a naked woman during the flashback scene. However additional cuts were made (totalling 1 min 3 secs) for the video release with further edits to the same scene plus cuts to the hammer murder, a sex scene and the stabbing of Mrs Wallace through the head with a knitting needle. The 2008 Redemption DVD is fully uncut.

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Connections

References Deep Red (1975)

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Soundtracks

Natch
(uncredited)
Music by Martin Kershaw, Harry Rabinowitz, Dave Richmond and Ronnie Verrell
Performed by Midas Touch
Standard Music Library Ltd

User Reviews

OK exploitation from director Pete Walker

SCHIZO

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Mono

A young figure skater (Lynne Frederick) is stalked by a convicted killer (Jack Watson), recently paroled from prison, whose appearance coincides with a series of vicious murders.

Typical entry from British sleaze specialist Pete Walker (FRIGHTMARE), taking its cue from the giallo shockers popular throughout continental Europe at the time. Less confrontational than some of Walker's previous outings ("It was less Gothique... I wanted less incident and outrage," he explained to journalist Alan Jones in 1983), SCHIZO still delivers the gory goods, though it takes rather too long to work up a decent head of steam. Climactic dividends are reaped by a steady accumulation of narrative details, but individual scenes are somewhat labored, not helped by Frederick's lack of presence in the leading role. By contrast, Stephanie Beacham (DRACULA A.D. 1972) is utterly charming as a family friend who turns detective when Frederick identifies Watson as her stalker - had the roles been reversed, this could have been a small masterpiece of psychological horror. Other stand-outs include veteran character actor Watson (recognizable from brief appearances in countless British movies, here given a much weightier role than usual), and a bearded John Fraser ("The Trials of Oscar Wilde") as a psychiatrist who pays the price for digging too deeply into the circumstances surrounding the death of Frederick's mother.

Aware of his own directorial limitations, Walker always allowed clever scriptwork to dictate his method, but he was no hack, as SCHIZO ably demonstrates. Here, his point-and-shoot style is punctuated by moments of genuine visual dexterity, such as the circling of a pen on a newspaper article which gives way (via dissolve) to a spinning ice-skater, or the truly unsettling séance during which medium Trisha Mortimer manifests physical signs of possession by one of the killer's former victims. The subsequent murders are blunt and bloody, with no pretence to subtlety. Peter Jessop's artful cinematography and Chris Burke's sensitive art direction make a virtue of the film's seedy locations, and while a good fifteen minutes could have been cut from the overlong narrative (most of the film's highlights are confined to the second half), editor Alan Brett manages to streamline an increasingly complicated scenario with some degree of panache.

Screenwriter David McGillivray parted company with Walker after this one, due partly to the quality of the script (based on an old work by Murray Smith, author of Walker's earlier films), which McGillivray felt was too transparent, and rendered the killer's identity obvious from the outset. Maybe so, but some of the climactic revelations still pack a hell of a punch. Bottom line: If you're a fan of Walker's output or British exploitation in general, you'll overlook the film's slow-burning tempo and enjoy its outlandish plot developments. Worth a look.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

March 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amok

Filming Locations:

King's Cross Station, King's Cross, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Peter Walker (Heritage) Ltd.

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1