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

Pete Walker had known Lynne Frederick since she was 14 (through Lynne's mother, Iris). But this was their first, and only time, working together on a film.

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Goofs

In the introductory voice over, schizophrenia is likened to multiple personality disorder (or dissociative identity disorder). In reality, these are two entirely different ailments, one being a disruption in a person's perception of reality (schizophrenia) and the other a disconnect between more than one personality state (DID).

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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 Psycho (1960)

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Soundtracks

Arkala
(uncredited)
Music by Jim Lawless
Standard Music Library Ltd

User Reviews

"Time for the reckoning Jean."

British cult film-maker Pete Walker's "Schizo" is quite a blunt, if nastily grimy little psycho shocker (with giallo touches) that doesn't provide much in the way of story surprises, but cements a growing sense of unease that's broken up by constant its unpleasantness.

Samantha is an international ice-skater who's about to marry. This should be a happy time in her life; however she gets the feeling that someone is stalking her. Someone from her past, she would like to forget about. However that's hard to do when dead bodies start piling up and she believes it to be the man that slashed her mother to death, but no one seems to believe her.

The ensemble cast bestows some strong performances, especially in its support with standouts like the gorgeous Stephanie Beacham and a cynical John Frazer. Even Jack Watson had a creepy presence about him. A sound turn by Lynne Frederick in the lead covering a neurotic side and John Leyton is acceptable as her husband. Walker sturdily strings together the taut set-pieces with his leering, but expressive camera-work. The narrative keeps everything rather shady, building an edgy psychological imprint with its stalk and slash structure. The script stays interesting (despite never being too revealing) and playing around with a sense of paranoia (stress used as an excuse), but the red herrings are too obvious to be effective, so when it comes to the double whammy it doesn't pack much of a blow or is particularly credible. Stanley Myers' unhinged music score is jaunty, but extremely haunting and disorienting in its spells.

Nice cover artwork on the VHS case, but it does give a subtle clue to where the story might just head.

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