{"id":1801,"date":"2006-11-23T14:37:06","date_gmt":"2006-11-23T21:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1801"},"modified":"2021-01-05T18:20:45","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T01:20:45","slug":"homicidal-1961","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1801","title":{"rendered":"Homicidal (1961)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;It&#8217;s only when hate is dammed up that it breaks out in murder!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Poster-196x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-61826\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Poster-196x300.png 196w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Poster-671x1024.png 671w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Poster-84x128.png 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Poster-177x270.png 177w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Poster.png 729w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn attractive blonde (Jean Arless) with deadly motives murders a justice of the peace (James Westerfield) under an assumed name, then returns home to wreak additional havoc.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jealousy<\/li>\n<li>Psychopaths<\/li>\n<li>Siblings<\/li>\n<li>William Castle Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nWilliam Castle&#8217;s notoriously popular B-grade follow-up to <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5177\"><em>Psycho<\/em><\/a> (1960) comes across as laughably inferior today, with predictable plot twists, uneven acting, bad dubbing, and outrageously naive behavior by every character involved. The film&#8217;s primary plot twist is obvious from a mile away, and its storyline is too ridiculous to be genuinely frightening. Amazingly enough, audience members at the time reacted differently, with many kept in the dark about the true identity of one of the key characters, and some actually taking advantage of Castle&#8217;s highly publicized &#8220;Fright Break&#8221; gimmick, in which they could leave the film pre-denouement for a full refund by carrying a yellow &#8220;I am a bona fide coward&#8221; card and waiting in the corner of the lobby.<\/p>\n<p>Despite its obvious flaws, however, <em>Homicidal<\/em> comes across today as a reasonably enjoyable cult film, primarily because all its ludicrous elements add up to such silly fun. Plus, though the primary plot twist is far too easy to guess, the hidden secret <em>behind <\/em>this twist comes as a genuine surprise. If you forget that <em>Homicidal <\/em>was ever meant as a serious rival to Hitchcock&#8217;s masterpiece, you&#8217;ll probably get a kick out of its enjoyably <em>campy<\/em> approach to sibling rivalry, gender, loyalty, and murder. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A deliciously campy sensibility<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Joan.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Joan.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-61825\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Joan.jpg 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Joan-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Joan-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Joan-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Good use of Solvang, California as a small-town locale<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Solvang.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Solvang.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-61824\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Solvang.jpg 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Solvang-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Solvang-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Solvang-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Effectively eerie use of lighting and shadows<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Shadows.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Shadows.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-61827\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Shadows.jpg 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Shadows-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Shadows-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/Homicidal-Shadows-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>An interesting <em>second<\/em> plot twist (but you&#8217;ll guess the first one immediately!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, simply for its notoriety as a follow-up to <em>Psycho<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0054988\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moria.co.nz\/horror\/homicidal.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/campblood.org\/Reviews\/Review%20-%20Homicidal.htm\">CampBlood.org Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s447hom.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/fantasticmoviemusings.com\/2015\/01\/17\/homicidal-1961\/\">SciFilm Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/72175.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s only when hate is dammed up that it breaks out in murder!&#8221; Synopsis: An attractive blonde (Jean Arless) with deadly motives murders a justice of the peace (James Westerfield) under an assumed name, then returns home to wreak additional havoc. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Jealousy Psychopaths Siblings William Castle Films Review: William Castle&#8217;s notoriously popular B-grade follow-up to Psycho (1960) comes across as laughably inferior today, with predictable plot twists, uneven acting, bad dubbing, and outrageously naive behavior&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1801\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1801"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61829,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801\/revisions\/61829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}