Schizo (1976)

21 Sep 2023

Rating: 2.5/5

— schizophrenia: a mental disorder sometimes known as multiple or split personality, characterized by loss of touch with environment and alternation between violent and contrasting behavior patterns

With this outdated conflation of schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder, the film begins with the announcement of famed ice skater Samatha Gray (Lynn Frederick) marrying wealthy factory owner Alan Falconer (John Leyton). When William (Jack Watson) sees the headline wedding announcement, he jumps on a train to London and systematically harasses Samantha

Through a therapy session, we learn that William was the lover of Samantha’s mother and the man who killed her mother — a murder she witnessed. Soon after the confession, the therapist is brutally murdered — the first of a series of shockingly violent sequences

The movie is primarily a paint-by-number giallo, but a couple of sequences help it stand out — a scene where Samantha and a friend visit a psychic is pretty cool

Overall, it’s one of those films that you know where it’s going but not how it’s going to get there or what it will do after. Whether that is enough for you to stay interested during the slow point will be a matter of taste or patience


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