MARIO GAUCI This British-made "imitation Giallo" was the only one of director Walker's 8 horror outings that I had yet to catch up with; in fact, I had also watched his 3-D sexploitationer FOUR DIMENSIONS OF GRETA (1972) and own the as-yet-unseen and equally non-horror titles THE BIG SWITCH (1969), MAN OF VIOLENCE (1971) and HOME BEFORE MIDNIGHT (1979)…not bad for a film-maker who has got only 16 movies under his belt and whose work I was completely unfamiliar with (apart from what little reading material I had at my disposal) before Anchor Bay UK unveiled their 5-Disc Set in 2005! Obviously, the film under review was not included in that collection but has received comparatively muted DVD editions on both regions. Although the film reunited Walker with the screenwriter, David MacGillivray, of his two best films – FRIGHTMARE (1974) and HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN aka THE CONFESSIONAL (1975) – not to mention his most notorious one – HOUSE OF WHIPCORD (1974) – the mixture fails to rise to the expected heights this time around.Indeed, the film tries too hard to be the English version of DEEP RED (1975) but, in spite of the best intentions on display and some decent murder sequences of its own, cannot hope to approximate the visceral impact of Dario Argento's classic slasher. The simple enough plot belies the close similarity between the two films that ultimately undermines SCHIZO: lovely Lynn Frederick is a famous ice-skating star about to wed carpet-producing businessman John Leyton who starts to be hounded by brutish ex-con relative Jack Watson as best friends Stephanie Beacham and psychiatrist lover John Fraser investigate. However, Frederick (just like musician Gabriele Lavia in DEEP RED) is a professional concealing a skeleton in her closet and is not quite the victim as she would have us believe; the spunky character played by Beacham is also very similar to that of intrepid reporter Daria Nicolodi in the earlier Italian film and her uninhibited relationship to first Fraser and then Leyton brings forth memories of the one enjoyed between Nicolodi and David Hemmings; just like DEEP RED's psychiatrist, Fraser too gets to expire via a violent death here; most prominently, there is even a séance with a murderous outcome (with the victim here bowing out the very same way that Lavia did!) and a traumatic childhood event that unbalances the beholder and turns her (or him, in Lavia's case) into a serial killer as an adult. However, Walker remains true to his exploitation roots by making the latter not a marital squabble ended by the knife-wielding youngster but a seedy, foul-mouthed and incestuous coupling between her mother and uncle!!Needless to say, Stanley Myers' serviceable score is also no consolation for missing out on Goblin's tremendous music but the film has other faults besides that smack of carelessness: although Watson is played up to be the red herring from the outset, he is too much of a character actor to be believable as a potential protagonist and, when the twist of the killer's identity is eventually revealed in the film's latter stages, it comes as no surprise at all (although it was clever to have Frederick misremember her childhood recollections to Fraser to avert any suspicions); for being a celebrated skater, there are precious few people present at Frederick's wedding ceremony and, bafflingly, no photographers at all!; similarly, why would a star spend so much time alone at home (thus making her such an easy target) and, when she gets to go out, she only does so at the instigation of her maid – who, of all places, takes Frederick to her psychic daughter…with all the potential for embarrassing disclosures that such a public visit entails?! Although Frederick is not bad in the lead (and, thankfully, gets to be naked a few times, too!), the major trouble with her characterization is that the inherent schizophrenia is not quite believable because she never acts all that rationally when in a 'sane' frame of mind anyway! Although, as intimated earlier, the murders of Fraser (complete with an extra red herring in the shape of an uncredited bit by John McEnery – Beacham's then-husband – as a threatening suicidal patient!), Watson (in Leyton's plant), the maid (a most irreverent reversal of Christ's "eye of the needle" speech) and her daughter deliver the goods, they most certainly do not make up for the lamely unresolved "will she/won't she (revert back to her evil side)?" ending at the airport!! Some final comments should go to the actors since they are the film's ultimate mainstay: after a not insignificant contribution to the horror genre – VAMPIRE CIRCUS (1972), THE AMAZING MR. BLUNDEN (1972) and PHASE IV (1974) – Frederick went on to marry (and, eventually, inherit) Peter Sellers but also, sadly, to an early grave from alcoholism at just 39!; the partially-deaf Beacham herself did her own stint in British horror courtesy of THE BALLAD OF TAM LIN (1970; which I just watched the other day), THE NIGHTCOMERS (1972), Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972), …AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS! (1973) HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN itself and INSEMINOID (1981). John Leyton is here a flabbier version of the one we remember from THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963) and, in fact, this was his first appearance in a theatrical film in 10 years and of which there would be just 3 more in the next 35 years!; likewise, SCHIZO proved to be John Fraser's first appearance in a theatrical feature (which had previously included 1965's REPULSION) in 8 years and his last…even though he is still alive today! Watson's film career was much more varied and prolific than that of his younger male co-stars but also included its fair share of horror outings: PEEPING TOM (1960), KONGA (1961), THE GORGON (1964), THE NIGHT CALLER (1965), TOWER OF EVIL (1972; the only one I am not familiar with) and FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE (1973).

Vomitron_G Pete Walker's "Schizo" is a commendable take on the at the time yet to be defined stalker/slasher genre and it even has some Giallo undertones. But sadly, the film itself isn't anything too exciting. Samantha is a successful ice skater and she's getting married. After the marriage, the trouble begins as she's being followed & stalked by a strange person from her own past. Soon enough dead bodies - all friends and acquaintances of Samantha - start popping up everywhere. Walker brings his own style to the picture, presenting us a handful of gruesome killings and some female nudity along the side. But his directing efforts can't help a screenplay that's too talkative for its own good and a plot that's simply too predictable. The ending is satisfactory, so "Schizo" surely isn't a waste of time for true fans of the genre.

rose-294 Schitzophrenia - that eeevil murder mania! The British mental health organization MIND get angry from this - hey, Schitzo was co-written by a pornographer David McGillivray, the expert of leeringly trashy, sleazy horror movies like Frightmare, so what did you expect? Something mature or at least partly honest? Or that facts would be in the right place in your mentally-ill-as-a-murderer-story? Well, this leeringly trashy exploitation of mental illness mangles the facts and slashes some victims, the truth being one of them, and all the entertainment and other value lay in the gutter. The plot? The ice-skater Lynne Frederick is stalked, the bodies pile up and a schizophrenic - but whoooo? - is the guilty party. I just tried to stay awake.

Coventry Pete Walker and his loyal scriptwriter David McGillivray were pretty much England's most controversial duo of filmmakers back in the glorious seventies. Opposite to Hammer's and Amicus' successful but politically correct horror movies, these two provided the British (and other) genre fans with provocative and violent films, stuffed with social criticism and obscene undertones. Their movies ("Frightmare", "House of Whipcord"...) aren't genius, but at least they always have originality and a handful of effective shock-moments. Same goes for this "Schizo", which remarkably blends an innovating slasher premise with some of the genre's oldest and most delightful clichés. Newly married ice-skating champion Samantha is stalked by the frustrated and pitiful lover of her murdered mother. Even though the the guy makes no real secret of his identity and even though his perpetrating attempts are amateurish, Samantha has great difficulties convincing her entourage she's in danger. "Schizo" basically is a simplistic horror movie (up till a certain point, at least), but it's praiseworthy how Walker & McGillivray make efforts to throw in psychological terror twists. The extended fright-scenes are well mounted and the make up effects are quite nasty despite the low budget production values. As usual in Pete Walker's movies, there's a twisted and very ingenious shock ending that marvelously illustrates the director's aversion to political correctness. Highly recommended!