Psycho Killer (2026) - The Cinema Snob

Added: 2026-06-04

[00:00:00]What in THE WORLD DID I JUST WATCH? THE 2026 thriller Psycho Killer is the most flabbergastic movie of its kind I've seen since The Snowman, where if you described both movies, they don't sound like they'd be that bad, but you have to experience them to know everything that goes really wrong. The plot is normal enough for a movie like this. It's a serial killer film where a cop hunts down a killer known as the satanic slasher after the killer murders her husband. But you'd never in a million years guess where this movie goes and all the jaw-dropping decisions the characters make. There's competent people behind it, but it has the aura of something written decades prior then being changed little by little like a game of telephone. The script comes from Andrew Kevin Walker who's done great work as he wrote David Fincher 7 and an early draft was written in 2007 where it was passed around a lot. At one point Fred Durst was going to direct it till it went to Gavin Palone who was a producer on 8 millimeter also written by Walker. But even then, it stayed in limbo for over 10 years as it bounced from producer Eli Roth to Studio Canal, then to New Regency and 20th Century Studios, where red flags seem to pop up when this movie from a major studio was just dumped into a thousand theaters with very little advertising. The opening definitely tells me that whoever the killer is is going to have something to do with Satan. You can't be a killer in a movie universe without someone taking newspaper clippings of your crimes and putting it through blood red vision and seven light grainy flickering. Can't tell if I'm about to watch a horror movie or one of those VHS's telling me why I should stop listening to rock music. On the plus side, it is reminding me that maybe I should pop a couple of headache pills before watching this. And with the immediate appearance of Snow, I will consider this part of the Snowman universe. And like that film, this isn't a badly shot movie, they'll be safe from Satanists of all kinds. Why? Because the town is named after KBY the Christian computer. Of course, he's already on his reign of terror. That being going over the speed limit. Letting him off with a warning will make him see the error of his ways, and he'll never commit deadly traffic crimes again. So, it's here we get a taste of just how truly ODD SOME OF THE FILM MAKING decisions are.

[00:02:38]>> What exactly seems to be the problem?

[00:02:41]>> Problem?

[00:02:42]>> Maybe you're having engine trouble. Is that it?

[00:02:44]>> No, I'm tired.

[00:02:48]>> What is that voice? I didn't add that.

[00:02:52]The satanic slasher spends the whole movie with a ridiculously dubbed voice where people just react to it as if it's normal. Our hero is Jane Archer, played by Georgina Campbell, and she and her husband Mike are highway patrol officers. And even this is odd.

[00:03:09]>> You place about if you let me do my job.

[00:03:13]>> Love you.

[00:03:14]>> Love you.

[00:03:15]>> Why are they having this conversation over their radios? You can't hear each other. I bet we'll get to know them a lot more as a couple before tragedy strikes.

[00:03:26]>> Nope. Because in the opening scene, Mike dies. I've barely spent enough time with them to even remember their names. Just an extra scene with the two of them together would have made me care a little more about this. Honey, I know you're upset, but no one in the family liked your husband. We learn that the satanic slasher has already claimed 15 victims. I guess he's just not easy to spot, which is something considering he's an 8- foot tall bodybuilder who walks around like he's Bane's longlost brother. Just look for the guy driving around who pulls off aviators so well that they've got no choice but to film him super up close. It really helps that as gigantic as he is, it's insanely easy for him to sneak up on people.

[00:04:17]Wow, she must have the good stuff if she didn't see [ __ ] Jason Vorhees sitting right behind her. Why does he do what he does? Well, there's lots of reasons. One of them being that he has a huge anti-depressant addiction where instead of just breaking in and stealing drugs, he kills the pharmacist first and takes all the good stuff. Flintstone vitamins.

[00:04:39]It's like there's a whole first act that's just missing. The most I know about her and her husband's marriage is just from this brief therapy session and dream sequence flashbacks reminding us of a scene that happened only 10 minutes ago. Forget all that. She's got to put together some kind of path that the slasher may be on where all she knows is that he started on the West Coast, struck in the Midwest, so he must be headed to the East Coast. That narrows it down. Georgina Campbell's performance is good here. It's just such a onenote forgettable character that usually I just wanted to cut back to the killer because at least then some crazy [ __ ] will happen. Like when he drives along at night listening to his favorite satanic AM radio show while he munches on anti-depressants like it's candy.

[00:05:28]>> I give thanks to his infernal majesty and his pharmaceutical empire.

[00:05:34]>> Okay, I recognize that voice. Sweet.

[00:05:37]Malcolm McDow's going to pop up. I love that Malcolm's character, Mr. Pendleton, is recruiting new members via the classified section of the newspaper.

[00:05:46]Another giveaway that this was written about 20 years ago. The slasher doesn't have the local paper on hand with him, so he'll just kill some time before morning by wiping out a couple on the side of the road with a sledgehammer and his teleportation skills. She didn't hear her boyfriend bludgeon to death, nor did she see that [ __ ] so she's screwed. Not even the semitruck drivers can see.

[00:06:14]Whoa.

[00:06:16]That one's not on me. Same with a hugely random excuse for an explosion budget.

[00:06:22]This should make it easy enough. Just find out which roads have dead bodies and exploding trucks on them. Or not.

[00:06:29]None of that [ __ ] gets brought up again.

[00:06:31]He's even taking out classified ads. I want to put in a classified ad. Will you take your credit card number?

[00:06:38]>> HE'S GOT A CREDIT CARD. THAT'S one thing he does steal off of his victims. That should make him easier to trace, but no.

[00:06:45]Apparently, they only catch him if he speeds. And seriously, is that voice supposed to be scary? It always comes across like she's hunting a character from Metal Aocalypse. Let's take a break. Christ, screw this place. They don't even have a water burger around here. Come see us at our upcoming June conventions. like SoCal Gaming Expo June 6th through the 7th. Plus, I'll be at Planet Funk Con June 26th through 28th in Davenport, Iowa. Hope to see you there.

[00:07:14]We're back. And if the filmmakers were worried that the lead isn't interesting, they've made her pregnant. Now we have to root for someone will always be there to help out. After the [ __ ] FBI guy brushed her off, one of the other agents has concerned I feel for you face. So they meet for dirty inks where she publicly shows all the graphic information the FBI has. How is he so hard to find?

[00:07:39]>> His mission has him heading east from motel to motel. Sometimes spending whole days in one place.

[00:07:44]>> Days? What does he stay in those places while the FBI is on vacation? Why isn't his image plastered everywhere? Then maybe Mike could have recognized him.

[00:07:53]It's okay. They know which rooms he was previously staying in where he leaves each place a real horror show. They pretty much know who the killer is, which is a mass murderer named Richard Reeves, a Satanist who supposedly died in prison. So, at the least they think he could be a copycat, they've got enough info to go on.

[00:08:14]>> In the next day or two, this is where he'll actually be. Somewhere between Columbus, Ohio, and Wheeling, West Virginia.

[00:08:20]>> Thank goodness there's only one road between those places.

[00:08:24]>> Oh, and just one more thing.

[00:08:26]>> I'm not allowed to be telling you what I'm about to tell you. You're not allowed to tell her any of this.

[00:08:31]>> Quantity of explosives were stolen.

[00:08:33]>> Explosives.

[00:08:34]>> About 20 lb or so of old school volatile TNT.

[00:08:38]>> Okay. Have you tried bringing in wy coyote is a suspect? He's picked the right world to commit these crimes in.

[00:08:45]Like when his clearly threatening presence walks into a church and the priest is just mildly annoyed. You seem like you have a lot to confess, son.

[00:08:54]>> I've always liked priests.

[00:08:57]>> Oh, that's good. my son. Very good.

[00:08:59]>> Do people normally go into your confessionals talking like Dr. Claw? No one has a realistic reaction to anything except when he kills the priest to drink his blood as you do. And woohoo, ironic.

[00:09:12]This movie is so clever. Look at this.

[00:09:14]The waitress is more weirded out by her reading what to expect when you're expecting right next to the Satanic Bible. You could have just combined the two and read Rosemary's Baby instead.

[00:09:24]The slasher is somehow both hard to find and easy to find. Hard to find in that he sticks out like a sore thumb, yet no one spots him. Then he's easy to find because one of the first motel she goes to just happens to be the one he's staying at. And not only that, >> oh, there's one gentleman, uh, uh, Mr. Reeves.

[00:09:47]>> He signed his real name. Idiots. A universe of idiots. Like how she makes the employee call the police to let them know the slasher is there and instead of waiting for much needed backup. H screw it, she's going to haul ass in there herself, which I'd understand if our hero was Cobra, but it's not. So when she goes into his dark room and closes the door behind her while pregnant, she immediately gets her ass handed to her because no [ __ ] he throws all 5 ft nothing of her through a window. It's entirely her fault that this guy escaped before the cops could show up. At this point, shouldn't they even know what car he's driving? I got to stop asking questions like that. Like how after this huge crime scene and injury? I guess there's no collecting evidence. So, she's right back at the library as if this didn't happen. And instantly finds his classified ad, which will put him in contact with Mr. Pendleton. All of which is a secret location and telephone number. Easy enough to figure out, like if the Zodiac Killer used the decoder pin from A Christmas Story. The Satanic Club was waiting for this call.

[00:10:55]>> Hello. I saw your answer in the newspaper.

[00:11:00]>> Oh, so you're one of our brethren, huh?

[00:11:02]>> No, I'm your Door Dash driver. I'm just checking if you wanted the Diet or Pepsi Zero. Now he is officially invited to a meeting with Mr. Pendleton and his associates. Unless he made a wrong turn and ended up at the forge. That'd be amazing. Got to love any mansion of Satanists that have the courtesy to come out and greet you in a golf cart. Is the movie a freaking comedy? In this section, it seems like it is. I love this. When he goes into the dining room, it actually does look like they got Door Dash. The Satanists are all sitting there eating takeout Chinese. I for one love worshiping at the altar of Satan with a stomach full of egg rolls and hot mustard. Welcome, brother. What brings you to our flock?

[00:11:47]>> I need information.

[00:11:49]Information that benefits us all.

[00:11:52]>> Finally, someone looks put off by the slasher's voice.

[00:11:56]>> And you're supposed to say grace before you start eating.

[00:12:00]>> Hail Satan.

[00:12:01]>> Hat Satan.

[00:12:03]>> I live to serve him.

[00:12:05]>> Yes, that's nice. say, "Did anyone get an extra fortune cookie? They seem to have forgotten mine." It goes without saying that Malcolm McDall is the only actor in this who seems fully aware of how absurd the film is. Just look at the last line of the scene.

[00:12:22]>> HALLELUJAH.

[00:12:26]>> Any more sweet and sour?

[00:12:28]>> Okay, now that he's downed his sweet and sour with extra pineapple, the slasher is free to relax in his room. Turns out the slasher just needs some info on a man that he's looking for. And don't worry yourself about the answer to that yet. Trust me, you'll find out. The slasher now seems worried that Jane may be a teleporter. A minute ago, she was on the road. Now she's leaving headquarters for a press briefing. And then she's back on the road again. The scene placement here is so random. Just get back to the Satanists.

[00:13:06]Do you mind keeping it down? I've been on the road all night and I'm trying to get a full eight hours of sleep. But as Mr. Pendleton drinks from the ceremonial coffee mug, they can all get so high. I need to be high watching this tom foolery. Like when the assistant points out the slasher's rudeness in leaving the party too soon.

[00:13:27]>> I really think that you should wait and say goodbye to Mr. Pendleton, don't you?

[00:13:30]I mean, that's the least that you could do. Why are you not put off by what he's doing? Clearly, he's going to leave a body count behind him. He spares this dude, though, for being a true believer.

[00:13:44]>> You're him.

[00:13:46]You're the slasher.

[00:13:47]>> What was your first freaking clue? It's a shame that I can't show a lot of this scene because it is the best scene in it where they all strip down naked for an orgy and in one take the slasher walks through and butchers all of them including Malcolm meeting his orgy demise Caligula style.

[00:14:08]>> There are seven.

[00:14:13]>> If you're wondering why Jane hasn't shown up to save them, it's because she already has a genius plan.

[00:14:23]Yeah, sure. Stand out there by the trees with a sniper rifle, hoping that he looks out the window you're aiming at.

[00:14:29]That's way better than just waiting for him to walk out the front door. No, no, he needs to once again get away by slamming into her car and driving off.

[00:14:38]AND WHERE WAS THE BACKUP? They're all like, "We weren't sure if your hunch was real or not, so why bother?" Even though she was right about his location the last time. Every death in this happens due to the good guys sheer stupidity.

[00:14:53]>> I told you it was him.

[00:14:54]>> I mean, you do realize we are fielding something like two dozen bogus leads by the hour.

[00:14:58]>> Yeah, bogus leads from randos, not the cop who runs into him every single day.

[00:15:04]Oh, and the killer may be inspired by music, too.

[00:15:08]>> A few years later, this satanic metal band, Demon Fist, started writing songs about Reeves, inspired by him. Christ Cross Church is a mecca for wouldbe Satanists. Let's take a break. I hate any movie that gives Jeff from Rockets Your Decision, and I told you so. Want a birthday shout out or a nice message or ask a question? Book us now on our Cameo page at cameo.com/thecinemob.

[00:15:34]We're back. Let's check in on Plot Point Radio.

[00:15:38]>> Today marks the 28th anniversary of 3M Island, the worst civilian nuclear disaster in American history.

[00:15:44]>> Wait, why are we talking about Three Mile Island now? That may seem random, but the entire climax hinges around ThreeMile Island in Harrisburg, which is where the slasher has been going. The name that he wanted from the Satanists is Leonard, who is the manager of the power plant. I don't know why he had to infiltrate the Satanist to use their private detective to get Leonard's name.

[00:16:08]Couldn't he have just looked it up on LinkedIn? But whatever, it gives the slasher another excuse to magically sneak up on people. I'm aware. I'm well aware.

[00:16:18]>> Leonard Wils. What the >> [ __ ] Honey, why are the Halloween decorations talking? This is his plan to infiltrate a nuclear power plant where Jane figures it out when she's waiting to snipe his ass again. Only she happens to see 3M painted. And h, that sounds familiar. Let me check the scope. Oh my god. Three Mile Island. It's easy enough to sneak into this place. Just hide under the back seat. You're good.

[00:16:45]Sneaking into a nuclear power plant is like sneaking into a drive-in. No security cameras around anywhere. This is the easiest takeover I've ever seen.

[00:16:55]Ain't no one wanting to be a hero.

[00:16:58]Get out. Don't have to tell us twice.

[00:17:01]This is where it all leads. The slasher wanting to cause a nuclear meltdown in order to open the gates of hell. There's something about this movie that feels like what would have happened if Rob Zombie made a third Halloween. And again, they're acting like it's near impossible to stop him from doing this, but when you break it down, it should be extremely easy. It's a highly secured room. No one gets in, no one gets out.

[00:17:25]Oh, except for the window that overlooks it. Sure, it's bulletproof, or well, sort of. Eventually, she tests it out, but not before the villain speech.

[00:17:34]>> Hail Satan, welcome your servant into the kingdom of hell. Have you bothered to ask if he's just simply filming a music video for public access television? I don't know if I've ever seen a movie that's part serial killer film, part China Syndrome, and part satanic panic scare flick. Finally, she starts shooting at the window, which was only semibulletproof. Why didn't you try that as soon as you walked in? And why are you just wounding him instead of blowing his freaking head off? I think maybe they wanted to sequel bait. He's still alive by the end and it's revealed that he is mass murderer Richard Reeves and not a copycat which makes it more confusing. The news said that Reeves died in prison. So, did he fake his own death? Did he escape prison? How did he get out? If he escaped, that's another reason there should have already been a nationwide manhunt. No time for answers.

[00:18:30]We only got a few minutes left. So, we have to add in the clichéed fake out dream sequence part. Then it's back to jail for Richard where they're kind enough to let him keep his mask. It's too bad the movie bombed. I so would have watched a sequel to this. It's awful for a script that sat around for near 20 years. It's so first drafty.

[00:18:53]Everyone's a [ __ ] in it. It's got the most unintentionally funny villain I've seen in a long time. And well, its stupidity does make it unpredictable.

[00:19:03]So, yeah, it's one of the worst movies I've seen in 2026. But, I mean, I'm not saying don't watch it. That was a great comedy. Turn on the television. Satan rules.