Review of Psycho Beach Party (2000) by Timothy S — 14 Dec 2011

If "Psycho Beach Party" hadn't had life before as a stage play in 1987, I would assume it was one of those films where the makers came up with the title first and wrote a movie around that. Unfortunately, the title is more fun than anything else in the movie even though it tries real hard.

It's successful for a while, mostly because it's so unlike most other films out there, but you quickly realize that it's an entirely one-note picture. It doesn't have the whole deck up its sleeve, it's only got that one card and it plays it over and over again. It captures the essence of the campy beach movies perfectly, but the horror aspects are disappointingly slight. Ramping up the gore, of which there's basically none, would have given the film a much-needed boost. It also would have helped the film appeal to a much broader fan base.

There are a couple of appealing performances here, including future Oscar nominee Amy Adams and especially star Lauren Ambrose. She hits all the right notes, and you feel bad for her because she wastes those talents in such a sub-par effort. The guys, on the other hand, are so bland it's nearly impossible to tell them apart.

This would have to be your first movie in order to be surprised by the killer's revelation, as the script seems to be more concerned with being quirky than to be bothered by such minor details as originality. Somebody had a lot of fun with "Psycho Beach Party", but it definitely won't be you in the audience. This is an inconsequential film that tries too hard far too early. It's too bland to really take off.