PSYCHO FROM TEXAS (1975) ***

A mentally deranged criminal named Wheeler (John King III) comes to town looking to make some fast money so he kidnaps the local oil tycoon.  Naturally, his idiot partner lets the captive get away while Wheeler is in town trying to score some pot.  Wheeler doesn’t seem too fazed by their plan turning to shit though because it gives him an opportunity to prey upon a few unsuspecting women.

Psycho from Texas is the kind of sleazy homegrown exploitation movie I enjoy.  It really gets you in Wheeler’s mindset and you can see why he does the things he does.  Some parts almost feel like a blueprint for Henry:  Portrait of a Serial Killer, that is, if Henry:  Portrait of a Serial Killer was a low budget Good Ol’ Boy movie from the ‘70s.   

There's a great flashback scene where we see Wheeler as a kid catching his whore mother in bed with some guy.  What’s great about this scene is that the dude doesn't pay for sex.  Instead, he just brings her a pair of nylons as a gift.  Talk about a cheap date!  The part where the young Wheeler watches as his mother writhes in bed in ecstasy goes on and on.  The cutaways to the kid’s increasingly hilarious reactions shots are hysterical.  

Another standout sequence happens late in the movie when Wheeler brings some KFC into a bar and harasses the barmaid.  He strips her down and forces her to dance endlessly while he pours beer all over her.  The barmaid, it should be noted, is played by the legendary Scream Queen, Linnea Quigley in her film debut.  It's already obvious from her brief appearance that she's a star in the making. 

These two scenes are quite memorable.  King’s performance is a lot of fun to watch too.  I also got some laughs from the overly earnest theme song that acts as a Greek chorus to Wheeler’s actions. 

It’s too bad that large chunks of the movie are devoted to long scenes of one guy chasing another.  I swear, there’s one foot chase that feels like it takes up half the running time.  I don’t mind sitting through the long, repetitive scenes if there’s going to be some sort of a payoff.    Luckily, the two major chase sequences end in gory fashion.   

In short, Psycho from Texas is low budget ‘70s sleaze done right.  

AKA:  Evil + Hate = Killer.  AKA:  The Butcher.  AKA:  Wheeler.  AKA:  The Hurting.  AKA:  Mama’s Boy.