W.A.V.E. Productions were infamous for allowing fans to customize their horror films to suit their skeevy tastes. Director Gary Whitson had no qualms whatsoever catering to the whims of fans and shoehorning in whatever fetish they wanted to see. Psycho Sisters marks the first time they let a fan not only write, but also co-direct one of their movies. Luckily, Peter Jacelone was aiming to make a “real” movie rather than just a glorified bondage video. Well, about as close to a ”real” movie as a W.A.V.E. Production could get.
After the brutal rape and murder of their sister, Janice (Tina Krause), Jane (Christine Taylor) and Jackie (Pamela Sutch) snap and are committed to an insane asylum. Once they are released, they plot to get revenge on the men who killed their sister… and… well… all men in general.
Psycho Sisters begins with the warning: “This motion picture contains graphic depictions of rape, murder, and ‘genito-dismemberment’”. However, the rape scene is rather restrained, all things considered. The “genito-dismemberment” scenes on the other hand, are pretty damned good as the ladies develop quite a collection of dismembered members throughout the course of the film.
Psycho Sisters offers up some neat reversals on the typical W.A.V.E. formula. Instead of women being bound, gagged, chloroformed, and kidnapped, this time, it’s men. I guess one could argue the death scenes are repetitive, but that kind of goes along with the idea that they are serial killers. It’s in their very nature to kill their victims the same way every time. I will say the flick does run on a bit long, although it’s nothing that derails the proceedings or anything.
I quite enjoyed the flashes of black humor Jacelone brought to the picture. It is funny that Taylor and Sutch have no problem cutting up men but get all grossed out whenever their victims piss and shit themselves. The little attention to detail in the sister’s victim disposal methods (like the donation of their clothes to the Salvation Army) also help make it stand out from the rest of the pack.
The trio of lead actresses are all excellent, which further cements Psycho Sisters’ place as one of the best W.A.V.E. Productions. Krause is especially good as the ill-fated sister. Sutch is a vivacious presence as the psychotic and playful Jackie and has many good scenes with Taylor, who acts as the de facto mother figure. If you’re a fan of any or all of these ladies, you’re sure to go psycho for these Sisters.
This movie was actually later remade in 1998 with a higher budget and it's even better, there's a great two-disc DVD of it that I highly recommend.
ReplyDelete