You know how many movies start with an exciting intro-sequence before the opening credits? Usually this scene involves a horrid flashback, the first of many murders or something else that is truly adrenalin-rushing. The intro-sequence in "Homicidal" therefore looks a little ridiculous as it only just depicts a bratty (and quite ugly) young boy stealing a doll from his little sister! Oh, the humanity! The horror!! Anyway, although the intro may look extremely silly, it does gradually makes more sense once the story is properly developing. Perhaps director William Castle suffered a little from a large ego (he insisted on introducing his movies himself) and possibly he paid a little too much attention to bizarre gimmicks, but he also definitely knew how to make adequate scary movies! "Homicidal" is a lot less notorious as, say, "House on Haunted Hill" or "13 Ghosts", but this film's script is far more intriguing and effectively dark. Many people are comparing this film with Hitchcock's "Psycho", but I tend to disagree. Surely there are similar themes and common story elements, but numberless of contemporary films cashed in on "Psycho", and most of them did it a lot less subtly than Castle's gem "Homicidal". After the aforementioned intro, the story opens fascinatingly mysterious. A young and seemingly confused blond woman moves into a hotel room in a little Californian town and promptly bribes one of the bellboys to marry her the next day. Even more awkward than the proposal is that she assures him that the marriage will be annulled immediately after. The wedding ceremony is a real shocker as the girl totally unexpectedly kills the Justice of the Pearce and flees. This is only just the beginning of a loopy and genuinely imaginative suspense story that also introduces a terrified and mute old lady in a wheelchair, isolated country mansions, $10 million inheritances and creepy-looking Danish blokes. The plot is quite compelling and tense, but it definitely isn't without holes. Our blond killer, for example, takes some really severe risks like leaving the bellboy alive as a key witness and at one point she even hires a professional to sharpen the knife she uses as the murder weapon. The major surprise twist of the story isn't all that hard to predict, but still William Castle sustains a fairly high level of atmospheric tension (interrupted only by a goofy 45 sec. long "fright-break") to compensate for the rather obvious finale. "Homicidal" is good entertainment with some ahead-of-its-time shocks & violence and pitch black humor. Recommended!
