Curapedi
I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Deanna
There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
Jakoba
True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
azathothpwiggins
PSYCHOMANIA (aka: THE DEATH WHEELERS) is the uplifting tale of a gang of bratty bikers and their hopelessly infantile leader, Tom Latham (Nicky Henson). Growing dreadfully bored w/ the hum-drum world of anti-social thuggery, Tom decides to dabble in the realm of the occult in order to gain immortality for himself and his terrorizing, turd brigade. Luckily, his mum (Beryl Reid) is a medium, and their butler, Shadwell (George Sanders- VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED), just might be more than he appears to be- Hope you guessed his name! So, Tom attains a toad talisman, and gets a crash course in his diabolical family history. Then, after a fun day of mindless murder and mayhem, including a game of baby-pram-pinball, Tom does the unthinkable! He initiates his infernal plan for his gang's eternal, psychotic playtime! The rest is about his mates' following his lead, and the unfortunate results. A grand time is had by all! EXTRA POINTS: For the notorious "biker funeral" and "motorcycle resurrection" scene. It truly must be witnessed to be fully appreciated! Who knew that bikers wove flower wreathes or wore crocheted vests? EXTRA EXTRA POINTS: For the gang members' names, like,"Hinky", "Hatchet", "Gash", "Chopped Meat", and, of course, "Bertrem"! EXTRA SPECIAL POINTS: For the novel suicides, including, tossing oneself into a lake, wrapped in battleship chains! Amazing! These motorbikes run on pure cheeeze! Soooo, squeeze into those leather trousers my friends, for this is why cinema was created! Is that another pram?!...
Sam Panico
Is there such a thing as a perfect movie? Maybe. Maybe not. But if you ask me, this combination of the occult and biker culture ranks really close.Tom Latham (Nicky Henson, Witchfinder General) leads The Living Dead, a motorcycle gang that causes trouble and occasionally dabbles in black magic. The worm filled apple didn't fall far from the tree - Tom's mother, deceased father and butler Shadwell (George Sanders, All About Eve and Rebecca) follow the Left Hand Path. With their help, he learns how to die and come back from the dead - roaring from his freshly buried earth on his motorcycle (later Lemmy would do this in Motörhead's "Killed by Death" video).Soon, one after another of the gang commit suicide and return from the dead. Soon, the gang is killing cops and menacing babies. And their names! Gash, Hatchet, Chopped Meat, Hinkey and Bertram! This movie is about pure mayhem! I wonder, was all of England in the grip of Satan in the early 1980's?Director Don Sharp keeps things stylish and moving. This isn't his first go-round with frogs in cemeteries, pacts with the devil, mysterious suicides and zombies. Check out his other film, Witchcraft. He was also behind Dark Places, Hammer's Rasputin: The Mad Monk and the final movie in The Fly series, Curse of the Fly. This is his best work, though.
thelastblogontheleft
Okay THIS WAS A WHOLE LOT OF FUN. I knew I was in for SOME kind of treat when it opens up with these grainy, gritty shots of The Living Dead riding through a foggy field on their bikes. Like, this movie is wayyy too cool for me.It's just a funny, silly movie, but it has some dramatic aspects as well. The scene with Tom (Nicky Henson) dancing with his mom is awesome and shortly after we realize she's got connections with some dark forces and helps Tom make a pact with the devil so he and his fellow gang members can commit suicide and then come back from the dead — but only if they truly BELIEVE they will come back.Tom is just carefree in the most destructive sense of the word, and very reminiscent of Alex from A Clockwork Orange. He's all too excited to fly his motorcycle off a bridge so he can come back and TRULY be part of the living dead. His friends and fellow gang members give him THE MOST AMAZING funeral ever — burying him upright, fully dressed, on his motorcycle. Shortly after a complete stranger is cutting through the site — referred to as The Seven Witches for the seven stone structures that represent, duh, seven witches who broke a pact with the devil — when he hears the TRULY creepy sound of a motorcycle enging revving under packed dirt. Out bursts Tom, ready as ever to truly mess things up.Once the rest of the gang learns of this sweet deal, they're eager to join him — all except Abby, his lady love. It's fun to watch each gang member choose their own method of death — including one jumping out the window of a high rise as a police officer watches, truly sticking it to the man — and then they're back in action, too, minus Abby who is way too wigged out by all of this.Tom's mother (played by Beryl Reid) is not psyched about any of this, especially after seeing how her son's main goal in his second shot at "life" is just to be as violent and belligerent as he can, wasting no time between being brought back to life and murdering just a few folks at a local bar. So mom breaks her bargain with Lucifer and turns into a frog herself. Awesome. The rest of the gang, including Tom, are turned into stone right as he attempts to make Abby choose everlasting life with them or death, so now they can chill with the Seven Witches forever.Truly just good, awful fun.
jamesraeburn2003
The leader of a group of Hell's Angels, Tom Latham (Nicky Henson), through his devil worshipping mother (Beryl Reid) does a pact with Satan in return for the secret of immortality. He commits suicide by riding his motorcycle off a bridge and returns as an Undead. His fellow bikers follow and they embark upon terrorising the people of their community and vow to bring down the establishment.Yes, that's the synopsis! It is errant nonsense of the first order and anybody encountering it for the first time will think to themselves: "Oh, this will almost certainly be unwatchable junk." I thought exactly the same thing when I first saw this at the excellent National Film Theatre in London back in 2006 as part of the BFI's Flipside season. But as it unfolded I suddenly found myself thinking: "God, this actually works." It is shot straight by the talented director Don Sharp (Witchcraft, Kiss Of The Vampire, The Face Of Fu Manchu) and if anybody but him had made it it would have almost certainly been a dud. It works marvelously as a horror comedy and a number of the sequences like one of the Hell's Angels doing himself in by throwing himself out of a plane without a parachute deliver some breathtaking shocks. However, the most memorable sequence has to be the scene where Tom's friends bury him on his motorcycle. A couple breakdown on the main road as a result of a puncture. The guy makes his way across the fields to get help and he gets the fright of his life when the reactivated Undead Tom bursts up through the earth on his motorbike. The film also features the last performance of George Sanders - he committed suicide soon after this film was made - as Reid's butler, Treadwell. Beryl Reid is delightfully eccentric as Tom's occultist mother while the rest of the youthful cast playing the bikers are perfectly in tune with the nature of the production and go through their parts cheerfully.In summary, this is a film that on first glance may detract you from watching it due to its trashy subject matter. But thanks to skillful handling coupled with some neat shocks and real laughs, Psychomania is without doubt a cult classic and is now available as a DVD - Blue Ray double disc set from the BFI.
