Redundant and unnecessary.

One of my all time favorites.

From my favorite movies..

Absolutely the worst movie.

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.

Psychomania (1973)** 1/2 (out of 4)A motorcycle gang called The Living Dead have a rather bizarre leader who is constantly talking about suicide. The man finally decides it's time because he knows that death isn't the end and that he will come back. When he does come back from the dead he talks his other motorcycle riders to do the same and now they go terrorizing their community.You know, it's hard to come up with a stranger horror film than PSYCHOMANIA. I remember the first time I watched it I must have been around the age of eight or nine and I didn't know what to make of it. Looking at it twenty-five years later I can see why it confused me so much and its even more confusing to watch today. I say that because who on Earth would have thought to make a horror film like this especially in 1973? PSYCHOMANIA isn't an awful movie but at the same time it's certainly not great. The film is pretty much something on its own and there's no question that it's original in its own silly way. There's no gore in the movie. Most of the violence is just the motorcycle gang riding around and knocking things out of people's hands. There's really no scares. There's not too much horror either for that matter. Yeah, there's just not too much here.What it does have is a rather bizarre atmosphere where it really does feel as if it's taking place in another universe. What universe that is I don't know but this here is the film's biggest saving grace. While watching the movie I didn't really like it but at the same time there was something about it keeping me glued to the screen. What was it? I have no idea. It is worth noting that this turned out to be George Sanders final movie role.

Silly yet sometimes atmospheric tongue in cheek biker / horror film is quite enjoyable if one knows not to take it too seriously and is prepared to just have a good time. I've seen it described here as "kitsch" and that's as good a way to put it as any. It does have a weird ambiance going for it at times, and includes some moments that are just plain hysterical.Written by Julian Zimet and Arnaud d'Usseau (also the writers of "Horror Express") and directed by Don Sharp ("The Kiss of the Vampire", "Rasputin: The Mad Monk"), its opening credits sequence does make you think that you're going to be in for a more serious experience, but soon enough it becomes more amusing than anything else. The actors know exactly what they're doing and play it all with a wink in their eyes.Nicky Henson ("Witchfinder General") plays Tom, leader of a bike gang dubbed The Living Dead. He gets wind of what kinds of things his well to do mom (Beryl Reid) and butler (George Sanders) are up to, and is intrigued. What he wants most of all is to learn how to come back to life after dying. He gets his wish, and then wants his comrades to have the same experience, although it takes them a while to warm up to the idea. Meanwhile, a police inspector (Robert Hardy, Cornelius Fudge in the "Harry Potter" series), is investigating the destructive antics of the bikers and is confounded by the fact that these crimes seem to be committed by "dead" people.Cult film lovers are sure to get into the wacky spirit of this thing. It's exciting at times, at least in the chase sequences, and viewers will likely howl with laughter seeing Tom ride his bike right through a "brick" wall, knowing that nothing can happen to him once he's returned from the grave. One of the best scenes of all takes place in the morgue. Henson is a hoot in the lead, while Reid and Sanders offer fine support; interestingly, this was Sanders' final film, as he would commit suicide not that long after. Mary Larkin is appealing as Abby; she and Ann Michelle make fine eye candy as the two female members of the gang.Overall, this is paced well and it delivers enough entertainment value to make it a great curio for lovers of strange cinema.Eight out of 10.

Well, here it is, gang. Living proof that you don't need gore, or even a single drop of blood, to create quality horror. Not to say that this film is all that scary. It's just an all around entertaining film. This is Psychomania, a very British production about a biker gang called The Living Dead. All The Living Dead seem to care about is creating havoc for the village they live in. The Leader, Tom wants much more, Tom wants to be immortal, so he can create havoc for the entire world. Tom, like most rich kids, is rebellious, yet cowardly. Tom and his mother, along with the butler, who I guess, is Satan, find the rich boy his immortality, so he'll stop whining. All one needs is to truly believe that if you kill yourself, you will come back, and that's pretty much it. Well, that and a frog. That's all there is to it. Only a creative genius could conjure up a powerful plot such as this. With his valuable, new knowledge, Tom soon ends it all, by driving his motorcycle off a bridge, not before terrorizing the village one last time (as a mortal). After returning from the grave, in dramatic fashion, immortal, as well as invincible, Tom has reached new levels of arrogance, he soon convinces the rest of the gang to join him in the dark side. One by one, what follows is the most creative suicide spree in B-movie history.I dig Psychomania for quite a few reasons. for starters, the score couldn't be more fitting, although, how awesome would a Black Sabbath score have been? Just a thought. For something so amateur, Psychomania comes off very professional, at least, the acting, not so much the story, or character development. Although, the camera work is nice. Psychomania has a certain late 60's rebellious style about it that shows in the semi-witty dialogue. The B-movie cheesiness is more subtle in England, but it's most definitely present. If you don't go into this expecting a masterpiece, Psychomania will most likely be a worthwhile experience. For more in awesome Horror from England, check out Vampyres. for tougher bikers, check you Werewolves On Wheels. In closing, Psychomania might not scare the hell out of you, but it is totally enjoyable, and yet another one of a kind, courtesy of the wonderful world on B-cinema. 8/10