Hysterical Psycho Review: Another Swing at the ‘Cabin Slasher’ Genre
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Hysterical Psycho brings the standard group of clichés out to the middle of the woods. This time, though, the movie sets out to put a more comedic twist on the standard subgenre tropes.
Written by James “Crypticpsych” Lasome
January 18, 2012
Release: 2009 (US Festival Play)
Written and Directed by: Dan Fogler
Starring:
Noah Bean as Steve (“The Playboy”)
Randy Baruh as Lenny (“The Coward”)
Sarah Saltzberg as Jo (“The Playwright”)
Charissa Chamorro as Ally (“The Vixen”)
Kate Gersten as Sara (“The Virgin”)
Out in the wilderness, there is a lake that sits in a crater caused by a chunk of the moon hitting Earth millions of years ago. It is called, of course, Moon Lake Crater. Presently, a theater company made up of some of the usual expected tropes is headed to the lake to spend some time in a cabin. They include: a Producer, his Fiancé, a Coward, a Playwright, a Vixen, a Fool, a Virgin, and a Playboy. What they don’t know, though, is that the crater in which the lake sits is emitting dangerous lunar radiation. The lunar radiation can… change people. Sometimes it just makes people have eerie, possibly prophetic dreams and nightmares. Other times, though, it can bring the inner demons of the latently psychotic to the surface in a murderous frenzy. Unfortunately for the acting troupe, one of their own may harbor an unknown tendency toward the lunatic fringe.
Dateline: 2009. I attend the, as of this writing, final Fangoria
Weekend of Horrors in New York City. As part of it, a massive trailer
collection is shown. Among those presented is a trailer for an indie
film called Hysterical Psycho. I immediately loved the
trailer and wanted to see it badly, yet no opportunity presented itself
causing it to fall to the back of my mind. Fast forward to Spring 2011.
I’m attending the Spring 
Edition of the Big Apple Comic Con.
As part of
it, Dan Fogler, most famous as a Broadway actor and the star of Balls
of Fury, is appearing. I had no idea until that point that he was
the writer and director of the film whose trailer I’d seen two years
prior. I immediately bought a screener directly from him with high
hopes for the over-the-top and crazy comic insanity the trailer had
promised.
The film, starring the members of his theatre company, Stage 13, is probably most commendable for the fact that it’s put together well. The musical score featuring various instantly recognizable classical pieces and Ennio Morricone bits is very well done and the few kills and gore effects are effective. Hysterical Psycho also has a unique visual style in that it is mostly black and white (scenes in the past), but also has animated bits (the introduction and narrator segments) and color sequences (the present and one character’s unhinged mind). Basically, on a technical side, there really aren’t any flaws to be seen. It looks like a far more professional film than its $150,000 budget.
The acting in Hysterical Psycho is a little tougher to nail down. On one hand it feels like a group of unprofessional or semiprofessional actors. On the other hand, they’re supposed to be playing a theater group, possibly themselves… maybe it’s supposed to? Also, while they do have a tendency to be VERY annoying, particularly in the boring early going, they’re nowhere near as offensively unlikeable as modern slasher characters have stereotypically become. There are definitely some standouts, particularly Randy Baruh’s “Lenny” the Coward, Thomas Michael Sullivan’s “Christopher” the Producer, and Sarah Saltzberg’s “Jo” the Playwright (who has the funniest running gag in the movie). However, mostly they’re just serviceable and “all right”.
The Hysterical Psycho plot is a bit strange to grasp as
well. The movie’s latter two-thirds are very interesting, the crazy
side of the killer is fun, and the idea of “lunar radiation” causing
psychosis is interesting. The first third, however, is crushingly
boring, the killer’s identity is easily 
predictable, and, even with the
unique concept, the film still sometimes feels like just another “cabin
in the woods” movie. This is not to even mention that the trailer and
pull quotes on the back of the screener seem to be trying to make this
movie out to be far, far funnier than it is.
And those contradictory feelings are the problem: Hysterical Psycho ends up feeling well-done yet underwhelming at the same time. Yes, it’s well-put together, passably acted, and has an interesting concept, but it also still feels like it’s holding back from fully utilizing that originality and talent and ends up slightly below average as a result of that disappointment. It’s a noble and watchable effort to be sure, and Fogler absolutely knows how to work behind a camera. But it also has a ways to go before it begins to approach the Evil Deads and Tucker and Dale vs. Evils of the world.
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