Film Review: Psychos in Love (1987)

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SYNOPSIS:

A pair of psychotic murders (who both really, really hate grapes) start a romantic relationship and start killing people together.

REVIEW:

I wasn’t sure what to expect with Psychos in Love.  I knew that it was going to be a horror comedy and in general I really am not a fan of these types of movies so I went into it with pretty low expectations. Thankfully though I ended up really enjoying it and thought that it was just an all around great movie that had a lot going for it. It was cute in a weird sort of way and I thought that Joe and Kate (the two main characters) were nothing short of adorable together and I had a blast watching their relationship bloom. It’s violent and gory while being sweet and funny at the same time and after everything was said and done I ended up digging it a lot more than I ever thought that I would.

Even though the premise is pretty simple I still loved it and thought that it was quite awesome. It is basically a demented love story about two deranged killers who fall in love and then go about slaughtering people together for shits and giggles. It may not sound like anything special but trust me when I say that it really is. I thought that Joe and Kate made an awesome couple and I had a great time watching their relationship develop. Even though they are both psychotic murderers I couldn’t help but really like them both and I thought that they were just an all around cute and sweet couple. Even though neither one of them is mentally stable they genuinely care for each other and there was just something about them (and their relationship) that I really tugged at my heart strings (wow, I can’t believe that I really just said that).

I liked the fact that at one point they both get tired of killing others and decide to “retire” from it to settle down together as I thought that it was a really nice touch that I didn’t see coming. To me this movie has one of the best love stories of all time (mostly because it isn’t your typical sugary sweet and sickening love story) and I think that many horror fans will agree.  If you’re a romantic at heart but movies like The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, and Sleepless in Seattle aren’t up your alley then this movie is definitely for you.

I really loved the characters too. I thought that Joe and Kate were both extremely likable and both Carmen Capobianco (who also co-wrote the script) and Debi Thibeault did extraordinary jobs bringing their respective character to life. Even though neither one is particularly a “good” person (come on now, they are both insane murderers!) you can’t help but care about them and root for them. I was a little worried at one point that their relationship was going to come to an end as they both seem to get stuck in a rut after being together for a while but thankfully that doesn’t happen.

The entire time I was watching it I had a bad feeling that things were going to end badly for them and we would get a down ending but thankfully director/co-writer Gorman Bechard had other ideas and while some viewers may be underwhelmed by the ending I personally dug it. In addition to the main characters I also really liked Herman (Frank Stewart), the cannibalistic serial killer plumber as well and thought that his scenes were comedy gold. I thought that all of the characters in the movie pretty much rocked and I didn’t have a problem with a single one of them.

I also liked the fact that the film does a great job of successfully combining elements of horror and comedy perfectly. A lot of horror comedies have trouble pulling this off but that wasn’t the case with Psychos in Love. The humor is actually very funny (I loved the rants that Joe and Kate both have about their hatred of grapes, the excellent musical montage, and  thought the scene at the video store was nothing short of priceless) and there were many times during the film that I found myself laughing out loud. The death scenes looked pretty awesome and were a lot of bloody fun too as we get several stabbings, some slit throats, and death via chainsaw at one point. In a lot of ways this film reminded me of a Troma movie as it has some cool, over the top gory death scenes one minute and then goofy, legitimately funny ones minutes later. Anyone wanting to do a horror comedy needs to watch this film just so they can see how to do it the right way.

As you can tell I really loved Psychos in Love. I thought that it was just a fun, awesome little movie in every way and I think that a lot of viewers will feel the same way after they watch it too. I honestly think that it would make a kick ass first date movie for horror fans as down deep it really is a sweet-yet totally warped-love story. Check it out if you haven’t seen it yet as it really is something quite awesome in many ways. Highly recommended!