{"id":59085,"title":"Psychomania (1973)","description":"1973 was a big year for horror fans in many ways. Not only that, but The Wicker Man (starring #BigChrisLee) was about to bring horror into the daylight; and in the United States, a Hollywood screenwriter called William Peter Blatty had just adapted his own bestseller: the Exorcist. It was to be a year that defined body horror and the edgy New Wave that would eventually hand the baton from Hammer to Slasher","content":"

\"pa5fvexjgdnhxslwkrxp0kkhzoh9h7e5jhg1et9zn0moheps.jpg.jpg?w=1140&v=2\"1973 was a big year for horror fans in many ways. Not only that, but The Wicker Man<\/u><\/a> (starring #BigChrisLee<\/u><\/a>) was about to bring horror into the daylight; and in the United States, a Hollywood screenwriter called William Peter Blatty had just adapted his own bestseller: the Exorcist. It was to be a year that defined body horror and the edgy New Wave that would eventually hand the baton from Hammer to Slasher.<\/p>

Sitting in the middle of this chaos is Don Sharp\u2019s Psychomania. The film follows a troupe of bikers, led by Tom Latham<\/u><\/a> who discover the satanic secret to eternal life. Once immortal, their ambitions turn from their unholy pact with the frog god to becoming public menaces. Their nemesis is Chief Inspector Hesseltine, played by Robert Hardy<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>

Despite being firmly entrenched in the folk horror movement, writers Julian Zimet and Arnaud d\u2019Usseau keep the tone fresh, mirroring contemporary moral panic surrounding anarchic youth subcultures. This explains why the undead bikers are so intent on their reign of terror against the local community, and provokes fears of organised crime linked to real-life biker gangs such as the Blue angels.<\/p>

\"o7na4bxmh8pgww8iz6binxwa6de9vozgbnszaoajcwbem0fa.jpg.jpg?w=1140&v=2\"Psychomania also draws from the general atmosphere of decline that was potent throughout the 1970s, brought on by the end of the swinging sixties and rising unemployment levels. While the film\u2019s most notable scene, the suicide montage, maintains the darkly comedic style adopted throughout, the farcical characters hide a real tragedy of the time. These young people are not simply dangerous, they represent a generation with a future so uncertain that they judge that their best chance at life is to die.<\/p>

Production was overseen by Andrew Donally, known for similar projects such as Cromwell (1970), an evolution into horror that was far more clear-cut than the writers. It starred Nicky Henson as Tom, Beryl Reid as his Mother, and George Sanders as the satanic Butler Shadwell. It was to be Sander\u2019s final role before his death, and the production was dominated by his presence, both at the time as an imposingly well established actor, and afterwards as a tragic spectre.<\/p>

The production crew needed to be able to handle the mass of contradictions that this film accumulates through its script, as well as the changing landscape of the genre. Don Sharp, a Tasmanian director, was known for his work with Hammer and so well placed to navigate the chaos. Both of the writers, however, were somewhat new to the genre, being credited with a long list of crime thrillers. Arnaud d\u2019Usseau had been subject to the Hollywood blacklist, not producing much under his own name since the 40s. He returned to the British film scene to work on Psychomania with Benmar Studios. These studios were aligned with Philip Yordan, making this film the writer\u2019s first under his own name in nearly 30 years.<\/p>

Benmar was also noted for being well-placed to produce films of this ilk, their previous production line being described as \u201cRoast Beef Westerns\u201d for their tone and gothic styling, quite incongruous with their rugged cowboy protagonists. The switch, necessitated by the Western falling out of favour, was consequently more than a business decision: it was an intuitive one. With the same writing team, the company would also produce Horror Express<\/u><\/a> starring Christopher Lee<\/u><\/a> and Peter Cushing<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>

Nevertheless, the film was not immune to the pitfalls of the financial situation. Nicky Henson, the film\u2019s leading man, complained afterwards that the motorbikes were second hand, constantly breaking down and looked far less impressive than the Harley-Davidsons the script had led him to imagine. Shepperton studios, where the audio for the film was recorded, had also come under the ownership of John Bentley, who had bought British Lion pictures. There were concerns that Bentley was planning on selling the land for real estate development, as the studio was facing yearly losses.<\/p>

Overall, the film held a consistently farcical tone throughout, with the beat-up bikes and rough-round-the-edges production enhanced by Sharp peppering in some surrealism, especially in the suicide montage, in which the passers by barely register the drastic events taking place before them. It is a choice that matches the out-there narrative, while still remaining grounded in the very real issues being addressed through an unblinking black comedy. The ambiguous ending, wherein the butler Shadwell approaches Tom\u2019s distraught girlfriend Abby<\/u><\/a>, is a lasting image of uncertainty and fear, menaced by an apparition of everything subversive and anarchic, with no clear resolution.<\/p>

Psychomania inhabits a unique space within horror: it is entrenched in ancient tradition, yet provokes contemporaneous moral panic. It is at once quintessentially British and a product of international collaboration. The premise is the kind of insane that would have any Hammer fan drooling, and yet enjoys the critic to audience dichotomy of impenetrable art-house or soviet experimentation. The result is a fascinating jumble of contradictions, which makes for a viewing experience that is truly incomparable.<\/p>

Lola Gosling is an undergraduate student at Queen\u2019s University Belfast specialising in Medieval History, with additional experience in archival research and media commentary. You can connect with her via <\/em>LinkedIn<\/u><\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>

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