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Homicidal

Play trailer Poster for Homicidal 1961 1h 27m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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73% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Chaos and danger reign when good girl Miriam Webster (Patricia Breslin) meets her half brother's girl friend, Emily (Jean Arless), a mysterious blonde bombshell living at their family's Southern California estate. Emily serves as the nurse for the sibling's aging, wheelchair-using guardian, Helga Swenson (Eugenie Leontovich). She is not, however, as sweet as she seems. Emily soon reveals herself to be a murderous schemer who will stop at nothing to steal Miriam's extensive inheritance.
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Homicidal

Critics Reviews

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Maxine Dowling New York Daily News 09/22/2021
3/4
Castle, whose specialty is turning out horror and ghost tales, has succeeded in achieving several moments of terror in this story of a homicidal maniac on the loose in a small, sleepy community. Go to Full Review Noel Murray The Dissolve 10/21/2013
3.5/5
What's really surprising about Homicidal is that...it's an enjoyably bizarre film, making some of the basic elements of Psycho even freakier. Go to Full Review Wesley Lovell Cinema Sight 11/22/2022
1.5/4
Mediocre to acceptable acting is plentiful and the plot, while for the most part inventive, lacks a lot of good narrative structure and yields an intriguing, but predictable ending. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Creative Loafing 09/17/2016
3/4
While traveling along similar lines as Psycho, director William Castle and scripter Robb White manage to include enough originality that the shock ending still has the power to catch many viewers off guard. Go to Full Review Tim Brayton Antagony & Ecstasy 07/04/2015
7/10
There never was a Psycho knock-off quite as overt about it, yet at the same time as creative and effective in its own right, Go to Full Review Brian Gibson Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta) 05/25/2015
The plot's soon dawdling, a stuffy, overheated theatricality creeping in ... No pulpish curiosity but a mere footnote in the post-Psycho history of slasher movies. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Martin B @RT44235356 Dec 9 About as good as they get for a campy horror-ish late 50's, early 60's era B movie. The cast not really that good at all, mostly TV actors but the concept for the movie so unique it made it all work. See more nick s @Nick_S Nov 6 Had a good hook at the start. Kept kept you guessing most of the way through. But the ending seemed a little absurd, especially if you stop & think about all the character actions/motives. In order to plant the deception they also had to do some off-putting ADR. See more Ronald H @RT44372985 Aug 7 Another campy, insane thriller from the great William Castle. I've often wondered what it was like on the sets of his movies. While on camera, the actors must have worked hard to keep a straight face. Between takes, I'm sure everybody was laughing their ass off. Castle aficionados know about the big reveal at the end, but the uninitiated will be surprised. Why is Warren so wooden faced and unemotional? At first, it just seems like bad acting. But Castle always has a trick up his sleeve. Joan Marshall is remarkable in a very difficult role. B movies don't get any better than this. See more 08/19/2021 The blonde gal/guy is a treat. See more 01/01/2020 Great movie! Worth the watch. See more 02/09/2017 A little-known gem. Hysterical, over the top camp classic. I can't understand how this hasn't entered the "bad movie night" hall of fame. See more Read all reviews
Homicidal

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Cast & Crew

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William Castle

Director

Glenn Corbett

Karl

Patricia Breslin

Miriam

Joan Marshall

Emily

Eugenie Leontovich

Helga

Alan Bunce

Doctor Jones

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Homicidal

Homicidal (1961) Homicidal (1961) Homicidal (1961) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Chaos and danger reign when good girl Miriam Webster (Patricia Breslin) meets her half brother's girl friend, Emily (Jean Arless), a mysterious blonde bombshell living at their family's Southern California estate. Emily serves as the nurse for the sibling's aging, wheelchair-using guardian, Helga Swenson (Eugenie Leontovich). She is not, however, as sweet as she seems. Emily soon reveals herself to be a murderous schemer who will stop at nothing to steal Miriam's extensive inheritance.
Director
William Castle
Producer
William Castle
Screenwriter
Robb White
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
Columbia Pictures Corporation, William Castle Productions
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 26, 1961, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 31, 2010
Runtime
1h 27m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
35mm
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