William Castle claims that he had the idea for this film while he was sleeping. If so, I can only assume that he was dreaming about Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, 'Psycho' because the blatant homage to the earlier film is difficult to ignore. Castle injects all the same themes and many of the ideas from Psycho into this film, but luckily; the master of entertainment has enough ideas of his own to ensure that Homicidal isn't merely a rip-off. Besides, Castle himself had a small hand in the events leading up to the release of Hitchcock's low-budget thriller...so I guess he earned the right to homage. The film starts off with one of Castle's campy intro features, and we also get a 'Fright Break' towards the end; but on the whole, this film is slightly more serious than earlier films such as The Tingler and House on Haunted Hill. The film opens properly with a sequence that sees a beautiful blonde woman pay a hired hand at a hotel to marry her. One thing leads to another, and she quite shockingly ends up sticking the knife into the Justice of the Peace...the plot thickens with the introduction of the elderly Helga and an inheritance of $10 million.

This film is never as good as Hitchcock's Psycho, but the master of entertainment always ensures that there's enough going on to ensure that it doesn't get boring. Much of the plot takes place in a dark, creepy house; which helps the director to implement a morbid and macabre atmosphere. One of the major faults with the film with regards to the scare factor comes from Castle's own showboating. The 'fright break' towards the end kills the shocking atmosphere that Castle has spent the rest of the film implementing, and as a result; the final macabre sequence is not nearly as effective as it could have been. The final twist is a clear derivative of Psycho, but it's actually quite well worked. The film introduced the talents of Joan Marshall (appearing here as Jean Arless) to the cinematic world, and her performance is what makes the film what it is. It's a shame that she never went on to make much of a splash after this film. I wouldn't hesitate to label Homicidal as one of William Castle's better efforts, as even though it's not quite what audiences have come to expect from the master of entertainment, and it's purely derivative; Homicidal is still a fine quality B-movie shocker.

An attractive, but odd looking blonde woman named Emily pays a hotel bellhop to marry her, and then stabs the justice of the peace to death right after the ceremony. Thus does Homicidal get underway with a bang. What follows is a convoluted, implausible, but surprisingly effective suspense thriller with some pretty kinky undercurrents.Emily ,as played by Jean Arless/Joan Marshall, is one scary lady. Her sweet, innocent manner conceals a truly menacing character, who will let nothing stand in her way. She murders her victims with an enthusiasm bordering on glee, and audiences in 1961 must have been startled to see a woman act out such unexpected violence.There are classic horror movie clichés, such as the spooky dark house, the helpless old lady unable to tell others of her danger, an inheritance waiting to be claimed, secrets from the past affecting the present. The movie is usually considered to be a ripoff of Hitchcock's Psycho, which seems credible. There are definite plot parallels, but Homicidal goes off in some pretty weird directions all its own. Worth seeing at least once by horror movie fans. Castle really knew how to entertain a crowd.

William Castle "borrowed" rather liberally from Hitchcock's slightly earlier PSYCHO for this tale of a knife-wielding blonde beauty--but as usual, he gave it his famous showman's tacky spin. In theatrical release, the film featured a "fright break:" as the action approaches a climax, a clockface appears on the screen and Castle himself urges those too terrified to return to the lobby for a full refund. But there was, of course, a catch: you had to walk in yellow footsteps applied to the carpet past the jeering audience and agree to sit in "The Coward's Corner" until the movie was over and every one had filed out past you! Needless to say, few (if any) movie-goers ever took him up on it.

But the famous "Fright Break" isn't the only thing HOMICIDAL has going for it. The story itself is more sophisticated than that of most William Castle films, and the female leads are quite effective. Jean Arless, a surprising beauty, is quite startling as "The Homicidal Girl"--a blonde bombshell who has a way with a knife--while both Patricia Breslin and Eugenie Leontovich are quite convincing as two of those on her list of intended victims. And lastly, the film offers a surprise conclusion that can still blindside some less suspecting viewers even today.

That aside, HOMICIDAL has plenty of camp appeal, all of it resting on Jean Arless' WAY over the top performance as she entices, ices, and slices her way from one victim to the next--and as one reviewer has already remarked, you'll feel pretty sure that Annie Lennox borrowed Arless' look (and in some pretty unexpected ways, too) for several of her videos. I must admit that I don't consider HOMICIDAL in the same league with other William Castle schlock-favorites such as 13 GHOSTS, HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, or STRAIT-JACKET--largely, I think, because it seems Castle really is making a bid for cinematic respectability here and that sorta detracts from the fun. But all the same, most fans of Castle's silly horror flicks should get a stab--I mean, a KICK--out of it!

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer