‘Evil. Just because.’
Psychopaths is a 2017 American horror film written and directed by Mickey Keating (Carnage Park; Darling; Pod; Ritual).
It is described as “a sprawling, psychedelic ensemble piece that follows several serial killers over the course of a single night.”
The film was screened at the 16th annual Tribeca Film Festival in April 2017, in New York.
Reviews:
“Keating is after impact via imagery and sound, and both are as varied and off-kilter as the psyches on display, while he once again pays homage to past cinematic favorites. With cinematographer Mac Fisken, he adopts different lighting and color schemes from character to character, ranging from noirish shadow play to Giallo-esque primary colors…” Rue Morgue magazine
“Keating’s experiment with form results in a film that is at once hypnotic, hallucinatory, and horrifying: an abstract nightmare of black comedy and madness […] Psychopaths is his wildest, most exciting exploration of madness to date, offering a terrific ensemble of indie horror all-stars and some truly dazzling filmmaking.” Daily Dead
“Keating finds creative ways to get under your skin and affect you by the onscreen carnage. The film feels like a loving wink to horror films of the 70s and 80s, featuring wipes and split screens, along with a narrator guiding us on this blood-soaked journey.” The Cinemaholic
“Psychopaths’ dabble of flimsy mystery linking its titular serial killers together is more insulting than intriguing, as is the character with multiple personality disorder. For every exploitative turn Split takes with Disassociative Identity Disorder, Psychopaths pimps the same without shame.” Paste magazine
“There is good stuff here, but Psychopaths shoots its load early on and the framing device, with Fessenden’s character’s doom-laden speech, is incredibly clunky. Keating is a demonstrably talented and inventive filmmaker willing to take a risk. If he reined it in a little bit, this could’ve been something really special.” Wicked Horror
Main cast:
- Jeff Daniel Phillips (The Ice Cream Truck; 31; Halloween II),
- Ashley Bell (Carnage Park; The Day; The Last Exorcism and sequel),
- Angela Trimbur (Trash Fire; The Final Girls)
- James Landry Hébert (Ghost House; Carnage Park)
- Helen Rogers (Darling; Body; V/H/S)
- Matt Mercer (Beyond the Gates; The Mind’s Eye; Contracted and sequel)
- Mark Kassen, Jeremy Gardner (The Mind’s Eye; The Battery; Spring)
- Padraig Reynolds (director of The Devil’s Dolls; Rites of Spring)
Keating was also a producer, along with Jenn Wexler, William Day Frank, Cam McLellan and Al Lewison. Larry Fessenden served as executive producer.
