Homicide

After this movie, my mom, a big movie fan, proclaimed, "That was even better than Hitchcock!" I don't know, I wouldn't go that far. However, to the local detractors, if you dispense with the meaningless comparisons, you have to admit that William Castle did a good job. The twist at the end really surprised me, and I consider myself a fairly astute viewer (and I didn't research anything about this film beforehand, so that's why), and some of the visual gimmicks, like the 50-second pause to leave the cinema before a tense scene, really amused me. I wish I could have been at the premiere at the time and heard the audience's look of amazement at the reveal :o) The year it was released, the prestigious Time magazine listed Homicide as one of the 10 best films of the year, congratulations. (26/10/2018)

A very good follower of Psycho. I’m intentionally saying follower instead of rip-off because, despite of being clearly inspired on Hitchcock’s masterpiece, I don’t see any reason why a viewer of Psycho couldn’t have a really good time with Homicidal. The twist is (to some extent) pretty predictable, but paradoxically, its premature reveal adds tension to some parts. The scary pause right before the end is off the mark from a modern point of view, but I’d lie if I said that the sequence that follows it doesn’t generate at least a little fear, because it does. Overall, I think Homicidal is a good mysterious thriller that works the way it should, but that also has some notable elements that don’t work today (where a modern film would use a flashback, here the characters have to blabber like robots). 8/10 (25/01/2011)

Cinq ans après l’avoir vu pour la première fois, j’avais déjà oublié à quel point l’intrigue d’Homicide était construite de façon alambiquée. C’est comme si les créateurs avaient délibérément essayé de brouiller les pistes par rapport aux liens familiaux qui unissent les personnages centraux pour que personne ne parvienne à trouver la clé de l’énigme. L’explication simpliste émise par le chercheur à la fin ne serait alors qu’un discret pied de nez au spectateur qui aura fait de son mieux pour trouver un fil rouge dans l’intrigue. Par contre, une fois mise de côté l’intrigue assemblée « pour l’effet », le film a des choses à offrir, notamment grâce à sa réalisation pro ; William Castle, même si son rayon est plutôt l’humour noir, se débrouille pas trop mal avec les scènes choc – sérieusement, pour 1961 – dégoulinantes de sang qui surgissent à l’improviste et l’ambiance énigmatique en crescendo. Homicide est un successeur très ludique de Psychose qui ne manque pas de charme. [FOD 2020] (11/03/2020)

If you’re not even a little bit blown away by Psycho (what are you looking at?), it's hard to get a kick out of this unceremonious rip-off pieced together from redundant dialogue and transitions between three locations. Fortunately, with the arrival of a young version of Gott, who only turns his heel on set in 90° and 180°, it gets a whole new breath of fresh air, and his mere presence in front of the camera produces a scene that will more than once leave you giggling uncontrollably like a complete retard. Unfortunately, when the big reveal comes, his character even retrospectively transforms from irresistible cringe to creative intent, making it once again a gutted Hitchcock, so not that great. (05/03/2020)