Written and directed by Pirie Martin, a criminal fixer who experiences auditory hallucinations must confront old demons when a new contract drags him into a surreal maelstrom of mind-altering drugs, delusional vigilantes and a sadistic hypnotist who seems more monster than man. Starring: Derryn Amoroso, Kate Holly Hall, Henry Errington, Michael Wilkop, Pj van Gyen and James McCluskey-Garcia.
One of the key problems with films that like to play around with reality is keeping it grounded enough for the plot to develop and hold your attention and that’s something that Psychosis struggles with. It’s following a fairly simple path to chase down its sadistic hypnotist and his twisted pharmaceuticals but it’s injecting so much distracting style that it feels convoluted and creates a lot of distance from the audience. Something that’s at its most disrupting in the final scenes.
Part of that is the use of inner voices, Pirie Martin establishes their presence then continues to let them invade scenes all throughout the film which hinders the quality of the audio and the scenes themselves. Some work better than others, the narrator was a good choice and has a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy feel, but those whispering, hounding voices get in the way after a while. It feels like something that could have been left to the audience’s imagination or driven by the performance rather than explicitly included.
It’s a shame to see those struggles as there’s some good ideas at its foundation, attempting to create something gritty and different, yet heavily influenced by iconic cinema. You can easily feel the love of Tarantino and Boyle, but as things progress there’s hints of Waititi and beloved independent cinema. Not to mention the strong, red pill, blue pill vibe that Psychosis has going on, and towards the end it almost feels like it’s pulling from Mad Max.
Martin is attempting to bring some artistic flair to the table, especially with the choice to use a lot of close-up, angled shots and a black and white aesthetic. As well as playing with genre, blending horror and thriller with a touch of sci-fi or fantasy in its present yet a touch futuristic story. Derryn Amoroso leads the way as a character that feels part Winston Wolfe and part Leonard Shelby, he’s clever yet slightly unhinged and losing his grip on reality.
Amoroso’s performance is possibly one of the strongest things that Psychosis has to offer, he brings just the right amount of brokenness to Cliff. However, it feels like his performance isn’t being given the space it needs to guide viewers through this story. He’s being slightly drowned out by the stylistic choices, which makes it even harder for the supporting cast to break through that wall.
Psychosis had a good concept but got too caught up in the visual side of things to let its writing make an impact. The story and performances get lost among a lot of distracting touches. Especially considering its coming in with a short runtime of an hour and thirty-eight minutes. There are some interesting choices and the intention is definitely there but the execution is too busy and frantic to do them justice.
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