PSYCHO COP

(director/writer: Wallace Potts; cinematographer: Mark Walton ; editor: Ian McVey ; music: Alex Parker/Keyth Pisani; cast: Bobby Ray Shafer (Joe Vickers), Jeff Qualle (Doug), Palmer Lee Todd (Laura), Dan Campbell (Eric), Cynthia Guyer (Julie), Linda West (Sarah), Greg Joujon-Roche (Zack); Runtime: 89; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Cassian Elwes/Jessica Rains; Southgate Entertainment; 1989)

“A dumb slasher film.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A dumb slasher film written and directed by Wallace Potts(“Dude”/”Demi-Gods”/”More, More and More”). It reminds one of Maniac Cop (1989).

Overweight police officer Joe Vickers (Bobby Ray Shafer) is not only a devil-worshipping killer cop with a maniacal laugh, but is an escaped mental patient who was hired evidently without going through a background check by a backwater town. The wisecracking lunatic follows in his patrol car six college teens, Doug (Jeff Qualle), Eric (Dan Campbell), Zack (Greg Joujon-Roche) and their respective girlfriends Sarah (Linda West), Julie (Cynthia Guyer) and Laura (Palmer Lee Todd), as they vacation for the weekend in a remote luxurious cabin in the woods. The crazed officer, on a mission from the Devil, butchers the estate caretaker with his own axe and tries taking down all the teens one at a time. When only two teens are left, it’s showtime. Survivor Doug saves the day by throwing a tree branch through the cop’s chest. The pic ends as ridiculously as could be expected for such a ridiculous film.

The filmmaker shoots for black humor through the murders. In one murder sequence the cop shoves his billy club down a victim’s throat and says: “You have the right to remain silent.” In another murder, Vickers lures Julie into the woods by placing her stolen hairbrush in the woods. When she retrieves it, he runs her over with his patrol car. Some viewers might find such killings a scream.

There was a sequel in 1993.

REVIEWED ON 7/12/2015 GRADE: C+