34) Anatomy of a Psycho (1961)

A psychotic killer prowls the night. Will he be stopped before he strikes again?

Director
Boris Karloff (as Brooke L. Peters)

Cast
Ronnie Burns - Mickey
Pamela Lincoln - Pat
Darrell Howe - Chet
Michael Grainger - Lt. Mac

During my visit to Crypticon - the Horror Convention in St. Joseph, Missouri, near Kansas City -  this past summer, I found one of those horror collections with 50 B-horror movies in one box.
This collection is called "Night Screams"... because "day screams" just isn't scary, I guess.
If you're going to go to a horror movie convention, you're going to look for horror movies. And for a sticker price of $12, I grabbed it.
I'll watch all 50 movies for sure, starting with this one - Anatomy of a Psycho. And I'll take any readers out there with me as I get through all 50.
What makes Anatomy of a Psycho stand out is its director, Boris Karloff - Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 film, Frankenstein. 
However, he's credited as Brooke L. Peters. And notable B-movie director, Ed Wood, was evidently a contributor to the screenplay. With music borrowed from Wood's movie Plan 9 From Outer Space for this movie, that's definitely believable.
The premise centers around Chet (Darrell Howe), a teenager whose brother is sentenced to death.
Chet can't handle seeing his brother placed on death row. It drives his mind into severe states of psychosis.
No one, not even his loved ones, seems to be able to help him. Chet looses his mind and his grasp on reality. He swears revenge on all involved in the prosecution of his brother. This revenge starts with Chet assaulting the son of the prosecuting attorney involved in the trail.

But one police lieutenant named Mac suspects Chet of this assault.
Chet, meanwhile, has completely lost touch with reality.

Lt. Mac (Michael Grainger) and Pat (Pamela Lincoln) try to help

Chet (Darrell Howe) as insanity slowly takes hold of his mind.

This movie is really more of a crime thriller than a horror movie.
And even as a crime thriller, it's very underwhelming.
None of the acting comes across as convincing, or even half good.
At times, I felt a little confused around the story.
Chet didn't strike me as a character loosing touch with reality. Rather, he seemed like a man grieving pretty hard over the fate of his brother, and wanting retaliation.
At least the movie didn't resort to some special effect or transition scene showing Chet go from angry to loosing his sense of reality. You know, like a swirling spiral superimposed on a close up of Chet's face. Rather, the movie attempts to act it out. Kudos for the effort!
This movie bored me more than it entertained. I was interested, though, in what Chet was going to do in the end, when circumstances caught up to him. It tried. The movie really did try to tell a compelling story. I'm sure I'll watch it again to give it another chance.
The camera angles were so nostalgic, especially at the end when tension and intrigued runs its highest. The drastic high and low angles are very much techniques common in these period films.
All in all, this is very much a B-movie among B-movies. Take it for what it's worth. So, one down, 49 to go!

Coming Up Next...

A 1981 Italian horror movie that I swear took some inspiration from Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.