Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Psycho Beach Party Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 16, 2015

Like a giant layer cake of self-awareness, camp is piled on top of camp in 2000’s “Psycho Beach Party,” which looks to pants various genres of the 1960s, committing to a broad style of silliness to achieve its goals. Adapting his own theatrical production, screenwriter/co-star Charles Busch wins points for enthusiasm, trying to massage a spirited take on bikini-clad high jinks and serial murder for as long as possible, aided by wonderful performances from the cast, who give themselves completely to the low-budget endeavor, playing loud and lively. However, a little of “Psycho Beach Party” goes a long way, and the feature has trouble maintaining manic energy, with obvious dips in inspiration throttling the merriment Busch is eager to summon.

Near Malibu Beach, Florence “Chicklet” Forrest (Lauren Ambrose) is having difficulty fitting in with her peers, frustrated with her lack of sexual development, leaning on best pal Berdine (Danni Wheeler) for support. To cope with her worries, Chicklet has developed dissociative identity disorder, filing through a list of personalities, with one specifically dominant one attracting surf king Kanaka (Thomas Gibson). Joining beach royalty, Chicklet finds a match with Starcat (Nicholas Brendon), a wave rider with his own set of anxieties. Also stalking the area is a serial killer targeting the less fortunate residents of Malibu, with Captain Monica Stark (Charles Busch) on the case, hunting for a suspect with a specific taste in victims, with her previous ties to Kanaka complicating the investigation.

It’s tough to lampoon the beach party subgenre, as those pictures were always wink-happy efforts to begin with, crafted with limited attention to seriousness as a way to play directly to the target demographic. Heck, even Frankie and Annette participated in their own parody with 1987’s “Back to the Beach,” working to close a chapter of cinema history they helped popularize. To achieve an identity of its own, “Psycho Beach Party” is turned into a drag show of sorts, investing in outrageousness that finds the characters emoting at top volume and the plot winding through oddball events, working through teases of horror and romance on tippy toes.

Preserving such candied tonality proves difficult for director Robert Lee King, who has a lot to juggle to keep “Psycho Beach Party” on the move. Mercifully, the feature never comes to a complete stop, but it certainly feels overwhelmed at times, laboring to communicate Chicklet’s mental health issues while tending to her time with her surf brothers, who come across B-movie actress Bettina (Kimberly Davies) at a nearby home, which they believe to be haunted. There’s Monica’s saga, with the tough cop struggling to mute her feelings for Kanaka as the case reunites them, focusing on a killer who targets those with special needs, including a victim with one testicle. Ruth (Beth Broderick), Chicklet’s mother, also joins the festivities, with her sex-starved ways trying to tempt Swedish exchange student Lars (Matt Kesslar) into submission. Busch’s narrative ambition is welcome, but he bites off more than he can chew, watching as silly situations fall flat due to lack of punchlines and visual might. While King is challenged with a limited budget, the film often relies entirely on the cast, returning to its theatrical origins as everyone shouts their lines and gestures wildly, which doesn’t squeeze moments as tightly as the production imagines.

Thankfully, the cast has come to play, leading with Ambrose, who contributes wonderfully unhinged work as Chicklet, who switches personalities when triggered by patterns, moving from sassy to threatening, effectively burying the virginal host. Sent on an impossible mission of bigness, Ambrose nails the role, never missing a beat with Chicklet’s neuroses and her nuclear meltdowns. The supporting cast is also quite comfortable with the camp extremes they’re being asked to play, finding Davies appealing as a fading movie star looking to reclaim a career buried in schlock, Gibson playful as a surfing god with intimate bedroom fetishes, and Broderick alluring as Chicklet’s randy mother. Adding brightness to the effort is Amy Adams (in one of her earliest screen appearances), who offers attitude and sharp dance moves as brat Marvel Ann, and Kathleen Robertson walks away with the picture’s largest laughs as Rhonda, a bitter wheelchair-bound teen who goes out of her way to be mean to everyone.

Playing an important role in “Psycho Beach Party” is sexuality, with Busch and King having fun messing around with the homoerotic antics of the surf gang, who frequently engage in prolonged shirtless wrestling matches. Berdine’s friendly support of Chicklet isn’t entirely driven by kindness, watching the BFF stymied in her effort to confess her attraction to her pal. Gender lines are blurred and kinks are common, giving “Psycho Beach Party” a little heat and a lot of frustration to help goose the madcap mood.

Psycho Beach Party Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Trying to mirror the bright attitude of teen movies, "Psycho Beach Party" arrives with a colorful AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation, which brings out wonderful hues, keeping skies deep blue, while costumes shine with pinks, reds, and greens. Screen energy is sustained when exposed to full sunlight, making beach events pop as intended. Skintones are natural and abundant. Detail is satisfactory for low-budget production, offering facial particulars that identify precise performance choices, and set decoration is open for study, with plenty of frame information to spot as the period is revived. Delineation has a few issues, primarily contained to the final act, where nighttime antics periodically lose their definition. Source is in good shape, only tracking some minor elements of debris and speckling.

Psycho Beach Party Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix isn't one to explore surround activity, mostly using the rears to push out scoring cues and soundtrack cuts, which carry crisply, with encouraging instrumentation and weight. Dialogue exchanges are the top priority for the track, and comedic bigness is preserved without distortion, with a comfortable range and management of difficult locations, finding Oceanside encounters threatening dramatic clarity. Atmospherics are appropriately energetic, with luau particulars and beach antics pronounced.

Psycho Beach Party Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director Robert Lee King and screenwriter Charles Busch.

• Music Video (3:36, SD) is a performance clip from Los Straitjackets.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included.

Psycho Beach Party Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

King arranges for subgenre tributes (the effort begins and ends in a drive-in theater), including obvious rear-projection visuals for surfing sequences, and there's a mid-movie dance off that gives all funny business a much needed rest. "Psycho Beach Party" does a fine job mimicking all the films that provide inspiration, embracing extremes of color and silly antics. It's certainly a likable picture with a distinct need to please that's endearing, especially when articulated by the gifted cast. What missing from "Psycho Beach Party" are bellylaughs, with the production whiffing more than expected, spending too much time shaping obvious jokes, lacking a devastating wit capable of transforming simple parody into grand entertainment.