Malcolm McDowell as Mr. Pendleton in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Psycho Killer’. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Opening in theaters on February 20 is ‘Psycho Killer,’ directed by Gavin Polone and starring Georgina Campbell, James Preston Rogers, Logan Miller, Grace Dove, and Malcolm McDowell.
Release Date: Feb 20, 2026
Run Time: 1 hr 32 min
Budget: $10,000,000
Related Article: Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell Talk New Horror Comedy ‘Cold Storage’
Initial Thoughts
A scene from 20th Century Studios’ ‘Psycho Killer’. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Filmed in 2023 and collecting dust since then, ‘Psycho Killer’ boasts a rising star in Georgina Campbell, a script by ‘Seven’ scribe Andrew Kevin Walker, and the backing of producers behind films like ‘Barbarian’ and ‘Weapons.’
So how did this movie go so horribly off-course? Touted as a sort of serial killer epic, the film is as generic as its title and offers nothing in the way of suspense or genuine chills. Utilizing genre tropes that go back to the 1980s, ‘Psycho Killer’ fails to do anything new with them and even lacks anything in the way of truly shocking kills.
Story and Direction
A scene from 20th Century Studios’ ‘Psycho Killer’. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
At first, ‘Psycho Killer’ seems like it might take an interesting tack: the nation itself is being terrorized by a murderer who has gruesomely and randomly dispatched more than 15 people across six states, with both local and federal authorities baffled. Much of the opening act is told from the point of view of the killer (James Preston Rogers), dubbed by the media as the Satanic Slasher due to the pentagrams and demonic writings the masked monster leaves at his crime scenes.
But nothing too remarkable is done with the idea of a sort of national hysteria brought on by a single killer, and the point of view begins to shift to that of Jane Archer (Georgina Campbell), a Kansas state trooper who lost her husband, also a trooper, to the Satanic Slasher in a cold-blooded daytime shooting that Jane herself witnessed.
Despite official attempts to wave Jane off the case, she doggedly pursues it on her own and chases the killer across the country, while he continues his murder spree and pursues his ultimate agenda. This is where the movie runs into serious problems on all fronts: there is no urgency to either the Slasher or Jane’s missions, and the film’s lackadaisical pacing only reinforces the turgid, repetitive nature of the narrative. One scene halfway through – in which Jane briefly confronts the Slasher – is simply ridiculous because he could slaughter her as easily as he kills everyone else, but allows her to escape only because the movie needs to fill another 45 minutes or so.
James Preston Rogers as Psycho Killer in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Psycho Killer’. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
The same could be said for the Slasher’s stopover at the estate of a wealthy Satanist (Malcolm McDowell), which serves no real purpose except to show some cultists getting naked in a black mass. As for the killer’s ultimate plan, it’s as half-formed and ludicrous as anything else that happens in the movie.
‘Psycho Killer’ goes through such generic, stock tropes – the film even implies that heavy metal music may have influenced the Slasher (yes, that old chestnut) – that we found ourselves wondering if something was going to flip the whole thing on its head and make the movie into some sort of ‘meta’ comment on the genre itself. But no, ‘Psycho Killer’ offers up nothing of the sort, plodding to a weary finish that makes less and less sense as it gets there. Even the kills are dull, with the Slasher mainly swinging large objects into people’s torsos or heads as gouts of CG blood squirt into the air.
Cast and Performances
Georgina Campbell as Jane Archer in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Psycho Killer’. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Georgina Campbell is something of an up-and-coming scream queen who has acquitted herself nicely in other genre films like ‘Barbarian’ and ‘Cold Storage.’ But while she tries valiantly here, the story lets her down and makes her into a one-note hero and vessel for exposition. The fact that almost none of the men in the film seem to take Jane seriously only adds to the insult.
James Preston Rogers certainly has an imposing physical presence and a voice as deep as the vaults of hell itself, but the Slasher in his long black coat and radiation mask lacks anything resembling a personality and has a muddled back story that may have at least been partially left on the cutting room floor. Malcolm McDowell is a legend, of course, but all he does here is chew the scenery for a few minutes before exiting abruptly.
Final Thoughts
James Preston Rogers as Psycho Killer in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Psycho Killer’. Photo by Eric Zachanowich. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
‘Psycho Killer’ is directed by Gavin Polone, who has worked much more frequently as a producer and should perhaps keep that job: his direction doesn’t exhibit any feel for creating a truly terrifying atmosphere or sense of impending doom. As for Andrew Kevin Walker, we have to wonder what happened to the writer who gave us the brilliant ‘Seven’ all those years ago.
That was a movie that had something to say, along with three expertly conceived characters. But ‘Psycho Killer,’ which seems positioned as a throwback to the serial killer films of the 1980s, has nothing to say about that era of horror cinema and nothing new to offer about this longstanding archetype itself. As the song of the same name (which does not show up here) once said, ‘run, run, run away’ from this misfire.
‘Psycho Killer’ receives a score of 30 out of 100.
James Preston Rogers as Psycho Killer in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Psycho Killer’. Photo by Eric Zachanowich. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
What is the plot of ‘Psycho Killer’?
Following the brutal murder of her husband, a Kansas highway patrol officer (Georgina Campbell) sets out to track down the perpetrator. As the hunt progresses, she comes to realize the man responsible (James Preston Rogers) is a sadistic serial killer, and the depth of his mental depravity and his sinister agenda is more twisted than anyone could have imagined.
Who is in the cast of ‘Psycho Killer’?
- Georgina Campbell as Jane Archer
- James Preston Rogers as the Psycho Killer
- Malcolm McDowell as Mr. Pendleton
- Logan Miller as Marvin
- Grace Dove as Agent Becky Collins
- Aaron Merke as Leonard Wilkes
- Nigel Shawn Williams as Jane’s Father
20th Century Studios’ ‘Psycho Killer’ opens in theaters on February 20th.
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