Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Graphic, gory serial killer thriller feels half-finished.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Psycho Killer
What's the Story?
In PSYCHO KILLER, a serial killer is on the loose. State Trooper Mike Archer (Stephen Adekolu) pulls a man over on a Kansas highway, and his wife, Jane (Georgina Campbell), also a state trooper, happens by. Just as Jane starts to get suspicious, the driver shoots Mike and kills him. Vowing her revenge, Jane hits the road to find the elusive Satanic Slasher (James Preston Rogers). Finding very little help, she slowly pieces together clues until she encounters the killer at a seedy motel. She survives the meeting, and he gets away, but now she has enough information to deduce what his final plans are—and where he's going to be.
Is It Any Good?
There's a satisfying Midwest winter vibe in this thriller, and Jane is a likable-enough character, but she's given a movie that almost isn't a movie; the things that happen here don't seem connected. Written by Andrew Kevin Walker, whose Se7en is one of the great serial killer movies, Psycho Killer is a far cry from that high point. It almost feels like it could be an unfinished draft of a script that someone snatched from Walker's drawer.
Campbell does her best to give Jane an inner life, but she's often alone on-screen, as if no one else is bothering to hunt the killer, and there's only so much she can do. And although the killer is played by the imposing Rogers, he's given an oddly artificial voice, like the Scream killer's electronic voice changer, but ... it's not electronic. He sometimes wears a creepy mask, but even when he doesn't, the camera never directly shows his face, even though other characters can see him clearly. And for some reason Malcolm McDowell joined the cast as a preposterous satanic priest called Mr. Pendleton. His entire sequence exists only so that the killer can obtain a piece of information that seems pretty easy to get. The scene in which Jane faces the killer ends with her getting thrown through a window and sirens descending, but then we cut to her in a hotel room with one small cut on her face; what happened in between? Who knows? Psycho Killer is too clueless to be clever.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Psycho Killer's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
What is the nature of revenge? Can it be satisfying? Why? Can it ever truly solve a problem? How does this movie portray revenge?
Why are people often fascinated with stories about serial killers? Does the movie glorify the Satanic Slasher, or are viewers meant to be repelled by him?
How is drug use portrayed? Is it glamorized? Are there realistic consequences? Why does that matter?
Movie Details
- In theaters : February 20, 2026
- Cast : Georgina Campbell , James Preston Rogers , Malcolm McDowell
- Director : Gavin Polone
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : 20th Century Studios
- Genre : Thriller
- Topics : Transportation ( Cars & Trucks )
- Run time : 92 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : strong bloody violence, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language
- Last updated : March 3, 2026
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