In the very first scene we are introduced to director Bill Castle, who gave us such movies as "Macabre" (1958), "House on Haunted Hill" (1959), and "Strait-Jacket" (1964). Some of his gimmicks included Emergo (a glow in the dark skeleton seen above theater audiences), Percepto (vibrating device attached to some theater chairs) and Illusiono (red and blue cellophane strips for one to see/not see the ghosts in a movie). In "Homicidal" he used the "Fright Break," where audience members saw a 45-second timer on screen; they could leave their seats and get a full admission refund in Coward's Corner, assuming a too frightful climax.
In the second scene we observe two children, a boy and girl. The strange-looking boy with big teeth takes a doll from the girl and smirks. "Warren, Warren, it's mine," utters the girl. There is something odd about the boy. Later we will understand that the two are Warren and Miriam, half-brother and half-sister (same father). Now we fast-forward 13 years to the early 1960s; the kids are grown up. Warren still has big teeth.
In the next scene, a blonde woman calling herself Miriam Webster (Jean Arless / Joan Marshall) checks into a hotel and offers a bellhop $2,000 to marry her with the understanding that the marriage will be quickly annulled. He likes the quick cash and agrees. Ms. Webster has a specific justice of the peace in mind, so they drive out to Ventura, California and convince Adrins (James Westerfield) to conduct the midnight ceremony. At its end she pulls out a long knife and stabs Adrins a number of times in the midsection, with blood pouring and with her facial features contorted in murderous hatred. The homicidal one easily escapes from Adrin's shocked wife and bellhop, and drives his car to her own auto, which she then uses from this point on. In the next scene, we learn that Miriam Webster's real name is Emily. She is a caretaker for a wheelchair-bound mute, Helga (Eugenie Leontovich). Helga knows secrets but cannot speak, and is terrified of Emily, who enjoys torturing her verbally. She quickly tells Helga that Adrins died. Helga was Miriam and Warren's nanny. Grown up Miriam Webster is a florist in the attractive Danish-looking town of Solvang, California. She and Emily dislike each other. Emily flirts with Karl (Glen Corbett), a pharmacist who dates Miriam.
Earlier Helga had taken Warren on an ambiguous trip to Denmark. There, Warren had met and secretly married Emily. One evening Emily lies to Karl, thus preventing him from seeing Miriam. Emily breaks into Miriam's flower shop and trashes things; when Karl enters she cracks him over the head and leaves. When he awakens he is staring into the face of Warren. We learn that Miriam and Warren suffered mightily at the hands of Helga (who was a nasty person) and their equally nasty father. Now Warren, strange looking and slightly built, seems to be a confidante of sorts for half-sister Miriam. In two days he will be 21 years old and – AS A MALE – will inherit $10 million. meanwhile, Emily wants to dispose of Helga and Miriam.
SPOILERS - DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU WANT A THOROUGH EXPLANATION:
Greed and psychosis are the issues. There are an evil mom, a weird dad, a bad nanny, and a seedy justice of the peace. The dead wealthy father wanted a son; the mother and nanny raised the daughter like a son to placate him. Adrins went along with the scheme. So there is child abuse (with a whip to toughen up the obviously effeminate Warren) and gender distortion as a male will inherit $10 million, not Miriam, a female! After the horrible Helga is decapitated, Miriam is in the homicidal clutches of Emily and cries for Warren. Emily pulls off her wig and reveals herself as Warren. Emily's motive for killing Adrins and Helga is revenge against their sinister plot to raise Emily as Warren (and to devastate Emily's life along the way). As she is so crazy with murderous revenge she does not radiate sympathy. Miriam's issue differs; she obviously did not know that Warren was a girl (?). Perhaps there is just a sibling rivalry. Note when "Warren" tells Miriam that "he" has already killed Emily. Is it possible that an Emily did exist in Denmark all along? So Warren killed her to assume her identity, to have Emily do the dirty work for Warren? Pretty crazy stuff for 1961! But, discounting this information, there are still plot holes:
PLOT HOLE #1: How could Miriam be so naïve about Emily/Warren's gender? She was her half-sibling after all.
PLOT HOLE #2: Emily gives the name of "Miriam Webster" to the hotel folks to incriminate her. But it would be obvious that Miriam's dissimilar likeness would be an alibi. Did Emily not realize that the police would show up at Miriam's flower shop in Solvang to investigate, leading the police almost to Emily's very doorstep? So why did Emily decide to kill Miriam, who was apparently unaware of the wicked scheme?
PLOT HOLE #3: Why did the adults want Warren to gain the inheritance in the first place? "He" would get the cash, not them. So again, why kill Miriam? Was there a deal to split the cash?
While it certainly borrows quite a few scenes from "Psycho," "Homicidal" stands on its own with its peculiar gender-twisting plot. Overall, the acting is not bad. By the way, Warren's voice was NOT dubbed. The actress Joan Marshall had the uncanny ability to lower her voice range to sound like a man. It adds to the creepiness, like the eerie indoor shots. They called Bill Castle schlock-meister, but he certainly had his following. He was the type of guy who would spend $100,000 for a movie and make $2 million. He made his mark, and since his passing we have not seen the likes of him.
In the second scene we observe two children, a boy and girl. The strange-looking boy with big teeth takes a doll from the girl and smirks. "Warren, Warren, it's mine," utters the girl. There is something odd about the boy. Later we will understand that the two are Warren and Miriam, half-brother and half-sister (same father). Now we fast-forward 13 years to the early 1960s; the kids are grown up. Warren still has big teeth.
In the next scene, a blonde woman calling herself Miriam Webster (Jean Arless / Joan Marshall) checks into a hotel and offers a bellhop $2,000 to marry her with the understanding that the marriage will be quickly annulled. He likes the quick cash and agrees. Ms. Webster has a specific justice of the peace in mind, so they drive out to Ventura, California and convince Adrins (James Westerfield) to conduct the midnight ceremony. At its end she pulls out a long knife and stabs Adrins a number of times in the midsection, with blood pouring and with her facial features contorted in murderous hatred. The homicidal one easily escapes from Adrin's shocked wife and bellhop, and drives his car to her own auto, which she then uses from this point on. In the next scene, we learn that Miriam Webster's real name is Emily. She is a caretaker for a wheelchair-bound mute, Helga (Eugenie Leontovich). Helga knows secrets but cannot speak, and is terrified of Emily, who enjoys torturing her verbally. She quickly tells Helga that Adrins died. Helga was Miriam and Warren's nanny. Grown up Miriam Webster is a florist in the attractive Danish-looking town of Solvang, California. She and Emily dislike each other. Emily flirts with Karl (Glen Corbett), a pharmacist who dates Miriam.
Earlier Helga had taken Warren on an ambiguous trip to Denmark. There, Warren had met and secretly married Emily. One evening Emily lies to Karl, thus preventing him from seeing Miriam. Emily breaks into Miriam's flower shop and trashes things; when Karl enters she cracks him over the head and leaves. When he awakens he is staring into the face of Warren. We learn that Miriam and Warren suffered mightily at the hands of Helga (who was a nasty person) and their equally nasty father. Now Warren, strange looking and slightly built, seems to be a confidante of sorts for half-sister Miriam. In two days he will be 21 years old and – AS A MALE – will inherit $10 million. meanwhile, Emily wants to dispose of Helga and Miriam.
SPOILERS - DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU WANT A THOROUGH EXPLANATION:
Greed and psychosis are the issues. There are an evil mom, a weird dad, a bad nanny, and a seedy justice of the peace. The dead wealthy father wanted a son; the mother and nanny raised the daughter like a son to placate him. Adrins went along with the scheme. So there is child abuse (with a whip to toughen up the obviously effeminate Warren) and gender distortion as a male will inherit $10 million, not Miriam, a female! After the horrible Helga is decapitated, Miriam is in the homicidal clutches of Emily and cries for Warren. Emily pulls off her wig and reveals herself as Warren. Emily's motive for killing Adrins and Helga is revenge against their sinister plot to raise Emily as Warren (and to devastate Emily's life along the way). As she is so crazy with murderous revenge she does not radiate sympathy. Miriam's issue differs; she obviously did not know that Warren was a girl (?). Perhaps there is just a sibling rivalry. Note when "Warren" tells Miriam that "he" has already killed Emily. Is it possible that an Emily did exist in Denmark all along? So Warren killed her to assume her identity, to have Emily do the dirty work for Warren? Pretty crazy stuff for 1961! But, discounting this information, there are still plot holes:
PLOT HOLE #1: How could Miriam be so naïve about Emily/Warren's gender? She was her half-sibling after all.
PLOT HOLE #2: Emily gives the name of "Miriam Webster" to the hotel folks to incriminate her. But it would be obvious that Miriam's dissimilar likeness would be an alibi. Did Emily not realize that the police would show up at Miriam's flower shop in Solvang to investigate, leading the police almost to Emily's very doorstep? So why did Emily decide to kill Miriam, who was apparently unaware of the wicked scheme?
PLOT HOLE #3: Why did the adults want Warren to gain the inheritance in the first place? "He" would get the cash, not them. So again, why kill Miriam? Was there a deal to split the cash?
While it certainly borrows quite a few scenes from "Psycho," "Homicidal" stands on its own with its peculiar gender-twisting plot. Overall, the acting is not bad. By the way, Warren's voice was NOT dubbed. The actress Joan Marshall had the uncanny ability to lower her voice range to sound like a man. It adds to the creepiness, like the eerie indoor shots. They called Bill Castle schlock-meister, but he certainly had his following. He was the type of guy who would spend $100,000 for a movie and make $2 million. He made his mark, and since his passing we have not seen the likes of him.