Like their contemporary rivals Hammer Films did a number of times before them, British company Amicus attempted to out-psycho PSYCHO (1960) with this thriller based on the same literary source, famed fiction writer Robert Bloch. Rarely seen over the years and never before available on the home video format in the U.S., Kino Lorber remedies THE PSYCHOPATH's long-awaited rescue from obscurity with this Blu-ray release.

Outside a public street, an automobile is vandalized with a flat tire. Klermer (John Harvey, THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA), the owner of the car, spots the damage and realizes he has to make his destination on foot, violin in hand. During his walk, he is cornered in an alley by a red car, with the driver repeatedly crashing into him. At the scene of the crime is left a custom-made doll in his likeness. The murdered Klermer never made it to his destination, the home of friend Frank Saville (Alexander Knox, CRACK IN THE WORLD) to play with a classical musical ensemble that also includes Martin Roth (Thorley Walters, THE TWISTED NERVE) and Victor Ledoux (Robert Crewdson, THE BLOOD BEAST FROM OUTER SPACE). When rain-coated Inspector Holloway (Patrick Wymark, REPULSION) shows up at the doorstep, he counts all of Klermer’s friends as suspects, including Saville’s lovely doll-designer daughter Louise (Judy Huxtable, SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN) and her American medical student fiancé Donald (Don Borisenko, THE HIRED GUN). Holloway does have one connecting motif to go on: Klermer and his virtuoso cronies all were responsible of convicting a German industrialist named Von Sturm as a war criminal after World War II. Von Sturm’s wheelchair-bound widow Ilsa (Margaret Johnston, BURN, WITCH, BURN), who collects and custom makes dolls (which she speaks to in a large living space), holds a grudge as she believed her late husband to be innocent, as does her oddball night watchman son Mark (John Standing, TORTURE GARDEN). With the likely suspects in the palm of Holloway’s hands, more ghastly murders occur accompanied with killer’s calling card; look-alike dolls left beside their victims.

By the mid 1960s, cinematographer Freddie Francis had turned his intentions to directing for a spout, with a run of films which included Hammer’s black & white psychological thrillers PARANOIAC (1963), NIGHTMARE (1964) and HYSTERIA (1965). By the mid 1960s, Francis had been brought over to Amicus to helm the first of their iconic portmanteau films, DR. TERROR’S HOUSE OF HORRORS and a follow-up Cushing/Lee vehicle, THE SKULL. Bringing color into the sub-PSYCHO genre — the films were known for being shot in black & white (even William Castle’s imitations in the States, such as HOMICIDAL and THE NIGHT WALKER were being shot that way) — didn’t do much for THE PSYCHOPATH, and it pretty much became a lost film in the decades to come. Produced by Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky, THE PSYCHOPATH may have had one foot in the past, owing to the competitors’ moody thrillers of the last several years, but it also had one foot in the future, anticipating the “body count” movies with its string of rather inventive murders. Francis’ direction and camera set-ups are not unusually imaginative (as compared with other films he made around this period), Robert Bloch’s story and screenplay is rather clichéd (even at the time of release), and the film as a whole lacks a sense of mystery with the confines of Shepperton’s soundstages giving it a very studio-bound look and feel. But the whole execution of creepy dolls as a recurring shock tactic works well, along with a fine cast that’s totally game and a twist climax that draws a fine line between disturbing and absurd.

THE PSYCHOPATH gives Wymark one of his finest hours, as he was usually relegated to supporting roles, and although the character of Holloway is written as very bland, the actor brings an intriguing persona to him, acting with surprising restraint. Margaret Johnston’s Ilsa is mad as a hatter from the start and she gives the character a much-needed sense of grand guignol, and the always terrific Standing is right behind her in his quirky portrayal of a pasty nutter of a mama’s boy. Huxtable (who is given an “introducing” credit here and had her voice re-dubbed) is also good as the pretty blonde heroine, instrumental in the film’s final act, but one can’t help think she was better used later on in films such as THE TOUCHABLES and Pete Walker’s DIE SCREAMING MARIANNE. The cast also includes a bleach-blond Tim Barrett (THE MUMMY’S SHROUD) as Holloway’s assistant, Colin Gordon (THE PINK PANTHER) as a stuffy doctor accused of poisoning his house call, and an uncredited Caron Gardner (THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN) can be seen as a shapely semi-nude artist’s model. Elisabeth Lutyens (who collaborated with Francis on PARANOIAC, THE SKULL and DR. TERROR’S HOUSE OF HORRORS) composed the memorable score which is most haunting in its nursery rhyme melodies, and the tune "How Can It Be" by the British rock band The Birds (featuring future Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood) can be heard during a coffeehouse scene (The Birds would appear briefly in Francis’ THE DEADLY BEES, another Amicus production written by Bloch).

Never before available on home video in the U.S., THE PSYCHOPATH (which was released by Paramount, the current rights holder) showed up periodically on TV over the years in horrid pan and scan editions, as it was shot in Techniscope, so Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray (the film is also being issued on DVD) is more than a revelation. Boasting a brand new 4K restoration, the film is presented here in 1080p HD in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio for the very first time on home video. Things start out a bit rough during the opening credits and during the film first reel, as there’s a quartet of vertical lines on the source element. This ends around the 22-minute mark, and aside from that flaw, the transfer is quite excellent. Grain appears heavier during the opening nighttime scene and is retained healthy and filmic throughout the presentation. The original Technicolor schemes are richly replicated, even when skin tones occasionally take on a warmer tone, and black levels are consistently deep. Detail and clarity are always impressive. The English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is also fine, with clear dialogue and music; there are noticeable imperfections. Optional English SDH subtitles are included.