‘Psycho Killer’ Review: Out of Touch Satanic Crime Thriller Misses Its Mark

Psycho Killer hits theaters this weekend with the kind of pedigree that will make horror fans lean in. Andrew Kevin Walker wrote the script; he’s the same Hollywood legend behind stone-cold classics like Se7en, 8MM, and Sleepy Hollow, the latter still being one of my favorite films of all time. Gavin Polone (Zombieland: Double Tap) directs, and Georgina Campbell stars following her breakout genre turn in Zach Cregger’s Barbarian.

The story moves with familiar procedural beats. Campbell plays Jane, a young state trooper analyst who finds herself pulled into the orbit of a ritualistic serial killer stalking snowbound highways and isolated rural communities. Sounds familiar, right? Cryptic satanic symbols mark the crime scenes. Bodies pile up along desolate roads. The investigation points toward the occult, or at least something that wants to appear occult.

Jane digs into the killer’s psychology while battling skepticism from her superiors and confronting the growing realization that this case stretches beyond a routine manhunt. The bones of a gripping crime thriller sit right there, in a burlap bag, on the coffee table. Yet the film never quite assembles them into something whole or connected.

With that said, this movie does not lack style. It frames snow-covered highways with a stark, almost -like bleakness. It lingers on frozen landscapes and empty stretches of road. The camera finds moments of iciness that suggest both real intention and craft. Campbell usually grounds it all with a performance that feels thoughtful and steady. She plays Jane with intelligence and restraint. She does her best to communicate doubt without collapsing into fragility. And it works. But still, the script is constantly attempting to flatten her out, and resists permitting her character depth or the ability to activate.