I first caught "Psychomania" very late at night on a local TV station in the 70s, and as a horror/B-movie fan even then I loved it immediately. I think as a kid, it hit upon certain fantasies that kids have (or had back then at least) - living forever, looking cool, riding a motorcycle, dabbling in some occult.
Bike gang leader Tom wants to know the secret to immortality, which evidently his mom and butler know. The main thing is, besides using some talisman, believing you'll come back after committing suicide. After being buried on his bike, Tom returns in a spectacular fashion by riding out of his grave (possibly giving Jim Steinman the inspiration for the concept for the Meat Loaf "Bat Out of Hell" album cover) and takes literally about four seconds to kill someone.
Tom gets everyone in his gang to eventually become immortal like him, except his girlfriend, who doesn't want to die. What's really not discussed is that evidently when you come back, besides immortality, you also gain some kind of super-strength. Two good examples of this would be when Tom drives his bike through a brick wall (his super-strength enabling him to go through the wall) and bending the steel bars of jail cells (off-screen) to break out the rest of the gang (still alive) in jail.
Despite being immortal and having such strength, the gang still do the same stuff when they were alive, like riding on sidewalks and through squares, getting chased by cop cars, terrorizing women by riding through stores, knocking things over that people are carrying etc. One does take it a little further in a striking quick scene with a baby in a carriage. The cops are on their trail since Tom especially makes no effort to hide his face or identity (wearing jackets that say "The Living Dead" on the back also doesn't help).
While a few scenes are on the slow side and drag a bit, there's no doubt that "Psychomania" has earned a spot in the proverbial B-movie hall of fame, a very fun ride into death and violence.
Bike gang leader Tom wants to know the secret to immortality, which evidently his mom and butler know. The main thing is, besides using some talisman, believing you'll come back after committing suicide. After being buried on his bike, Tom returns in a spectacular fashion by riding out of his grave (possibly giving Jim Steinman the inspiration for the concept for the Meat Loaf "Bat Out of Hell" album cover) and takes literally about four seconds to kill someone.
Tom gets everyone in his gang to eventually become immortal like him, except his girlfriend, who doesn't want to die. What's really not discussed is that evidently when you come back, besides immortality, you also gain some kind of super-strength. Two good examples of this would be when Tom drives his bike through a brick wall (his super-strength enabling him to go through the wall) and bending the steel bars of jail cells (off-screen) to break out the rest of the gang (still alive) in jail.
Despite being immortal and having such strength, the gang still do the same stuff when they were alive, like riding on sidewalks and through squares, getting chased by cop cars, terrorizing women by riding through stores, knocking things over that people are carrying etc. One does take it a little further in a striking quick scene with a baby in a carriage. The cops are on their trail since Tom especially makes no effort to hide his face or identity (wearing jackets that say "The Living Dead" on the back also doesn't help).
While a few scenes are on the slow side and drag a bit, there's no doubt that "Psychomania" has earned a spot in the proverbial B-movie hall of fame, a very fun ride into death and violence.