Review: Psycho Cop 2 – Psycho Cop Returns (1993)

Directed by: Adam Rifkin | 85 minutes | horror, thriller, comedy | Actors: Bobby Ray Shafer, Barbara Lee Alexander, Roderick Darin, Miles David Dougal, Nick Vallelonga, Dave Bean, John Paxton, Julie Strain, Alexandria Lakewood, Priscilla Huckleberry, Justin Carroll, Kimberly Spies, Al Schuermann, David Andriole, Adam Rifkin, Alisa Wilson, Michael Karp, Brittany Ashland, Sara Lee Froton

This production is a sequel to “Psycho Cop” from 1988, although it can also be viewed as a self-contained story due to the lack of connecting storylines. It turned out in “Psycho Cop” that ex-police officer Joe Vickers has his own methods, again it becomes clear that he cannot really worry about the legality of his own actions. And he doesn’t need much to do that. When he gets wind of a bachelor party that is being held in an office building, he foresees that the law could be broken with the hired female strippers, the alcohol and other mind-altering substances present. Something that Vickers finds hard to reconcile with his own principles and which makes him decide to take a crackdown on all that moral and moral decay. Perhaps a commendable endeavor, even for an ex-law enforcer, but Vickers’ zeal goes wild when he brutally and ruthlessly kills everyone he meets in the office building.

The credibility of the events can thus be put on the back burner from the outset. And all too soon, nothing much can be taken seriously in this story. Due to the structure and developments, this production comes across as a satirical-humorous slasher film. And by the way it is presented it can be said that this film is qualitatively successful. First of all, the necessary acts of abuse and atrocities are more than sufficient. And although it could have been a bit more frequent and explicit for the hardcore horror fan, the scenes in which Vickers makes his victims will still appeal to the imagination. Vickers throws his victims off the towering office building, pushes them into an elevator shaft several feet high, impales them and shoots several of his victims, rams a pencil through the eye of a night watchman, breaks the neck of a female stripper and chops with it. an ax on the loose. All this is accompanied by several successful special effects and the necessary bloodshed. So little reason for the enthusiast to complain, all the more so since several of Vickers’ victims counterattack and he himself also has to take the necessary.

In addition, the humor comes across as successful on several fronts. The nonsensical dialogues between them and the overwhelming panicky fuss of the various on the run victims already provide a successful light-hearted undertone to the whole event. But it is the appearance and performance of the grinning, chuckling and sadistic law enforcement officer Joe Vickers that makes sure there is enough to laugh about in this production. In large part also because of the sarcastic one-liners that he constantly throws at it. Sometimes a bit bland and against the corny, but usually actually funny, also because it emphasizes the absurdity of various occurring situations.

The downside of the approach of this production may be that it doesn’t get really unnerving anywhere. The structure and developments in the story are too nonsensical for that and the humor present also contributes to this. But there is a successful build-up of tension and the maintenance thereof. The same goes for the action that comes along. Chases, fatal or non-fatal confrontations of various kinds, occurring shock effects… here too there is little reason to complain. And it takes place in a well-chosen environment: an abandoned office building with numerous dark corridors and dimly lit stairwells. The danger in the person of Vickers can pop up at any time and from any angle, something that always helps to achieve an appropriate threat in the background.

Successful acting further from this and that. Shafer, as in “Psycho Cop,” is cut out for the role of the over-scoring law enforcement officer. Not only because of his imposing appearance, but also because with his maniacal facial expressions he manages to give the insane officer Vickers an appropriate threatening appearance. As well as through his one-liners and the nonsensical statements he makes to his already dead victims. Also nice work from the other actors. Not always convincing, also due to the not too high budget of this film, but the enthusiasm of the various parties involved pays off a lot. And the excess of female nude in the form of the hired female strippers will not affect the male viewers in particular.

fall wrong. However, the division of roles is quite clichéd. In the sense that, with a few exceptions, involvement with most characters will be hard to find and it will be immediately clear who will or will not survive the coming misery.

A consequence of the cliché is the predictability of most of the whole event. In addition to quickly becoming clear who will die, the story takes place in a deserted location, there is no call for help, the various characters are not always clever, and the villain of the story is not only inhumanly strong. , but also has exceptional stamina and stamina. An ax in his stomach, a blowtorch to his face, a fall into an elevator shaft several feet deep … it is nowhere near enough to cause him any significant burden. Just like in many other slasher films in which the villain cannot be destroyed. And so there are more clichés and predictable things. But it will not weigh that heavily for fans of these types of films. Given the approach of this production, these are matters that seem all the more appropriate. And also in its entirety, this film has succeeded in its purpose, and it has also become one of those films in which tension and humor go well together. Especially for a low-budget film that does not pretend to be anything more than a satirically humorous slasher film. A successful sequel to “Psycho Cop”.