"It's a Shocker !"
"A mad man roars out of Texas and sends a beautiful young girl's dreams down the drain.....and a whole town into shock !"
Produced and directed by Jim Feazell (who worked as an uncredited stuntman on several late 60's westerns), this oddball & off kilter Arkansas produced thriller was originally released regionally in 1974 under the title of WHEELER with a PG rating. In 1980 Feazell shot some additional footage with bit more sleaze and nudity to spice it up for the drive-in crowd with one sequence featuring future scream queen Linnea Quigley in an early role as a barmaid tormented & humiliated by the title character, along with some flashback sequences. With this footage (along with some additional editing done by the distributors) the movie was re-released in 1980 as PSYCHO FROM TEXAS bearing a new "R" rating. The original WHEELER cut has yet to surface, but over the years PSYCHO has turned up occasionally on budget DVD's that all were seemingly sourced from the old Paragon VHS tape. Code Red recently released this as part of one of their "6 packs", which although sourced from a somewhat battered 35mm print is a welcome upgrade none the less.
Forcing Phillips to write him a check he brazenly walks into a bank to cash it and wonders about a town bit, buying some KFC (with the constant prominent placement of the KFC logo you know who supplied the catering), smashes a drug pusher in the crotch with a pool cue and ends back at Phillip's house where he's welcomed by by his daughter who's busy planning a party along with her friend (who happens to be the sheriffs daughter). Things go from bad to worse at the Phillips house and back in town he walks into a bar (still clutching his predominately displayed KFC box) and forces barmaid Linnea Quigley to strip nude & dance while he dumps beer over her and finally forces her to straddle an unconscious bar patron.
Periodically we're shown flashbacks from Wheeler's perspective (with close-ups of his eyes) that show his childhood with his abusive Mother (played by Angela Carnon from 1970's THE BOOBY TRAP) who works as a prostitute bedding down with traveling salesmen while little Wheeler spies on them. There's also a flashback concerning an earlier murder that was likely inserted to add some more blood and a bit of nudity to the proceedings. John King III knocked around both behind and in front of the camera in several low budget films and rather bizarrely would later pop up in a small role in an episode of CAGNEY & LACEY. As Wheeler he brings a strange presence to an already strangely shot & edited movie. Lethargically going about his business he exudes a creepy low key psycho vibe that would send most right minded people fleeing in the opposite direction a few seconds after encountering him.
Man, that's a cool title and poster though.
ReplyDeleteHi Rob,
DeleteIt is a pretty cool poster. I actually kind of like this -it's kind of cool in it's own weird way. Thanks buddy !
I haven't seen this one, but I love movies like this - released in different forms at different times. But the Linnea timeline is throwing me a bit. If her sequence was shot in 1980 it would have been after her appearance in Fairy Tales which I think came out in 1977. But the 1980 year would better correspond with her age (born 1958, if that is to be believed) because if she was in the 1974 shoot she would have been 16...which puts a whole new spin on THAT scene. I will try to get ahold of Code Red's version - though I might have that VHS or one of the bargain DVD's ripped from it in the video vault already.
ReplyDeleteHi Craig,
DeleteAs far as I can figure the new stuff was shot in 1980, so your right FAIRY TALES would have been her first screen appearance (I forgot about that one). Thanks ! PM me if you plan on going to Mad Monster and we'll see about hooking up.
Edited my post - Thanks again !
DeleteI am indeed Mad Monstering again! Still have your number - I'll text you after I'm in and settled, if that's okay.
DeleteDick, great post - I've been meaning to watch this one for years, and it's probably all due to the poster/title. I wasn't aware that this had a re-shoot to add harder material... always an interesting viewing experience when that happens. You've put this one back in my mind anyway, so I'll have to see about getting hold of the Code Red disc.
ReplyDeleteThanks JP. I enjoyed this one.
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