Schizoid, also known as Murder by Mail, is a horror film directed and written by David Paulsen. It was released on September 3rd in 1980, exactly 37 years ago to this date. We tried to time the release of this episode to commemorate its original release date.
If you wish to hear our full opinions on the movie, you can watch the episode above. Needless to say, it was an admirable attempt at a slasher film before the boom happened, angling itself more as a thriller than a mindless gore fest. There was actually more nudity than violence. The cast, especially Christopher Lloyd, was fairly well chosen for their roles, and especially given the tight deadline Cannon afforded David Paulsen to write and direct it.
For a first episode in this series, it ended up being a perfect starter in seeing both Cannon and many others in the beginnings of their "pulp speed" formula in getting films written, produced, and released, as quickly as possible. By that metric, it succeeds in all it wanted to do.
However, all in all, neither of us wound up enjoying it. As a slasher movie the kills were not very exciting, and as a thriller the mystery needed more mystique. As a film there's nothing technically wrong with it, but the writing could have used more time in the oven.
Randy's score: 1/5
JD's score: 2/5
Up next: Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype
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