Simply A Masterpiece

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

I have viewed some of Piper's other work and have come to realize that if Edgewood Studios is absent from the credits, then you shouldn't bother. Drainiac was alright, Arachnia was pretty good but Psyclops is his best. The three aforementioned flicks all were produced by Edgewood while the two other Piper films I have viewed, Nymphoid Barbarian and Screaming Dead, both awful films, were not affiliated with Edgewood.Where Piper shines is through his mastery of making every penny in his low budget count. Where the majority of filmmakers flounder is through their special effects; usually of the computer animated variety. These effects are trite and amateurish, and Brett Piper rarely uses them, instead relying on ancient stop-motion techniques (which in my opinion are far more entertaining than all of the insipid films that use computer animation). That being said, Piper's main draw is the homage he pays to old B films of yore.This film tells the tale of video geek Shep (Merriman) who finds a machine that can open other dimensions. His three pals urge him to not tinker with the unknown, but had he took their advice into account, than this would have been a short film. So Shep tinkers away and unleashes creatures from another dimension while fusing his beloved camcorder to the side of his head (a rather bizarre twist but neat and unique). He then sets out to abduct the woman he pines for, Heather (Di Gregorio) with the aid of the creatures and a zombie duo.Although this film isn't great, it is head and shoulders above 95% of the direct-to-video garbage that litters your local rental store. Piper refuses to follow the lemmings in their journey toward the cliffs edge by shunning computer generated effects and creates a true modern B-Rate masterpiece.Violence:$$ (more gore than violence as the creatures kill the scientist that created the time-travel device and basically wreak havoc whenever given the chance).Nudity:$$ (one uncalled for scene of some girl making a home video of herself stripping that the friends watch, just for the sake of a naked body. Diane Di Gregorio also flashes Shep while he goofs around with his camcorder) Story:$$$$ (highly unique for a B-Rate film. Piper's screenplay creates some likable characters and employs solid dialogue to go along with the clever plot).Acting:$$$$ (Dan Merriman shines as the bizarre Shep, a man too eager to tinker and less concerned with the possibility of harming himself or others. He does a brilliant job with this oddball character, despite his obvious flaws, you can't help but like the weird guy. Diane Di Gregorio also shines as Shep's love interest, a naive young woman whose heart is larger than her mental capacity. Rob Monkiewicz and Irene Joseph do fine jobs with their "level-headed" characters.

While I enjoyed this B movie greatly, there is no way that it was not influenced by the great New England master of supernatural lore, HP Lovecraft. After all, filmed by citizens of New Hampshire and Vermont, no doubt fairly well-versed in the work of Lovecraft, as is nearly every supernatural and horror B movie scriptwriter. And the similarities with From Beyond are obvious, yet with a lighter touch that makes this venture stand well on its own. Nice animated model insects similar to what would be done in a Band/Full Moon Production, as is the brief glimpse of the "other world". How many here will understand the reference to the "videodisc" being recorded by the old-time inventor of the "other world" viewscope gadget? If not, check out CEDMAGIC.COM and learn about the last great step in non-laser grooved media formats, thanks to RCA.

...was a budget of millions. This story with a decent budget and all that brings would have been a huge hit. It is original, funny, warm and dramatic. And there's science too :)Anyone who likes B movies and wonders what happened to the genre we love so much will be heartened to see this movie. There's all the staples of a good B show. Friends having fun and helping each other, science gone terribly awry, adventure, excitement a well thought out story that actually involves science (as opposed to just using it as a prop) and maybe a sequel. The best thing by far is the originality. In one well woven plot you get other dimensions, undead, cyborgs, witches and mad scientists. What more can anyone ask for?Acting 7/10 Plot 10/10 Production Values 7/10 Direction 9/10 Entertainment 10/10Unlike some others I don't rate movies against other big budget monstrosities that they cannot hope to compete against solely due to the monetary constraints. I rate against other movies in it's class/budget range.And for the other reviewers who say they watch these B movies because you laugh at how bad they are, you're flat out liars. No-one wastes time doing that unless all you EVER do is watch movies. The only reason you claim to watch them for that reason is to try and give yourself credibility with other viewers of this genre. All you are really seeking to do is to bash a class of movie you have never liked and probably haven't watched in years.

From the same director that brought us the horrible yet lovable Draniac now comes Psyclops! I must say I really enjoyed this movie, it was quite inventive and bizarre. Obviously Psyclops was made on a super low budget like all Brett Piper films, but therein he works his magic.If you don't like low budget films then you probably aren't going to like the movie. This isn't the latest $100 million Hollywood blockbuster, nor does it ever claim to be. Paradoxically this movie makes you think hard about possible parallel universes, and at the same time suspend your disbelief in order to enjoy the utterly fantastic story.Scant few films still use stop-motion animation (ala Harryhausen), but Brett Piper still uses them in many of his movies, including this one. The stop-motion animation is very campy like a cheesy sci-fi film from the 1950's, and I'll guess that it's an homage to that era. Psyclops also uses opticals and various forms of CGI, but they are scant and it doesn't rely on them all that much. Did I mention that Psyclops has zombies with good old special effects makeup?Watching many new films each week I generally see a heap of unoriginal films, or trendy forgettable films. Psyclops may not be exactly Oscar material, but for a "B-Movie" it succeeds where so many others fail in originality. I've seen Psyclops twice now, and it was just as good the second time around as the first.