Tubi does elevated trash like A24 does elevated horror, and Psycho Side Chick is their best original release since Match.
Meet Kelsey. She is the Norman Bates of booty calls in an updated and rebooted modern take on Fatal Attraction told from the viewpoint of its hero adulterer.
As Jerrell so boldly proclaims, “She’s not crazy, she’s a serial killer.”
She certainly is, hacking her way through bad boyfriends and their pregnant wives. She gives new meaning to “body count” as she begins terrorizing a one night stand whom she mistakes for fiancé material.
Problem is, the object of her obsession, Mario, is not just married, but his wife is ready to pop with child. He justifies his own indiscretions, because Chloe, his lovely little cherub-faced spouse, has also been unfaithful in their relationship.
This thriller comes at modern dating like everyone is living in the swinging ‘70s. It’s as much a dismantling of Fatal Attraction as it is Same Time, Next Year. While we’re never quite on Psycho Kelsey’s side, we’re also never NOT on her side either.
Najah Bradley plays Kelsey with a soda pop effervescence that is immediately addictive in ways that pulp cinema performances seldom are anymore. A bit old school, a bit Doja Cat spracking out on a live stream, she’s so crushable, it’s hard to root against her batshit crazy ways of handling this reverse-cheater situation, where she didn’t set out to be the other woman, but is now determined to be the only woman.
Once we get to the twist ending, the audience is forced to go back to the beginning and rewind through Kelsey’s actions out of the gate.
We meet her at a fashion pop up. She appears to be a famous fashion designer with enough clout that she can get away with banging her new beau in an office within earshot of guests.
Oh, hoooo!!! What we have here is a real SIXTH SENSE scenario. But don’t worry, I’m not spoiling anything. Just pay attention. This is an important prologue and shows exactly what kind of nervy plotting Booker T. Mattison is able to weave out of Lynette J. Blackwell’s script.
Now, the blocking was bothering me, as I’m sure it will anyone with an understanding of filmmaking. But I noticed this same shot structure being used in Tubi’s YA horror original R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2. I’m not absolutely certain, but it appears this is a mandate of the streamer to make it easier to cut these into verticals.
If that’s the case, being unable to move his camera, Booker does well with this particular restriction, like Jack White and Meg working through their Red & White era as a strict aesthetic. Though it does make me worried for the filmmaker’s future work. It feels like an easy trap to fall into when the restrictions later fall to the wayside.
In Psycho Side Chick, it works to give the film a claustrophobic ambience. It also proves how great this cast is. There’s only one actor here who calls attention to hitting her very specific mark. If not for this person, whom I’ll not name, ’cause I don’t think it’s her fault, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed the formulaic consecutive stilted framing.
I hate watching Tubi commercials, but like other recent Tubi Originals, the narrative here tries to use the ad breaks as cliffhangers so that you can’t help but stay glued to the screen.
I’m a huge domestic thriller fan. And it’s been awhile since we got a good one. From the opening scene here, which has Kelsey taking her prey hostage while looking hot in a wedding mini and gogo boots, to the last little sequel set up, I’d say this is a fun ride full of clever ‘80s style one liners that prove to be quite quotable.
Kelsey is definitely a character I want to see more of, and I’m pretty sure Tubi will be tackling a sequel. She has a good backstory, rich with a home-wrecking mom who got her brains splattered across a pillowcase in a dirty hotel after being caught with another ho’s man.
Kelsey is repeating history with some bad decisions that always find her being the mistress in the shadows.
There is a great scene between Kelsey and her howling, loud mouthed Auntie, who becomes the first victim in her Halloween-worthy killing spree.
She goes through all the usual moves, beating herself up and blaming Mario, using her doctor’s visit with his nurse wife to wiggle into their domestic situation as a new friend in need. Trying to run over Mario like he’s Corey Feldman being chased by a monster truck.
As Mario’s homeboy Jerrell points out, these are all classic side chick moves. And they are. But Najah Bradley knows how to pull them off with a fresh pop of the tab, proving there is still plenty of carbonation in this particular concoction.
While wife Chloe might be clueless about what is really going on, everyone else in her orbit is sure Mario is a cheater. Their suspicions only lead them to ending up on the opposite end of Kelsey’s deadly tantrums, though.
The big climax goes back to Kelsey in that wedding dress, giving us an iconic look for our girl and an ending that goes in directions that are impossible to guess. But that’s what makes most Tubi originals so much fun. The creators behind them are encouraged to flip the script.
Otherwise why would anyone even bother clicking in?
Psycho Side Chick is one of my favorite movies of the year. Ok, maybe it’s not a real 5 star movie. But it is a 5 star Tubi Trash original. A visceral thrill ride that keeps the streamer a worthy destination for inventive modern genre fair.
