Wicked, Wicked (1973)    MGM/Horror-Thriller    RT: 95 minutes    Rated R (violence)    Director: Richard L. Bare    Screenplay: Richard L. Bare    Music: Philip Springer    Cinematography: Frederick Gately    Release date: June 13, 1973 (US)    Cast: David Bailey, Tiffany Bolling, Randolph Roberts, Scott Brady, Edd Byrnes, Diane McBain, Roger Bowen, Madeleine Sherwood, Indira Danks, Arthur O’Connell, Jack Knight, Patsy Garrett, Robert Nichols, Kirk Bates and The Leaves of Grass, Maryesther Denver.    Box Office: N/A

Rating: ***

 I’ve always wanted to see Wicked, Wicked ever since I read about in The Golden Turkey Awards. It was nominated for the “Most Inane and Unwelcome ‘Technical Advance’ in Hollywood History” award. It didn’t win; it was beaten out by “Percepto”, a gimmick that involved placing buzzers under theater seats which would give audience members a jolt at a specific moment in William Castle’s The Tingler.

 Writer-director Richard L. Bare didn’t go to as much trouble as Castle with “Duo-Vision”, a process more commonly known as split-screen. Brian De Palma used it to great effect in specific scenes in Sisters, Phantom of the Paradise and Carrie. The entirety of Wicked, Wicked is in split-screen. It’s an interesting idea that ultimately fell flat with critics and the moviegoing public. Critical and audience reaction was so poor that it sunk into obscurity shortly after its theatrical run. It never came out on video or showed on TV (as far as I know) until 2008 when it premiered on TCM Underground. I just saw it for the first time this week. It’s not all that bad a movie if you like campy horror-thrillers.

 The plot of Wicked, Wicked, about a psychotic killer stalking a singer at seaside hotel, is fairly standard. The Grandview is one of those old buildings with hidden rooms and spaces, a result of remodeling over the years. It’s an ideal hunting ground for a psycho with a thing for blondes. Over the past few months, three young, female, blonde-haired guests have gone missing. We know up front that a masked killer is responsible for the disappearances. The hotel manager (Bowen, Zapped!) asks his head of security, ex-cop Rick Stewart (Bailey, Another World), to look into it. He wants him to treat it as a matter of guests skipping out on their bills. He also wants him to keep it on the QT as any kind of scandal would ruin the hotel’s image.

 Things become personal when the killer sets his sights on Lisa James (Bolling, Bonnie’s Kids), the lounge singer just hired as entertainment for the guests. Lisa just happens to be Rick’s ex-wife. Of course, they haven’t really gotten over each other. There’s still something there. Lisa’s troubles begin when she dyes her hair blonde. Rick, reluctantly working with the local police, becomes her personal bodyguard in hope of catching and stopping the killer.

 With or without Duo-Vision, Wicked, Wicked is a collection of clichés and stock characters. Take the killer who shall not be named here even though it’s revealed early on in the movie. He has mother issues. The traumatic events of his past are shown on one side of the screen while on the other, we see him either stalking his prey or hiding somewhere in the hotel. We simultaneously see the abuse he endured and the resulting psychotic behavior. The hero Rick left the force after shooting and killing a fleeing suspect who turned out to be innocent. It ended his marriage to Lisa. It also made him persona non gratta to the country’s entire police force. Sgt. Ramsey (Brady, Castle of Evil), who isn’t exactly thrilled to be working with Rick, is your typical gruff, irritable cop who inevitably hones in on the wrong suspect and believes he’s closed the case. Lisa, whose manager (Knight, The Long Goodbye) keeps promising her Vegas and fame, is a decent person who tries to make nice with the killer (before she knows he’s a killer). There’s even a lady, Mrs. Karadyne (Sherwood, The Changeling), who’s lived at the hotel for the past 22 years. She makes likes she’s rich and important, but it’s obvious she’s neither.

 There aren’t any real surprises in Wicked, Wicked. It’s predictable from the word go to the freaky discovery at the end, one we’ve seen in several horror movies. That being said, there are a few nice touches like the crazy old lady who plays the score from the 1925 silent film version of The Phantom of the Opera on the organ through the whole movie. It adds a nice extra level of strangeness to the proceedings.

 I suppose the big question here is what do I think of Duo-Vision? It was a bold move on Bare’s part to do the whole movie in split-screen. I wasn’t sure if I’d like it. Mike Figgis tried something similar in his 2000 film Timecode in which the screen is divided into four shots shown simultaneously; it’s similar to security camera footage. I didn’t like that movie; I found it too self-indulgent. Wicked, Wicked is a different story; it doesn’t take itself seriously. It’s the fun kind of experimental filmmaking. As to whether it’s effective or not, I’m going to say it is more than it isn’t. Take the scene where Mrs. Karadyne tells her life story. On the left, we see her telling her version; on the right, we see the truth. I’ll tell you this much, her version is the happier one.

 My love of trashy B-movies knows no limits. I like Wicked, Wicked. It’s an enjoyably campy thriller with nice-sized doses of dark humor. It features a good performance from Tiffany Bolling, one of the better B-movie actresses of the 70s. It doesn’t hurt that she’s easy on the eyes as well. She sings a couple of songs, “I’ll Be Myself” and “Wicked, Wicked”. They’re not hit song material but she has a good voice so they’ll do. The acting is Wicked, Wicked pretty much suits the material. The actor (???) playing the killer camps it up nicely. It looks like the cast is having a good time here so why knock it?

 In this movie junkie’s not-at-all humble opinion, Wicked, Wicked is a lot of good trashy fun. I don’t think it’s as bad as its reputation suggests. I’m glad it saw the light of day again after 35 years. Now I can scratch this title off my movie wish list.