# Psycho Killer (film)
**Psycho Killer** is a 2026 American horror film directed by Gavin Polone and written by [Andrew Kevin Walker](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrew-kevin-walker), in which a Kansas highway patrol officer, Jane Archer ([Georgina Campbell](https://www.edgepedia.org/georgina-campbell)), hunts the serial killer known as the Satanic Slasher (James Preston Rogers) after he murders her husband during a traffic stop. It was released theatrically by 20th Century Studios on February 20, 2026, and later streamed on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.[1](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/psycho-killer) The film is notable chiefly for its roughly two-decade journey through development and for its critical reception, which included a 0 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes at release.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/feb/20/psycho-killer-film-review) • [3](https://www.mensjournal.com/entertainment/psycho-killer-review)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | Gavin Polone (directorial debut); Andrew Kevin Walker, writer of *Se7en*[1](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/psycho-killer) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/feb/20/psycho-killer-film-review) |
| Cast | Georgina Campbell, James Preston Rogers, Grace Dove, Logan Miller, Malcolm McDowell[1](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/psycho-killer) |
| Release | February 20, 2026 (theatrical, 20th Century Studios); digital April 7, 2026; Hulu streaming May 29, 2026[1](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/psycho-killer) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Psycho-Killer-%282026%29) |
| Rating / runtime | R (strong bloody violence, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use, language); 91 minutes[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Psycho-Killer-%282026%29) |
| Production | Shot in Winnipeg, Manitoba, beginning April 2023; produced by New Regency, Constantin Film, Vertigo Entertainment, and Pariah Productions[5](https://www.productionlist.com/production/psycho-killer) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Psycho-Killer-%282026%29) |
| Box office | $1,613,435 opening weekend in 1,100 theaters; $2,555,070 domestic total against a $10,000,000 production budget[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Psycho-Killer-%282026%29) |
| Reception | 9% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 46 reviews; 35% audience score[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/psycho_killer) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and cast
The story follows Jane Archer, a Kansas highway patrol officer whose husband and partner is gunned down by a serial killer during what begins as a routine traffic stop. Officially waved off the case, she pursues the killer across the country on her own as he continues a murder spree tied to a sinister agenda.[1](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/psycho-killer) • [7](https://www.moviefone.com/news/movie-review-psycho-killer/) The killer, played by James Preston Rogers, is known in the film as the Satanic Slasher, and the plot ties his killings to Satanism.[8](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/reviews/psycho-killer-review-georgina-campbell/) • [9](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/psycho-killer/) The supporting cast includes Grace Dove as Agent Becky Collins, Logan Miller as Marvin, and [Malcolm McDowell](https://www.edgepedia.org/malcolm-mcdowell) as Mr. Pendleton.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/psycho_killer)
## Long development
The screenplay was written in the mid-2000s and first emerged online in 2007. According to *The Guardian*, the project passed through a series of near-misses: [Fred Durst](https://www.edgepedia.org/fred-durst) was set to direct in 2009, [Eli Roth](https://www.edgepedia.org/eli-roth) was set to produce in 2010, production was set to begin in 2011, and German funding was expected in 2015. Each iteration found a snag, and the film was not made until 2023.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/feb/20/psycho-killer-film-review) [Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) was scheduled to begin in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in April 2023, with Gavin Polone directing, Andrew Kevin Walker writing, and Matt Berenson producing; the production companies attached were Pariah and New Regency Productions.[5](https://www.productionlist.com/production/psycho-killer)
*Film Stories* compared the project's history to that of *Solace*, another 1990s thriller script that took so long to reach the screen that its stylistic roots showed by release. The site described Walker's script as a death metal-infused slasher mixing road movie and horror, with echoes of *The Hitcher* (1986) and *Maniac* (1980), whose makeup artist [Tom Savini](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-savini) is even namechecked in the script.[10](https://filmstories.co.uk/news/psycho-killer-a-cult-horror-in-the-making/)
## Release and box office
20th Century Studios released the film wide on February 20, 2026 in 1,100 theaters. It opened with $1,613,435, 63.1 percent of its eventual $2,555,070 domestic gross, and fell 81 percent in its second weekend. Against a reported production budget of $10,000,000, the theatrical run returned about 0.3 times the budget. The Numbers lists the film's subgenre as slasher horror and its social setting as Satanism, with production financing from [Regency Enterprises](https://www.edgepedia.org/regency-enterprises), New Regency, Constantin Film, Vertigo Entertainment, Robert Kulzer, and Pariah Productions, and production countries the United States and Germany.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Psycho-Killer-%282026%29) The film went to digital purchase on April 7, 2026, and began streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ on May 29, 2026.[1](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/psycho-killer)
## Critical reception
The film debuted with a 0 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes based on more than 20 reviews, a rare rating, before settling at 9 percent from 46 reviews, with a 35 percent audience score.[3](https://www.mensjournal.com/entertainment/psycho-killer-review) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/psycho_killer) Critics repeatedly connected the film's weaknesses to its age. Benjamin Lee in *The Guardian* called it "devilishly dull" and wrote that even in 2007 the script would have seemed like an inessential B-movie, suited to a cheap straight-to-DVD release; he questioned why it received a studio theatrical rollout at all.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/feb/20/psycho-killer-film-review) William Bibbiani in *TheWrap* described it as a project that fell out of time, a rudimentary cat-and-mouse thriller with "laughable ideas about Satanism" and an absurd ending, and called it the kind of mid-2000s serial killer film that could only work with a great deal of style, which it lacks.[8](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/reviews/psycho-killer-review-georgina-campbell/)
Other recurring criticisms included flat characterization, weak tension, and poorly integrated visual effects. James Berardinelli wrote that it is rare for a film to be this devoid of characterization and for a serial killer horror to lack tension this completely.[11](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/psycho-killer/critic-reviews/) A Metacritic review criticized the kill sequences' computer-generated blood and called the third act an embarrassment.[9](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/psycho-killer/) Reviewers also noted the film's implication that heavy metal music influenced the killer, a trope one review called an old chestnut.[7](https://www.moviefone.com/news/movie-review-psycho-killer/)
**Editing and gore.** Producer Roy Lee told CinemaBlend that the film received targeted editing in post-production, and that the theatrical version is tamer than earlier versions of the material; commentary around the release suggested demand for an unrated home-video cut restoring removed footage.[12](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/psycho-killer-shockingly-gory-moments-originally-even-more)
## The 1970 film of the same title
The title [Psycho Killer](https://www.edgepedia.org/psycho-killer) also attaches to an earlier American film. The AFI Catalog records a 1970 feature, released in May 1970 and generally known as *The Psycho Lover*, that carried *Psycho Killer* as an alternate title, along with *The Lovely Touch* and *The Loving Touch*, the last being its initial title. Directed by Lou Horowitz from a screenplay by Robert Vincent O'Neil, it runs 75 minutes, is rated R, and concerns a psychotic murderer named Marco placed under the care of a psychiatrist, Kenneth, who hypnotizes Marco into killing Kenneth's wife Valerie. It was shot from July 21 to mid or late August 1969 at the Hollywood Stage facility in Los Angeles.[13](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/21840-THE-PSYCHO-LOVER) • [14](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/21840-THE-PSYCHOLOVER?cp=1&cxt=Filmography2&pos=2&sid=8b174d1f-fec4-41fa-9763-d6e5964e9590&sr=3.217985)
## References
1. [Psycho Killer, 20th Century Studios](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/psycho-killer)
2. [Psycho Killer review, The Guardian, February 20, 2026](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/feb/20/psycho-killer-film-review)
3. [Psycho Killer Debuted with a Rare 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, Men's Journal](https://www.mensjournal.com/entertainment/psycho-killer-review)
4. [Psycho Killer (2026), Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Psycho-Killer-%282026%29)
5. [Psycho Killer, Production List](https://www.productionlist.com/production/psycho-killer)
6. [Psycho Killer, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/psycho_killer)
7. [Movie Review: Psycho Killer, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/news/movie-review-psycho-killer/)
8. [Psycho Killer Review: This Aimless, Boring Slasher Owes the Talking Heads an Apology, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/reviews/psycho-killer-review-georgina-campbell/)
9. [Psycho Killer Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/psycho-killer/)
10. [Psycho Killer: A cult horror in the making?, Film Stories](https://filmstories.co.uk/news/psycho-killer-a-cult-horror-in-the-making/)
11. [Psycho Killer critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/psycho-killer/critic-reviews/)
12. [Psycho Killer Has Some Shockingly Gory Moments, And There Were Originally Even More, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/psycho-killer-shockingly-gory-moments-originally-even-more)
13. [The Psycho Lover, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/21840-THE-PSYCHO-LOVER)
14. [The Psycho Lover, AFI Catalog (production history)](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/21840-THE-PSYCHOLOVER?cp=1&cxt=Filmography2&pos=2&sid=8b174d1f-fec4-41fa-9763-d6e5964e9590&sr=3.217985)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Slasher films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license