Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write about a Serial Killer

Editors and literary agents always tell writers to write about what they know, but they also want them to write about commercial subjects. Maybe you can sort of understand why Keane O’Hara started hanging with a “former” serial killer, for the sake of a book. Arguably, he was just following their contradictory advice. However, the passive schmuck inevitably allows his new friend to completely disrupt his life in Director-screenwriter Tolga Karacelik’s Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write about a Serial Killer, which releases today on VOD in the UK.

O’Hara’s first book was about Mongolia. He second will be about pre-historic Slovenia, if he ever finishes it. His wife Suzie has finally had enough of supporting his mopey, unproductive butt, so she finally decides on a divorce. Then Kollmick walks into O’Hara’s life.

Approaching the “writer,” Kollmick claims to be a fan and offers him a chance to write about his life as a serial killer—retired, of course. As homework, Kollmick assigns a load of forensic pathology books, which freak out Suzie. However, she sort of likes Kollmick, because she thinks he is the marriage counselor trying to keep them together. That was not the greatest lie O’Hara ever told, but Kollmick is willing to play along. In fact, some of his serial killer double-talk translates surprisingly well into shrink speak. Actually, not really, but Suzie weirdly seems to buy it.

Psycho Therapy (which used to be known solely by the unwieldy subtitle) is periodically amusing, but it feels like it was cobbled together from parts of superior early 1990s comedies, like The Ref or I Married an Axe Murderer. Of course, Steve Bscemi is entertainingly odd and edgy as Kollmick. However, John Magaro is way too much as the wildly neurotic O’Hara, while Britt Lower is way too little as his glacially reserved wife. Frankly, it is hard to believe they could ever be a couple, which Karacelik apparently recognized, because he devotes what feels like a third of the film to explain how they originally met.

Unfortunately, Psycho Therapy only scratches out occasional laughs. That is not nearly enough to justify the long stretches of awkward aimlessness. Ultimately, it is forgettable, leaving behind absolutely no emotional footprint. Not recommended (but not resented either, it just isn’t sufficiently noteworthy), Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write about a Serial Killer (and now take a breath) releases today (9/15) on VOD in the UK.