Before Wes Craven’s controversial 1972 film The Last House on the Left or Meir Zarchi’s 1978 feature I Spit on Your Grave, there was Russ Meyer’s 1965 movie Motorpsycho.
Preceding Meyer’s Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (which was also released in 1965), Motorpsycho was another pioneering feature from the filmmaker who dared to push the envelope. Famously recognized for his sex-drenched Comedies such as 1968’s Vixen!, 1975’s Supervixens, 1976’s Up!, and 1979’s Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens, Motorpsycho follows more of a Horror/Thriller plot. Full of action, tension, and uncomfortable situations, Motorpsycho is as wild a ride as it sounds.
A film that keeps your attention, in it you have Gail Maddox (porytayed by Lane Carroll as Holle K. Winters who was also in 1973’s The Crazies) who is horribly assaulted by a biker gang led by a disturbed guy named Brahmin (played by Steve Oliver of Peyton Place and 1978’s Malibu Beach). Distraught by the abuse his wife Gail has taken, mild-mannered horse veterinarian doctor Cory Maddox (played by the award-winning Alex Rocco) seeks to find this gang of hoodlums and make them pay. Out for blood, he soon is entangled with another young woman named Ruby Bonner (played by famed cult classic Actress Haji) who quickly teams up with him in a quest for justice.
A solid enough plot, the character of Rocco’s Cory Maddox mixed with the fiestness of Haji’s Ruby Bonner make for a much deeper and thoughtful development. Furthermore, the ruthlessness of Oliver’s Brahmin as a mentally disturbed veteran adds an edge of your seat anxiety. Together with a cool soundtrack and steady pace, Meyer’s Motorpsycho is one of his unsung masterpieces.
A relatively successful film at the time of its release, Motorpsycho remains fans’ favorite decades later. Jumping to the present day, as Motorpsycho celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, Severin Films is offering it in 4K Ultra HD. Put on April 29, 2025, directly coinciding with Meyer’s Up!, it marks the first time either film has a 4K Ultra HD release. Another must-have for fans, it comes months after the entire Vixen series debuted in 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray through Severin Films.
Available either in 4K Ultra HD or as a Blu-ray (featuring a 4K Ultra HD transfer of the film), you get the most pristine visual viewing of Motorpsycho ever. Scanned in 4K from the original camera negative and restored by The Museum of Modern Art, there is also new and archival bonus features such as audio commentary by Film Historian Elizabeth Purchell and Filmmaker Zach Clark, but also interviews with Haji and Alex Rocco under the title Desert Rats On Hondras. Limited, but great extras, the most significant selling point here has to be the well-done restoration of Motorpsycho, which would have never been possible without the cooperation of The Russ Meyer Trust.
Fun, exciting, and full of danger, Motorpsycho is a revenge film for the ages. That is why it is well worth seeking a copy in 4K Ultra HD or as a Blu-ray from Severin Films. Assuring you will not be disappointed, Cryptic Rock gives this new release of Motorpsycho 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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