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Psycho Beach Party

Play trailer Poster for Psycho Beach Party 2000 1h 35m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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54% Tomatometer 37 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
"Psycho Beach Party" is a manic party-mix of 50's psychological thrillers, 60's beach movies, and 70's slasher films. The story focuses on Chicklet Forrest (Lauren Ambrose), a sixteen-year old tomboy who's desperate to be part of the in-crowd of Malibu beach surfers. She's the typical American girl - except for one little problem: her personality is split into more slices than a pepperoni pizza.
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Psycho Beach Party

Critics Reviews

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Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times 02/14/2001
1.5/5
It's too much filmed theater to come alive fully on the screen. Go to Full Review Atlanta Journal-Constitution 01/01/2000
Sometimes more fun to describe than to watch. Go to Full Review Ernest Hardy Film.com 01/01/2000
Saddled with both a script and direction that never comes near the wit or cleverness in Busch's own performance. Go to Full Review Trace Thurman Horror Queers Podcast Aug 11
2.5/5
The very game cast gives it their all, but Robert Lee King's direction saps energy from most of the scenes, leading to some detrimental (and joke-killing) pacing issues. Go to Full Review Joe Lipsett Horror Queers Podcast 08/06/2025
3/5
A fun, silly, slightly campy ode to beach blanket and surf movies, with a ton of queerness and an incredible cast. Go to Full Review Jae-Ha Kim Jae-Ha Kim 07/28/2023
1.5
Just when it looked like the "Scream" franchise and "Scary Movie" had pretty much had their way with spoofing the horror film genre, along comes "Psycho Beach Party" attempting to horn in on the territory. Unfortunately, it's the little movie that can't. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jessica R @JessicaRabbet Apr 27 Cheesy, crazy, must see! If you don’t like the run-of-the-mill popular movies this is for you! Very unique! I was laughing so hard. It definitely has cult classic vibes. This is definitely in my top 10 favorite movies. I wish they made movies like this still! See more thiago s @Thiagostone Nov 26 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more Melissa L @Agent99 08/09/2025 A horror-comedy-twisty mystery set in '60s USA. I didn't even guess the guilty culprit before they were revealed. See more Michael C @Coxmjc23 05/31/2025 So ICONIC and so AMAZING!!! See more Colleen K @RT94049637 12/17/2024 It is fantastic to see a lot of these actors in their early careers. I don’t really understand the relatively low rating —as creating this parody of campy beach movies seems super successful and all the boxes are ticked off. That said I don’t often notice plotholes, & I am super able to suspend my disbelief with fiction. Perhaps it is the reaction to the portrayal of transvestivism, homosexuality, mental illness being treated in a humorous way—-Which in 1999 definitely was less seen on USA tv or movies. Not sure how I would have felt about this movie in the 2000s however I find it very funny now . See more Julian S @akajulianscott 10/24/2024 Star Lauren Ambrose dives headfirst into this zany horror satire that’s as absurd as it is fabulously queer. See more Read all reviews
Psycho Beach Party

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Cast & Crew

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Robert Lee King

Director

Lauren Ambrose

Florence "Chicklet" Forrest

Thomas Gibson

Kanaka

Nicholas Brendon

Starcat

Kimberley Davies

Bettina Barnes

Matt Keeslar

Lars

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Psycho Beach Party

Beth Broderick, Charles Busch and Jenica Bergere in Strand's Psycho Beach Party. Lauren Ambrose as Chicklet and Charles Busch as Captain Monica Stark in Strand's Psycho Beach Party. Thomas Gibson as Kanaka and Lauren Ambrose as Chicklet in Strand's Psycho Beach Party. Nick Cornish, Andrew Levitas, Nicholas Brendon and Thomas Gibson in Strand's Psycho Beach Party. Thomas Gibson as Kanaka in Strand's Psycho Beach Party. Psycho Beach Party (2000) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis "Psycho Beach Party" is a manic party-mix of 50's psychological thrillers, 60's beach movies, and 70's slasher films. The story focuses on Chicklet Forrest (Lauren Ambrose), a sixteen-year old tomboy who's desperate to be part of the in-crowd of Malibu beach surfers. She's the typical American girl - except for one little problem: her personality is split into more slices than a pepperoni pizza.
Director
Robert Lee King
Producer
Virginia Biddle, Jon Gerrans, Marcus Hu, Victor Syrmis
Screenwriter
Charles Busch, Charles Busch
Distributor
Strand Releasing
Production Co
Red Horse Films, New Oz Productions, Strand Releasing
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 23, 2000, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 18, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$268.0K
Runtime
1h 35m
Sound Mix
Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, Stereo, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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