Psycho Beach Party

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Psycho Beach Party

2000

1h 35m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

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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Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

It's too much filmed theater to come alive fully on the screen.

Rated: 1.5/5

Feb 14, 2001

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Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sometimes more fun to describe than to watch.

Jan 1, 2000

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Dennis Lim

Village Voice

Awkward combination of garish set decoration and muffled humor.

Jan 1, 2000

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Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

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.

Rated: 2.5/5

Aug 11, 2025

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Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

A fun, silly, slightly campy ode to beach blanket and surf movies, with a ton of queerness and an incredible cast.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 6, 2025

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Jae-Ha Kim

Jae-Ha Kim

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.

Rated: 1.5

Jul 28, 2023

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Melissa L

A horror-comedy-twisty mystery set in '60s USA. I didn't even guess the guilty culprit before they were revealed.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/09/25

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Michael C

So ICONIC and so AMAZING!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/31/25

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Colleen K

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 .

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/17/24

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Julian S

Star Lauren Ambrose dives headfirst into this zany horror satire that’s as absurd as it is fabulously queer.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/24/24

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Audience Member

It's definitely got that 50's feel to it, and Amy Adams and the whole cast did a good job. The writing was so-so, but it was interesting enough to keep me interested.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/15/24

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Audience Member

I love the style of this movie . It was so spot on from how I’d imagine the 50s and 50s movies being, while also keeping it nice and satirical . 3.4

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/17/20

Full Review

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Robert Lee King

Director

Lauren Ambrose

Florence "Chicklet" Forrest

Thomas Gibson

Kanaka

Nicholas Brendon

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Kimberley Davies

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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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