Psycho Killer Producer Roy Lee Says The Movie's Grossest Moment Was Almost Nastier [Exclusive]

This article contains spoilers for "Psycho Killer."

The new movie "Psycho Killer" is about a state trooper (Georgina Campbell) whose husband was murdered in front of her by a serial killer known as the "Satanic Slasher," and follows her single-minded quest to hunt him down. Largely content to deliver run-of-the-mill thrills, the film briefly surges to another level when the killer travels to a church that's important in the story's lore. He notices a lone priest inside, enters the confession booth, and after a quick back-and-forth with the man of the cloth, our villain jams what is effectively a giant, sharp metal straw through the booth's wooden separation panel, stabs it directly into the priest's neck, and starts guzzling his blood like someone who's just discovered an oasis in the desert.

It's surprising not just because of its ferocity, but because the film becomes more transgressive than it'd been until that point. I could imagine it making its way onto a list of disturbing movie scenes that went too far, but it turns out that moment could have been even more extreme.

I asked producer Roy Lee specifically about this scene, and here's what he revealed:

"That was something we talked about a lot. I was a little worried about it pushing too far into a place where it will offend a lot of people, but it was something where, it was definitely planned ahead and they were trying to design a shot that was as tasteful as possible. Even though I was like, 'Does he really need to drink the blood?' and everyone who was creatively involved was like, 'Yeah, we might as well try it.' So we actually tried different ways — gorier and less gorier, and the version you saw was [the one where] everyone felt it was as tasteful as it could be in terms of what it was trying to depict."

"Panic Room," "Secret Window," and "Zombieland" producer Gavin Polone has been trying to direct this movie since at least 2010, and he finally succeeded in getting "Seven" and "Sleepy Hollow" screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker's script across the finish line. With that pedigree behind the scenes, and with "Barbarian" star Georgina Campbell playing its protagonist, you might assume this movie would be a home run. Unfortunately, "Psycho Killer" comes across as a dollar store knock-off of "The Silence of the Lambs," with a dash of "Halloween" thrown in. I didn't hate it, but aside from that priest kill, it doesn't feel like the movie is interested in pushing boundaries or doing anything particularly memorable.

At one point, the killer makes his way into a satanic cult orgy and methodically murders everyone with an axe. It's presented as a bravura showcase, largely shot in one take, but the goofy, obnoxious nature of the cult and the reliance on CG blood in the scene makes the whole thing feel weightless, as if none of this is really happening. When the killer is gulping down big quantities of practical fake blood, as gross as it is, at least it feels like the film is living up to the terror of its premise. Elsewhere, "Psycho Killer" just sort of goes through the motions with familiar kills scattered across its runtime until it reaches an improbable, eye-rolling conclusion that sacrifices any sense of satisfaction in order to blatantly set up a sequel. Let's hope if one gets made, the filmmakers take a lesson from this movie's most interesting scene.

"Psycho Killer" is in theaters now.