It could be argued that the title of Tubi’s new thriller, Psycho Side Chick, is a bit on the nose, but the reality is that screenwriters Lynette J. Blackwell and Octavia Singleton and director Booker T. Mattison deliver exactly what the title promises: a psycho side chick.
The film opens with an unnecessary in media res wherein Atlanta gym owner Mario (Blair Anthony Hall) runs into his house to find an armed woman in a wedding dress holding his wife hostage. A title card jumps the action back four months to focus on the extramarital affair between Mario and his titular side chick, Kelsey (Najah Bradley). Their relationship is deeply sexual (he shows up at her couture pop-up event so they can have sex within earshot of her bigwig clients), but unbeknownst to Kelsey, Mario is also a husband and expectant father.
This wrinkle – that Kelsey was unaware that she wasn’t the primary – offers some subtle empathy for the character…at least in the first act. It’s clear that Kelsey has an intense obsession with her lover, as evidenced by her immediate commitment to planning their wedding after Mario mentions marriage in what is clearly a post-coitus bliss slip. Best friend Paris (Chuanica Pickard), meanwhile, clearly understands Kelsey’s capacity for both delusion and violence because she tries to talk the dressmaker down, but Kelsey will not be assuaged.
Meanwhile, Mario is half-heartedly trying to repair his marriage to health worker Chloe (Tatiana Le’Joy), who initially presents as the dutiful and supportive wife and mother-to-be, but is eventually revealed to have her own flaws and issues. Mario, too, is more than a simple liar and cheater, though his poor decision-making will carry a substantial body count by film’s end.
These deviations in character type add both complexity and complications to an otherwise pretty straightforward narrative. These kinds of thrillers tend to operate in straightforward black-and-white moral and ethical terms: cheating = bad; fidelity and marriage = good. Psycho Side Chick doesn’t exactly break the mold, but by acknowledging that none of its characters are perfect, the film plays in a slightly more murky grey area.
Performance-wise, it’s not surprising that Bradley rules the screen. Her Kelsey is unhinged, unpredictable, quick to temper, and utterly ruthless in her dedication to hold on to Mario and get rid of any obstacles standing in her way. There are several moments when Kelsey falls prey to her frustrations, and Bradley clearly embraces the opportunity to throw a fit and break some furniture. There’s even a Jill Roberts from Scream 4 moment when Kelsey self-harms in order to get close to Chloe at urgent care.
As the straight man and woman, Anthony Hall and Le’Joy are required to ground the film and, as a result, don’t get as much fun stuff to do. By comparison, their respective best friends, private investigator Jerrell (Niles Austin) and Chloe’s snarky white friend Aaliyah (Rachel Comeau), both make an impression as the voices of reason. All of the friends, including Paris, go above and beyond the call of friendship – from breaking and entering to burying a body to initiating a beatdown in a hospital bathroom stall. Perhaps the true takeaway from Psycho Side Chick is to find a ride or die bestie?
If this all sounds utterly ridiculous, credit Blackwell and Singleton’s script, which is packed with highly entertaining developments and over the top dialogue. For example, one character – who shows up solely to get murdered in the very same scene – begins every. Single. Line of dialogue with the word “Bitch.” One of Kelsey’s most endearingly odd come-ons to Mario is “Your name is the only one written on this kitty.” Reader: she is not talking about a cat.
It’s extremely silly and entertaining, which are perfect descriptors for Psycho Side Chick. The film knows exactly what it is – a campy thriller in the vein of a Lifetime film – and it aspires to be just that and nothing more.
So if you dig the title, you’ll probably enjoy the film. Just don’t lie to your psycho side-chick, because she will track you down and ruin your life.
Psycho Side Chick is now streaming on Tubi.
