RATING: A-

A Basic Psych LP Production. Directed by Melissa Miller. Produced by Janet Smith and Jeanne Baseman. Written by James Tucker. Cinematography by Jeffrey Garton. Edited by Tom Dubensky.

Stars Michael Cerveris, David Conrad, Siena Goines, Jayla Bashur, Cotter Smith, Grace Rao, and Carl Clemmons, Lucy Hine.

A psychiatrist is forced into a deadly mind game with a possible killer in this tense-filled thriller. 

Dr. Stuart Prince has it all. A loving family, a good home, and is an expert in psychological therapy. However, his life is about to change when he meets his latest patient Dan Raviello. A school principal, Dan admits his wife left him months ago and becomes increasingly annoyed when Stuart jots down a lot of notes and asks him to shred them. He has a secret that he wants to reveal to Stuart, who insists they meet again for a second session.

Dan finally confesses he is responsible for a double murder that has been unsolved. Soon enough, Stuart finds himself conflicted. All Dan wants to do is heal and overcome his impulses. Stuart soon regrets the decision as the impulses continue to worsen when Dan begins to stalk Stuart and his family. Stuart realizes that he may be the only one capable of stopping him. But what will it take?

This movie is very intense and it feels like an amped up version of a Lifetime thriller. It’s a complete cat-and-mouse game between a therapist and his unhinged patient, a serial killer who stalks the doctor and his family as well as his secretary to get close to him and completely plays mind games. The patient said he wants to heal, but is that his intention?

Michael Cerveris, a two-time Tony Award winner who also had Fame (pun intended) on the final season of the hit series and played the lead villain in Steel and Lace, is excellent in the role of Stuart, a therapist who had a great life until he meets the man who changes his life not for the better. We see Stuart go from happy family man to a man who starts to go on the brink of insanity himself when this mysterious patient appears to want to “heal”. It gets to a point where he even goes as far to find out who exactly he is dealing with.

On the other side, we have David Conrad in the role of Dan, a school principal who is plagued by nightmares but sees it as a tool to reveal his true nature. He tells Stuart he is the infamous Oakland Park Killer, who has been missing since killing two people at the local park. Like Stuart, Dan is a father of a twelve-year-old daughter after being separated from his wife. Conrad is excellent as well, using various disguises to get to Stuart and his family as he plays mind games with Stuart, mentally torturing him to the point where it affects both Stuart’s relationship with his family and in his own case, his relationship with his daughter. 

Basic Psych is an excellent psychological thriller that churns out exciting performances in Michael Cerveris and David Conrad as the doctor and patient at odds with each other.