early 2013, receiving generally positive reviews. Melbourne, Australia, was to also hold another production of Psycho Beach Party opening in March 2021 by Essendon Theatre Company. Reception , the film holds a 55% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 33 reviews with an average rating of 5.55/10. In a positive review, Stephen Holden of The New York Times states that the film "accomplishes what no stage production could. By assiduously copying the look and sound of those '60s movies -- the wriggling title sequences, the twangy surf music, and the gawky gee-whiz screen acting style -- it definitively skewers the false innocence of American pop culture on the eve of the countercultural deluge. Most of the play's subversive humor has arrived on the screen intact." Los Angeles Times critic Kevin Thomas compared the film unfavorably to its source material, opining that it "has to be twice as funny a play as it is as a movie"; he further explains that "deliberate camp like this film presents a special challenge: It must generate and sustain a high level of energy or it will swiftly fall flat. The latter is too often the case here." Praising the "strong women" of the film, Bob Graham of the San Francisco Chronicle also wrote that Busch (as Monica Stark) "captures the woman-alone-in-the-world toughness of the roles played by the stars he loves. It goes beyond camp. He is sincere." However, Graham reasoned that the film has "rough edges", despite conceding that "they probably work to this larky, cheeky picture's advantage". He subsequently notes, "In some instances, it's hard to tell the really bad acting from the intentionally bad acting." Dennis Lim of The Village Voice was negative, concluding that the film is an "awkward combination of garish set decoration and muffled humor" and that "the viewer is left to ponder the number of levels on which this counts as a pointless exercise—a parody of parodic movies, a deconstruction of transparent genres, [and] a self-negatingly knowing example of camp". Soundtrack The original motion-picture soundtrack for Psycho Beach Party was released by Nettwerk Records under the Unforscene Music imprint on September 12, 2000. Ben Vaughn – Main Title Los Straightjackets – Tailspin Ben Vaughn – Marvel Ann On The Prowl Ben Vaughn – Wrestle The Halibuts – Night Crawler Ben Vaughn – Chicklet Meets Surfers Ben Vaughn – Neenie's Famous Weenies Hillbilly Soul Surfers – Cha-Wow-Wow