Psychic Killer (aka The Kirlian Force/1975/Dark
Sky Films DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: C
Before
Brian De Palma redefined telekinesis in his classic Carrie (1976, reviewed on Blu-ray elsewhere on this site) and the
underrated The Fury (1978), the idea
of that kind of power was in Horror films and often had supernatural overtones,
even when there was nothing supernatural in the storylines. One of the last such films (or TV shows) to
try this before De Palma was Raymond Danton’s Psychic Killer (1975) with Jim Hutton as a loner in a mental
hospital for a murder he did not commit.
When his mother unjustly dies, he suddenly finds he has out of body
powers, seeks revenge and escapes!
Instead
of an outright “stalking killer” or “torture porn” storyline, this actually has
a decent script by Greyson Clark, Mikel Angel and Danton with that has its
moments, but the film ultimately is uneven.
However, it is still worth sitting through for the good parts, even when
it has problems adding up in scenes.
Julie Adams is the sympathetic hospital worker trying to help, but too
many others around them are evil, guilty and up to no good, so peace will not
be an option.
There is
an atmospheric, brooding feel to the film that will remind more than a few of
David Cronenberg’s Scanners (1981)
and some of the scenes can be that brutal.
That often makes up for the unintentionally funny moments, mixed with
the effective and brutal ones. Also
helping is a supporting cast of really good character actors that include
Nehemiah Persoff, Neville Brand, Aldo Ray, Rod Cameron, Whit Bissell and a “touched
by the Devil” Della Reese.
Tough
this may not always work, the filmmakers are at least taking risks within the
genre and that is much more than I can say for most of the Horror films we have
had to suffer through in the last 10 to 15 years. This is worth a look for all interested, but
for Horror fans, they should actually consider it a must-see.
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is good for its age, with some minor print issues and
some softness throughout, but this was lensed by Director of Photography Gerald
Hirschfeld (Sidney Lumet’s Fail-Safe,
Cotton Comes To Harlem, Young Frankenstein, The Car) and he too adds to the dense
atmosphere and somber mood that makes the best scenes effective and
believable. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is
also not bad for its age, but still shows it, though William Craft’s score is a
plus. The only extras are trailers and TV
Spots.
- Nicholas Sheffo
