Movie Type: Psychological Thriller, Supernatural Thriller
Themes: Psychic Abilities, Out For Revenge, Wrongly Committed
Main Cast: Paul Burke, Jim Hutton, Julie Adams, Nehemiah Persoff, Neville Brand
Release Year: 1975
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
In this thriller, an innocent man is wrongfully committed to an asylum for the criminally insane. While there he learns how to tap into his psychic powers and to affect the lives of others via astral projection. These skills come in mighty handy after he is released and he heads out for revenge against those who framed him. This movie was originally filmed as The Kirlian Force. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Review
Psychic Killer can't exactly be called a good horror film. The plot meanders all over the place, the scares are minimal, and the premise is too unintentionally silly to generate any real chills. That said, cult movie devotees will want to hunt this one down because it offers plenty of the unpredictable, twisted moments that any schlock addict craves. After a relatively staid first act, the wild script piles on an array of memorably twisted "creative kill" death scenes that range from memorably gruesome (the demise of a butcher in his shop) to hysterically funny (an unforgettable scene where an opera-loving slumlord is crushed to death while singing an aria!). As a result, the tone constantly shifts from drama to suspense to black comedy, but that's all part of the fun. The cast is a B-movie lover's delight. Former teen idol Jim Hutton creates a memorably offbeat anti-hero and genre-flick stalwarts like Greydon Clark and Neville Brand get to do plenty of hamming it up before getting done in. Director Ray Danton never really manages to take control of his bizarre material, but he paces it well and delivers an amazing amount of unpredictable oddity in a short time frame. In short, Psychic Killer will baffle anyone expecting a straight scare-fest but anyone in search of cheap thrills at their most eccentric will have a field day. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
Joel Leonard - Art Director, William Kraft - Conductor, Ron Smith - First Assistant Director, Ray Danton - Director, Michael Brown - Editor, William Kraft - Composer (Music Score), Herb Pearl - Cinematographer, Greydon Clark - Producer, Mardi Rustam - Producer, Larry Huly - Producer, Mohammad Rustam - Producer, Bob Dietz - Sound/Sound Designer, Ted Gomillion - Sound/Sound Designer, Greydon Clark - Screenwriter, Ray Danton - Screenwriter, Mike Angel - Screenwriter
