I would not have given this 1975 low budget horror film the time of day if it were on VHS, cable, or on late night TV. But, this being another widescreen horror DVD from Elite, I couldn’t resist putting it through the paces. Sure enough, Elite does not let us down. Whether it is a genre classic like NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, or a mostly overlooked film like PSYCHIC KILLER, you can depend on Elite to make the transfer look crisp and new. Producer Mardi Rustam (the man responsible for such low-budget genre fare as DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN, THE FEMALE BUNCH, and EATEN ALIVE) hired Raymond (CRYPT OF THE LIVING DEAD) Danton to direct from exploitation writer/director Greydon (WITHOUT WARNING) Clark’s script.

Rustam and Danton gathered a notable bunch of genre stars including Jim Hutton (Timothy’s father) as the psychic killer, Arnold Masters; Paul (VALLEY OF THE DOLLS) Burke as Lt. Morgan, the man hot on the trail of Hutton; Julie (CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON) Adams as the hot Dr. Laura Scott, Hutton’s prison psychiatrist; Neville Brand as a victim of Hutton’s psychic powers; Whit Bissel as Dr. Taylor; Aldo Ray as Lt. Anderson, and a cameo by a young Della Reese. That’s another good reason these seventies flicks are always a hoot, you always see celebrities before or after they were popular.

The movie is basically a twisted revenge scenario. The film opens with Arnold Masters (Hutton) as a man in a prison for the criminally insane. We learn through flashbacks that Arnold has been wrongly convicted of murder, since his departed mother’s doctor was killed shortly after death, and a lazy cop fingered Arnold since he found the doctor’s body. While incarcerated, Arnold befriends a voodoo-practicing inmate who gives Arnold a mystic amulet before throwing himself to his doom. Arnold’s psychiatrist, Dr. Scott, knows Arnold is wrongly convicted. Shortly after Arnold masters the powers of the amulet, he is cleared of the crimes, and is released by Dr. Scott.

Arnold goes back to his home, and his mind is flooded with flashbacks of the individuals responsible for the death of his mother. Arnold’s dead mother had a nurse who mistreated her. His mother had a doctor who mis-diagnosed her. And Arnold had a lawyer who sold him out. So every night, Arnold goes into a trance and uses the powers of the amulet to astral project his tormented soul. Arnold psychically dispatches the offending professionals with out leaving any trace of foul play.

Lt. Morgan (Burke) is mystified about the recent rash of unexplained deaths in his sleepy town. After much research, Lt. Morgan and his associates discover that all the victims have one thing in common: they all have worked with Arnold and his deceased mother. Arnold immediately becomes suspect number one, but he has an alibi for each death. The police watch Arnold’s house as more bodies pile up. The police don’t suspect Arnold because they know he is under observation within his house; little do they know he is committing the crimes via astral projection.

Lt. Burke recruits the one person who knows Arnold better than anyone: Dr. Scott. While investigating leads with a paranormal expert, Lt. Burke and Dr. Scott develop a romantic relationship. When Arnold finds out that Dr. Scott is sleeping with the enemy, he goes over the deep end and mentally contacts her professing his love for her. She spurns his advances, and now the hunters become the prey. But how can the police track a killer who cannot be connected with his crimes?

Here are the violent highlights:

The film suffers from an uneven script. Arnold’s problems are described in an inconsistent flash-back manner. The authorities catch on to Arnold way too early thereby ruining most of the suspense. Arnold still gets cocky and plays cat and mouse with the police, something that wouldn’t happen in real life. The movie never explores the relationship between Dr. Scott and Arnold. Furthermore, in the last act, the script plays matchmaker with the Lt. Morgan and Dr. Scott characters. Although these events keep things moving, they ruin any realism the movie may have had. You get the impression that screenwriters Michael Butler and Lane Slate made up events as they went along without any foresight.

Paul Burke’s performance as the angry Lt. Morgan is as stiff as Stuart Whitman’s performance as Sheriff Martin in EATEN ALIVE. Fortunately, the rest of the cast (and especially the character actors) bring some gusto to their roles including Julie Adams, Whit Bissell, Neville Brand, Aldo Ray, and even Della Reese. Jim Hutton, an actor known mainly for his good guy and family man roles, successfully breaks character and has you sympathizing with him, despite his ghastly deeds. Hutton performs well when his character is full of arrogance and believes he cannot be touched by his pursuers.

Though the film is not a comedy, and there is a dark tone throughout the film, there is some well-placed humor which livens things up. Arnold’s singing lawyer meets his end when a granite block is dropped on him cartoon-style. Della Reese argues with butcher Neville Brand in one of the film’s truly funny moments. A sexpot nurse grinds away in front of her immobile horny old man patient. The humor is subtly placed and does not interrupt the grim momentum.

The death scenes are creative and well executed, and with a couple exceptions (the scalding shower and butcher shop scenes), are relatively bloodless. The few bloody scenes are believable, despite the low budget FX and quick cuts. Besides the somber tone and convincing death scenes and effects, the movie features a lot of female skin, which never hurts the cinematography. The only special effects failure is the last scene of the film when Arnold’s head is swollen green, indicating his malevolence (although the effect just looks cheesy).

- Neil Messenger

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