Psychic Killer (1975)

Director:

Ray Danton

Writers:

Greydon Clark (written by) &
Mikel Angel (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

December 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Horror

Tagline:

"First it drives you mad, then it kills and kills and kills!"

Plot:

A former mental patient uses astral projection to destroy the people he believes have wronged him.

Plot Keywords:

Astral Projection | Murder | Extrasensory Perception | Psychic Power | Terror

Cast

Paul Burke	...	Lt. Morgan
Jim Hutton	...	Arnold Masters
Julie Adams	...	Dr. Scott
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Dr. Gubner
Neville Brand	...	Lemonowski
Aldo Ray	...	Lt. Anderson
Whit Bissell	...	Dr. Taylor
Rod Cameron	...	Dr. Commanger
Della Reese	...	Mrs. Gibson
Mary Charlotte Wilcox	...	Nurse Burnson (as Mary Wilcox)
Judith Brown	...	Anne
Joseph Della Sorte	...	H.B. Sanders
Greydon Clark	...	Sgt. Sowash
Harry Holcombe	...	Judge
Robin Raymond	...	Jury Foreman (as Robyn Raymond)
Jerry James	...	Dr. Cummings
Diane Deininger	...	Arnold's Mother
John Dennis	...	Frank
Bill Quinn	...	Hospital Coroner
Marland Proctor	...	Motorcycle Cop
Walter O. Miles	...	Coroner (as Walter Miles)
Stack Pierce	...	Emilio
Mello Alexandria	...	Cop
Sandra Rustam	...	Young Girl
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Bonner	...	Ambulance Driver (uncredited)
Edward Cross	...	Old Man (uncredited)
Sheldon Lee	...	Inmate (uncredited)

Directed by
Ray Danton		(as Raymond Danton)

Writing credits
Greydon Clark		(written by) &
Mikel Angel		(written by) &
Ray Danton		(written by) (as Raymond Danton)

Produced by
Greydon Clark	....	associate producer
Larry Huly	....	associate producer
Mardi Rustam	....	producer
Mohammed Rustam	....	executive producer

Original Music by
William Kraft

Cinematography by
Herb Pearl		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Michael Brown

Casting by
Edward R. Morse

Art Direction by
Joel Leonard

Makeup Department
Tino Zacchia	....	hair stylist
Tino Zacchia	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Leonard Bram	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Hargrove	....	second assistant director (as Bob Hargrove)
Ron Smith	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Michael Hayes	....	property master

Sound Department
Fred J. Brown	....	sound effects editor (as Fred Brown)
Gene Corso	....	sound effects editor
Bob Dietz	....	production sound mixer (as Robert Dietz)
Ted Gomillion	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ross Taylor	....	sound effects editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Hedy Dietz	....	still photographer
Connie Holt	....	second assistant camera
Ted Holt	....	gaffer
Gene Luce	....	first assistant camera
Ernest Paul Roebuck	....	grip (as Ernie Roebuck)
Robert Sordal	....	key grip (as Robert Sordahl)
Timothy Stott	....	best boy
Michael Mileham	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Monika Henreid	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Earl Watson	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Jules Chaikin	....	music score supervisor
William Kraft	....	conductor

Other crew
Kendall L. Johnson	....	technical advisor: Kirlian photography
Patricia Motyka	....	script supervisor (as Pat Motyka)

Thanks
Ronald Nissenson	....	acknowledgment: California Donuts courtesy of (as Mr. Ronald Nissenson)

Production Companies

• Lexington Productions
• Syn-Frank Enterprises

Distributors

• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1975) (USA) (theatrical)
• International Film Distributors (1976) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1979) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• CMV Laservision (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Dark Sky Films (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Elite Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Video 49 (19??) (Netherlands) (video) (Betamax)

Other Companies

• Audio Services  sound
• f-Stop  titles and opticals (as F-Stop)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:PG | Iceland:(Banned) | UK:18 (DVD rating)

Company:

Lexington Productions

Trivia:

Julie Adams' character Dr. Scott says she is from "Blyville, Arkansas". The actress grew up in Arkansas (Little Rock).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Lieut. Morgan (Paul Burke) reports that the coroner describes the scalding victim as having "first degree burns". First degree burns are the least serious (but most painful) type of burn, and the coroner would know this.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 4 (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

Do These Things Really Happen?

Norman Bates goes psychedelic !!

As a result of being wrongfully accused of murdering a doctor and being put in a mental institution, Arnold Masters plans bloody vengeance on everyone directly or indirectly responsible for the death of his poor old mother. Luckily (for him) he inherited a medallion carrying a supernatural force and this allows Arnold's spirit to step out of the body and to commit the murders without leaving a trace. The premise of "Psychic Killer" is giant nonsense but it does guarantee a lot of fun and thrills. Besides, there are more than enough elements that indicate that this movie shouldn't be taken too seriously, like the over-the-top acting and the exaggeratedly ludicrous killings. This movie looks suspiciously much like a standard Roger Corman production: the budget is extremely low, but the ingeniousness of the script and the enthusiasm of the B-cast widely make up for it (Neville Brand and Julie Adams are particularly splendid). In case you like older horror and you have a morbid sense of humor, you're destined to like this cute piece of 70's schlock. The climax is tremendously hilarious and it looks quite a lot like a demented version of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". No essential viewing whatsoever, but a gigantically entertaining 'video-nasty' I can't recommend highly enough.