Psychic Killer (1975)

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

Director:

Ray Danton (as Raymond Danton)

Writers:

Greydon Clark, Mikel Angel

Stars:

Paul Burke, Jim Hutton, Julie Adams

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Burke	...	Police Lt. Jeff Morgan
Jim Hutton	...	Arnold James Masters
Julie Adams	...	Dr. Laura Scott
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Dr. Gubner
Neville Brand	...	Lemonowski
Aldo Ray	...	Lt. Dave Anderson
Whit Bissell	...	Dr. Paul Taylor
Rod Cameron	...	Dr. Commanger
Della Reese	...	Mrs. Gibson
Mary Charlotte Wilcox	...	Nurse Burnson (as Mary Wilcox)
Judith Brown	...	Anne Turner
Joseph Della Sorte	...	Harvey B. Sanders
Greydon Clark	...	Police Sgt. Marv Sowash
Harry Holcombe	...	Judge
Robin Raymond	...	Jury Foreman (as Robyn Raymond)

Storyline

Mental patient Arnold Masters, hospitalized for a murder he didn't commit, learns astral projection--the art of leaving one's physical body and transporting the soul someplace else--from a fellow inmate. Upon his release, Arnold uses his new powers to bump off the people he holds responsible for his arrest, his mother's death while he was imprisoned and the price of meat! Lt. Morgan and Lt. Anderson are the cops on his trail, while his caring shrink, Dr. Scott, tries to prevent any more deaths.

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Plot Keywords:

manhunt | murder | astral projection | evil man | psychic | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Thriller | Horror

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Kirlian Effect

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lexington Productions, Mars Productions Corporation, Syn-Frank Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The final theatrically released film of paul burke.

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Goofs

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.

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Alternate Versions

Although the cinema version was uncut the 1992 UK video was pre-cut by 9 secs before submission to remove scenes of bloodstained breasts during the shower murder. The 2000 Vipco release was the complete version.

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Connections

Referenced in The American Nightmare (2000)

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Soundtracks

Do These Things Really Happen?
Sung by Gloria Lynne
Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
Music by Mike Corda

User Reviews

Psychic psycho killer!

Psycho killer flicks are a penny a dozen, but at least this one has something about it. Psychic Killer was released before the slasher craze really kicked off, and is surprisingly more original than many films in its class. The idea behind the plot is, of course, pure B-grade horror hokum, but somehow it works out better than many 'man with a knife' flicks. The film was obviously hampered by budget constraints, and this comes across by way of the fact that much of the movie is dialogue based. The film also has something of a cheerful tone about it, and despite messy scenes that see hands ripped apart by meat grinders and someone crushed under a slab of cement, the movie never really shocks all that much. The plot follows a man who is in a mental institute after being wrongly accused of murder. While there, he learns the ability to 'psychically' leave his body, and upon getting out and realising his mother has died while he was locked away, he vows to use his new found power to get his revenge on everyone that he believes has wronged him.

The film moves slowly throughout, and since a lot of the scenes focus on dialogue, Psychic Killer never really gets a good rhythm going, and every time we see an exciting sequence, it's generally followed by a slow one. This is obviously a result of the budget constraints, although the screenplay is also somewhat at fault as the movie could easily have made more of its central sequences without over stretching the budget. The plot idea is actually one of the film's strongpoints. It's silly and ensures that the movie is very much on the 'B' side of cinema, but it's also really rather interesting. The characters drag the piece down, however, as none of them are given any time to develop and there isn't anyone on the roster that is particularly easy to identify with. The gore scenes are few, but the one that takes place in a butchers shop is a treat. Other murders that see people killed by 'accidents' are rather sinister, but also rather humorous and overall, even though this film isn't brilliant; there's enough to recommend it to genre fans for.