The Psychic

The Psychic is one of Lucio Fulci's most well thought out films with less gore than usual and more focus on characters and suspense. Some might find it dull, but I found it refreshing. Who knew he had it in him? Wonderful music score, too!

Murder to the Tune of Seven Black Notes is the last of Fulci's pre-gore flick Giallo's, and it has to be said that it's the lowest quality of the bunch. That, however, is more down to the fact that the others are such brilliant films rather a shortfall with this one. Having already done straight murderers with A Lizard in Woman's Skin and Don't Torture a Duckling, Fulci has resorted to a supernatural plot line for his fourth Giallo feature and the plot draws its mystery and intrigue from it. Fulci has taken influence from the more psychological Giallo films made before this one, as well as a plentiful helping of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Black Cat". The plot kicks off properly with the uncovering of a skeleton inside the walls of a villa belonging to the husband of our young lady protagonist. Clairvoyance is the reason for finding the skeleton, and naturally it isn't long before the husband is put under suspicion for the murder given that the body was uncovered inside his house; and he finds himself on the inside when it turns out that the body belonged to one of his ex-lovers...

Despite the fact that this film serves as something of a prelude to the latter half of Fulci's career, there is a surprising lack of blood and guts, and this film isn't even as gory as the earlier Don't Torture a Duckling. Fulci presents his plot with a surprising amount of restraint, and doesn't even take the opportunity to show a heavily decomposed corpse as he did in the largely gore-less One on Top of the Other over a decade earlier. While the plot itself does serve up intrigue, it has to be said that it's a little too bare to cover the running time properly. The suspense is there throughout, but Fulci's script certainly could have benefited from adhering a little more to the common convoluted Giallo plot. The technical side of the film makes up for this shortfall, however, as Fulci's use of the camera is excellent and he continually presents a morbid and foreboding atmosphere, particularly inside the central villa location. The tension mounts as we approach the ending, and Murder to the Tune of Seven Black Notes boils down to a satisfyingly macabre - if a little abrupt - conclusion. This film may not be Fulci's best Giallo attempt, and it is liable to disappoint fans of his later, bloodier films; but if you like your atmospheres grim and your plots suspenseful; Fulci's fourth Giallo comes recommended.

The Psychic finds Italian film-maker Lucio Fulci in a decidedly more restrained mood. Never a director to shy away from excessive sex and violence, this entry in his cannon is far more an exercise in suspense with a real focus on presenting an interesting mystery. There is an early scene where a character falls off a cliff resulting in their face being bloodily shredded by rocks as they fall - basically a scene repeated from Fulci's earlier giallo classic Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) – but apart from this, there is no real excessive blood-letting at all. The story is essentially about a psychic woman who experiences premonitions about mysterious murders, before long she finds herself in the midst of a dangerous situation.

The atmosphere of this one generates a real sense of dread. This is mainly on account of the quite distinctively structured mystery that underpins the story-line. The mixing of visions of the past and events yet to come was clever. It means that there is a real sense of intrigue to this one, with lots of visual clues thrown at us that progressively make sense, while often setting us off to entirely the wrong conclusion. It's a jigsaw puzzle of a movie and this is a very nice touch. Because it came quite late in the giallo cycle I guess it was for this reason that it adopted a more original approach, mixing the standard tropes of the genre with a supernatural angle. Whatever the case, this is one of the better written and thought out story-lines from the sub-genre and what it lacks in visceral excess it does make up for with a well-conceived mystery. It benefits too from a good leading lady in Jennifer O'Neill who later starred in David Cronenberg's excellent sci-fi/horror Scanners (1981). In addition it also features a Goblinesque score which was another nice touch.

"The Psychic" is probably one of Fulci's most plot-based movies. It also is fairly restrained; it is surprising that this was not issued a PG-13 rating. The only real gore was in the beginning of the movie when a woman falls off a cliff. Her face is shown hitting the side of the cliff repeatedly. Don't let the lack of gore stop you from renting this, though, because this movie is well worth it.

The story is as follows: A clairvoyant of sorts has a vision of a murder taking place in the house in which she lives. She then digs a skeleton out of the wall of the house. She calls the police, who in turn arrest her husband, the longtime owner of the house. In attempts to get her husband out of jail, she tries piecing together what happened based on her vision. It should be noted that the major plot twists are given away on the back of the box, so avoid reading it if surprise is wanted.

"The Psychic" is one of Fulci's few technically competent movies, containing few plot holes and a great storyline. Unfortunately, the same can not be said about the dialogue, which is subpar, and the quality, which takes away from the movie's viewing experience. Also, the first half of the movie drags, but luckily things pick up for the second half. Be sure to listen for the tune in the watch; it starts out like the theme song to "Zombie!"

This is an enjoyable movie for all audiences. My rating: 7 out of 10.

This is a scary and intriguing film with a twisted plot , plenty of grisly killings , relentles suspense , ghastly mystery , astonishing images , gory events and well staged murders. A psychic woman (Jennifer O'Neil) discovers a skeleton in a wall in her husband's house , and seeks to find the truth about what occurred to the victim . Along with her psychiatrist friend (Marc Porel) , she seeks to find out the truth about who the person was and who put her there . Meanwhile her suspect husband (Gianni Garco) is imprisoned accused for killing . Early rare deeds begin to happen to them , as she along with husband's sister (Evelyn Stewart) start investigating , discovering weird characters (Gabriele Ferzetti) and tragic murders . Soon enough, she begins realizing the possibility that she may share the victim's fate . Suddenly she could see into the future...and saw her own murder...Suddenly and without warning it's tomorrow... and you're dead.

Chilling Italian terror flick full of screams , chills, thrills , twists and turns .This is an alright Giallo where intrigue , tension , suspense appear threatening and lurking in grim mansions , in every room , corridors and luxurious houses , as well as exteriors , and with numerous suspicious people . The main premise results to be to guess who's the killer among a lot of suspect people . A properly creepy Giallo movie fully of thrills , chills , suspense and frightening happenings , particularly when our starring -who attempts to alter the killing prediction- is mercilessly chased by a mysterious murderer . These Giallo movies are characterized by overblown use of color with shining red blood , usual zooms , originally staged crimes with seemingly fascination by razors and knifes , use of images-shock and a lot of plot twists . Being the principal representatives of this sub-genre : Riccardo Freda , Mario Bava , Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci . Stars the beautiful Jennifer O'Neil , recent her successful Summer 42 , here plays well a psychic who inspired by a vision, smashes open a section of wall in her husband's home and finds a skeleton behind it . Gorgeous Jennifer O'Neil is well accompanied by a fine support cast, such as : Gabriele Ferzetti , Marc Porel , Gianni Garko who acted in a lot of Spahetti westerns as well as Bruno Corazzari , Jenny Tamburi who performed various Sex Comedy and Evelyn Stewart who starred several Giallos.

Colorful and adequate cinematography by cameraman Sergio Salvati who photographed splendidly interior and outdoors . This photographer to get the best sightseeing by adequate filming , using nice cameras to capture the flavor of urban . Eerie musical score composed and conducted by Walter Rizzati, as Frizzi, Fulci's regular , and composing in Goblin style . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Luccio Fulci who makes of it pretty eerie and chilly . The motion picture was made by one of the most controversial filmmakers of terror movies , here Lucio Fulci shoots in his usual style with flaws and gaps but being professionally made because he was a skilled craftsman . Reviewers are divided over booth the morals and talents of Fulci (1927-1996) who sometimes directed under the alias ¨Louis Fuller¨. For some critics many of his movies are cruel and shockingly violent, yet their gory surface often conceals religious, social commentaries or intelligent issues. Whether he should be viewed as a cheap sensationalist or just a genius Fulci has a loyal fan base and undeniably has an important and unique influence on the terror genre , creating great works on a medium/low budget such as proved in ¨The black cat¨, ¨Demonia¨, ¨Voices from beyond¨, ¨Manhattan baby¨, ¨Gates of Hell¨, ¨The Beyond¨, ¨Island of the living dead¨, ¨Zombie 3¨ , ¨New York ripper¨ , ¨Don't torture a duckling¨ , among them . This Giallo that tried to disguised itself under many other titles will appeal to Lucio Fulci aficionados , being essential and indispensable watching for their fans . Rating : 7/10 . Better than average Giallo from Fulci .