"Psychic Killer" is quite amusing, and at the least can boast a twist on the usual sort of vengeance-themed murder spree. Some viewers might say that the ideas being explored deserve a much better cinematic treatment, but as schlock goes, this movie does show its audience a decent time. There's a fair bit of gore, and a little bit of imagination in terms of the death scenes. As guided by former actor turned director Ray Danton ("Deathmaster"), this has also got a hell of a cast of familiar faces to keep things watchable.Jim Hutton plays Arnold Masters, a Norman Bates type who was wrongly convicted of murder and sent to a mental institution. While incarcerated, he makes the brief acquaintance of fellow patient Emilio (character actor Stack Pierce, who has a strong presence). Emilio provides Arnold with the tools to orchestrate murders while not being physically present at the murder scenes. As a result, flustered police lieutenant Jeff Morgan (Paul Burke) has to try to solve killings that don't make any sense.The concepts of Kirlian photography (which can be seen behind the opening credits) and astral projection are good enough of a hook to reel viewers in. Hutton is good as the unbalanced protagonist. Making appearances are Julie Adams and Whit Bissell from "The Creature from the Black Lagoon", Nehemiah Persoff, Rod Cameron, Neville Brand (as a butcher whose only real "crime" is charging too much for his meat), Aldo Ray, and Della Reese. Mary Charlotte Wilcox supplies the T & A as a sexpot nurse who likes to tease her bedridden patient. In a supporting role is film director Greydon Clark ("Without Warning"), who co-wrote the picture with Danton and Mikel Angel.This movie is "good" fun, although it does lead to a pretty horrific finale.Seven out of 10.

PSYCHIC KILLER is certainly an effective little horror film, very much a product of its era. It's a film with many flaws, not least the shoddy construction of certain scenes and the general slow pacing that never pays off, but at the same time it remains interesting. The plot is a unique one that mines the late '70s craze for 'psychic' thrillers (see also THE EYES OF LAURA MARS, PATRICK, THE MEDUSA TOUCH) and the creepy atmosphere is spot on.The weird-looking Jim Hutton stars as a guy sent to prison for a crime he may or may not have committed. Whilst inside, he befriends a black guy who gifts him the power of psychic ability, and on release the guy simply sits back in his chair and wills the deaths of those who have wronged him or his family in some way.Much of the running time consists of a series of weird death scenes more than a little reminiscent of the likes of the FINAL DESTINATION series. They're well staged and avoid cheese for the most part, and an interesting cast and production team adds to the fun. Paul Burke's investigating cop is a great character and the actor's very likable. Aldo Ray has a minor role as a supporting detective and the evil-looking Neville Brand plays a butcher. There are roles for two famous faces from the 1950s, Whit Bissell (I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF) and Julia Adams (THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON). The script was written by Greydon Clark, who went on to direct WITHOUT WARNING, and the direction was by Ray Danton, the SANDOKAN actor. Give it a look.

"Psychic Killer" is a strange story about... guess what? A psychic killer! A killer who wants revenge and is able to get it from a rather considerable distance. Beyond that, there really isn't much to know about the plot.The film comes from director Ray Danton, who is/was largely a TV director. This is rather evident in the style of the film, which seems like it could have been made for television or at least used similar equipment. There's a different feel from television to cinema, and this just didn't feel like a silver screen production. Not that this makes it a bad film, necessarily.What does make it a bad film is pretty much everything else. We early on get a body falling off a building that is about as fake as can be. And this wasn't a comedy. Other deaths are equally cheesy, with maybe one that was at least a bit worthy of respect -- though not praise.There was also bad music which doesn't match the scenery. I'm not sure if the music would have matched much of anything, but it certainly didn't go with what we saw. That Internet Movie Database users have given this film a 2.7 out of 10 is no surprise once you've seen it. I have to give the movie more credit than that, but not much.One interesting thing about this film is discussion of Kirlian photography. In the 1970s (when this film was made) there was some serious discussion about the Kirlian photography and its connection to the paranormal. Dr. Thelma Moss of UCLA led the parapsychology laboratory and much of her time was devoted to efforts to avoid factors proposed by skeptical peer-review in order to confirm some connection. How successful she was is unclear, though I doubt she had much luck.The film is hyped up on the back of the box comparing the killer (Arnold) to other notorious movie killers. But don't be fooled. Even if Arnold came first (and, being from 1975, that's a valid point) he didn't really leave a lasting mark then and he won't leave one now in the film's DVD release. Horror fans may find this a good film to pass the time with, but unless you're drinking or have a high tolerance for bad movies, this one isn't anything special.

The Psychic Killer begins with a bizarre on screen quote, with an accompanying narration, "Why should any phenomenon be assumed impossible? The universe begins to look more and more like a great thought, than a great machine" Physicist Sir James Jean as quoted in "Time Magazine". No, I have no idea what it means either. Arnold Masters (Jim Hutton) is accused of killing the Doctor who refused to treat his mothers brain tumour. He's been committed to an insane asylum and is currently under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Laura Scott (Julie Adams). While there Arnold befriends another inmate named Emilio (Stack Pierce) who gives Arnold the secret to 'out of body travel' using a magical amulet. All of a sudden Arnold is cleared of murder, as the real murderer conveniently turned himself into the police and confessed. Arnold is again a free man. He arrives back at his old house to discover it in a state of disrepair. Angered by the injustices he has suffered he decides to use the magical amulet for the purpose of avenging himself on the people he thinks has done him harm. First Masters targets Doctor Paul Taylor (Whitt Bissell) who testified at Masters trial and helped send him down. Then Masters goes after Nurse Burnson (Mary Charlotte Wilcox as Mary Wilcox) who he thinks neglected his mother and was partly responsible for her death. Lieutenant Jeff Morgan (Paul Burke) and his assistant Danny Anderson (Aldo Ray) are on the case. They are totally baffled as there is no logical explanation for the deaths which are very suspicious. Morgan finds that Masters is a common link between the victims and asks Dr. Scott to help him out. They visit Dr. Gubner (Nehemiah Persoff) for further help but they find what he has to say hard to believe. Will Morgan get his man? Will he get to sleep with sexy psychiatrist Scott? How many more people have to die before Masters is avenged? Co-written and directed by Raymond Danton I thought this was a decent horror film, nothing outstanding but certainly very watchable. Acting is solid among the veteran cast that also includes Neville Brand as the wonderfully named bad tempered butcher Mr. Lemonowski, and associate producer and co-writer Greydon Clarke as a cop who takes dive off a cliff. The film doesn't feature much in the way of violence or gore, a minced hand, crushed arm and a hacked up corpse on a meat hook is about as explicit as it gets. The death scenes are disappointingly tame, generally speaking. There is some nudity, Nurse Burnson has a nice long shower scene and we get to see her wash her legs and breasts, you know the sort of thing. Music, editing and photography are fine. The script by Danton, Clarke and Mike Angel is well paced and generally kept my interest throughout. I also have to mention the downbeat and somewhat unexpected ending, which I liked. Definitely worth a watch.