The Psychic (1977)

☆ ☆ ☆

The Psychic (1977) – L. Fulci

This may not be a fair review, because, honestly, I kept dozing off and then waking back up.  Probably this is my fault rather than the movie’s (although I often struggle with dubbing) but it might have suited, or amplified, the dreamlike quality of the proceedings.  Now having seen the end of the film, I know the killer’s identity and therefore I might not watch this again anytime soon.  Basically a giallo, from director Lucio Fulci (who went on to make some gory horror films in the zombie and slasher genres) and starring Jennifer O’Neill as a psychic who experiences a vision of a murder -- in a room that turns out to be in the mansion of her new husband (his former bedroom and the body is of a former girlfriend).  After unearthing the corpse in the first few minutes of the film and with her husband arrested as a suspect in the crime, O’Neill starts putting the clues from her vision together, along with her therapist, in the hopes of exonerating her husband.  There isn’t much gore or violence here but a lot of creeping around and opening of doors (at least as far as I saw!).  Apparently, Tarantino is a fan and used the soundtrack in Kill Bill (the film is also titled Murder to the Tune of the Seven Black Notes) – my kids complained from their bedroom that it was too spooky. In the final minutes, all the pieces fell into place with a nod to Edgar Allen Poe – perhaps I didn’t earn the clever resolution but the payoff still worked for me.  If this genre is your thing, then this might be worth a look.