Teuflische Signale

A doctor (Kathryn Harroler) tries to find out why a telepathic young man (Zelijko Ivank) is unleashing his nightmares and visions into the minds of the staff and patients and causing them injury. She thinks his weird mother (Shirley Knight) my be part of the cause. Crisp, suspenseful thriller with a solid premise and good production values & performances. One of the best horror films from the 1980's.

Rated R; Violence.

More people should really seek out and watch THE SENDER. And the less you know about this film before going into it, the better. All you need to know about the plot, is the set-up. The film begins with a skillfully crafted, ominous scene in which a man (John Doe #83/The Sender) tries to commit suicide (how, you just have to see!). He doesn't succeed, and gets submitted to a mental hospital. From there on, the doctors have to find out who he is, and what his problems are. And rest assured, the more they discover, the creepier things get. This is a rather unique film, worthy of a bit more recognition. A bit slow in pace to some, perhaps, but for me the pace and rising tension were perfect. If any of you enjoyed films like Richard Franklin's PATRICK (1978) or Douglas Trumbull's BRAINSTORM (1983) - this one's maybe a bit of a stretch, as it's more sci-fi/thriller/drama orientated - then THE SENDER comes highly recommended.

Aside from the steady pace of lingering creepiness & mystery, I found that there were at least two real "WTF?" moments in this film. Two scenes that took me by surprise in a way I didn't know whether to cheer or be terrified. A very good (psychologically tinted) horror film, indeed! Yes, I'm rating it highly, but compared to some of the trash I watch on a regular basis, this film deserves some extra praises. And Paramount should really make an effort to release a worthy DVD edition of this film, adding a commentary track by director Roger Christian and maybe some other fine special features. Their 2008 release features only the film and nothing more.

Fitfully effective creep-out, one that sneaked in and out of theaters but managed to find a small audience once it premiered on cable in the mid-1980s. Lovely Kathryn Harrold is very good as a dedicated doctor attempting to understand a handsome young mental patient (Zeljko Ivanek) who is both telepathic and wildly unbalanced. An odd, off-putting piece, though certainly a curious one filmed quite well on a low-budget; its predilection for smashed glass and marauding insects and rodents may turn many viewers off however, and Shirley Knight's performance as the sender's mother nearly lapses into camp (though I actually welcomed this!). ** from ****

The Sender has some interesting concepts of the supernatural being housed in science and psychology. The picture unfortunately suffers from the rigors of making monsters out of science and doctors as they ignore and disbelieve the supernatural. The depiction of mental illness is poorly conveyed, but for a film made in 1982, this could have been progressive at the time. The film lacks the larger structure and bite that the Dead Zone was able to capture but a year later. (And no doubt due largely to Stephen King's superb story and Cronenberg's talent to maintain the story but transform it into film.) Acting is generally decent and rises to the occasion. This, and the unsuspected reveal at the start of the 3rd act brings this film to a 6 given the "movie of the week" nature of the story and plotting, as well as the lackluster ongoing tension that wasbnot sustained in this film. Tired of watching the Dead Zone? This one is worth a watch, but don't expect too much from it.

The 1980s are known as the golden age of slasher movies. It's worth noting that not all horror flicks from the era of the Rubik's Cube were slashers. A really good non-slasher is Roger Christian's psychological thriller "The Sender", about a man whose dreams manifest themselves. There are some VERY intense scenes. I liked the whole sequence in the operating room.

As is often the case with horror flicks, "The Sender" features an eye-opening cast and crew. Roger Christian won an Oscar for Art Direction for "Star Wars" and received a second nod for "Alien", but later directed the infamous "Battlefield Earth". Kathryn Harrold used to be married to MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell. Željko Ivanek was born in Ljubljana but raised in the United States and has appeared in a number of movies and TV shows. Shirley Knight has been in movies for over fifty years. Paul Freeman played the villain in "Raiders of the Lost Ark". And then there's writer Tom Baum: he also wrote wrote the 1975 animated feature "Hugo the Hippo", one of the most WTF movies ever.

Anyway, it's a neat movie. I recommend it.

PS: "The Sender" opened the 1982 Avoriaz Film Festival.