The Medusa Touch

1978

Action / Drama / Horror / Mystery / Sci-Fi

10
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 73% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.9/10 10 8564 8.6K

london, england robbery telekinesis execution super power

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Plot summary

A French detective in London reconstructs the life of a man lying in hospital with severe injuries with the help of journals and a psychiatrist. He realises that the man had powerful telekinetic abilities.

Director

Jack Gold Photo
Jack Gold

Top cast

Jennifer Jayne Photo
Jennifer Jayne as Mother
Maurice O'Connell Photo
Maurice O'Connell as Sgt. Robbins
Harry Fielder Photo
Harry Fielder as Court Spectator
Philip Stone Photo
Philip Stone as Dean
720p.BLU
808.63 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
PG
Subtitles
24.000 fps
1 hr 49 min
Seeds 10

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by CinemaSerf 7 / 10

Though top billed in this, Richard Burton features

Though top billed in this, Richard Burton features but sparingly as a man with a tortured past. His recollections to his psychiatrist "Dr. Zonfeld" (Lee Remick) are relayed to police inspector "Brunel" (Lino Ventura) after he ("Morlar") is found savagely beaten at his London flat. As the investigation expands, it is clear that the normal rules do not apply here. "Morlar" shouldn't even be alive, yet his brain activity coupled with a spate of accidents and with the ever more revealing - but sensational - revelations about his disaster-prone past lead "Brunel" and the Assistant Commissioner (Harry Andrews) to a conclusion that, well, they just cannot believe. Ventura is good in this, as is the understated, but effective Remick. There are plenty of twists that keep the obvious from becoming too obvious, too soon, and when called upon, Burton contributes well in a sort of manic, epitome of evil, manner. It is a bit dialogue heavy at times, but the last twenty minutes are great drama well put together. A good bit of telekinetic terror!
Reviewed by Wuchak 6 / 10

_**Beware the ‘deathlook’ of Richard Burton**_ A writer

_**Beware the ‘deathlook’ of Richard Burton**_ A writer in London is convinced he has the power to cause destruction at will (Richard Burton) and it’s driving him mad. Lee Remick plays his psychiatrist while Lino Ventura is on hand as a Scotland Yard detective. "The Medusa Touch" (1978) is a slow burn psychological thriller/horror that takes the psychokinesis element of “Carrie” but throws in the mass disaster angle of the later “The Mothman Prophecies” (2002). Other films covering this kind of mind power include "Powder" (1995), "Phenomenon" (1996) and “Youth Without Youth” (2007) with the difference here being that the protagonist’s party trick is mayhem rather than benevolence. Like the original Star Trek pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before” (1966), the theme is power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. For instance, if Morlar (Burton) wanted to illustrate his power to the therapist, why not simply lift up her dress or something else harmless, such as picking up a chair? Like Bruce Banner, his gift (or curse) only manifests when provoked to anger. Remick was the youngest adult cast member at 42 during shooting. I’m not an ageist, but the rest of the cast is glaringly mature. Burton was only 52, but looks way older (he must’ve lived a hard life). Nevertheless, he’s legendary and you can’t beat his presence, voice or delivery. The film runs 1 hour, 49 minutes, and was shot in London and the greater London area, including the White Cliffs of Dover and Reculver Towers, which are about an hour’s drive east of the city on the coast. GRADE: B-/B
Reviewed by Stevieboy666 7 / 10

Burton brings it on!

Don't you just hate it when you think of a review title only to find that somebody has beaten you to it!!?? So "I have a gift for disaster" was to be my first choice. Anyway the late, great Richard Burton is sat at home watching the TV when a visitor calls by and bashes him over the head. The police are called for an apparent murder but turns out that he's not dead. Taken to hospital he remains in a comatose state apart from his brain which is driving the attached monitor nuts! Burton plays a writer with telekinetic powers, he discovers these when a boy and uses them to kill his nanny, then his parents. Much of the film has him telling his life story in a series of flash backs, I liked this part of the plot a lot. As a middle aged man he has now set his sights on the mass destruction of innocents. Can he be stopped? These type of movies were popular around this time, titles such as Carrie, Patrick, Psychic Killer and The Fury spring to mind, even The Omen, and The Medusa Touch is a good addition. I can remember watching this on TV at least twice when I was a kid and several decades later I came across a nice print being screened on a British TV channel that specialises in older movies. It was great to revisit it. Burton was without question one of the finest actors to come out of the UK and I really enjoyed his performance here, but I thought the rest of the cast that includes many familiar faces to be good also. The movie does build to a gripping finale, this film is horror, thriller and disaster all rolled into one.
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