An Italian film that
merely happens to star an American actress, The
Psychic hit U.S. screens in 1979, two years after it played in Italy under
its original title, Sette note in nero
(translation: Seven Notes in Black).
Featuring a mystery/thriller story with elements of supernatural horror, the
picture belongs to the loose genre of giallo
films, so it’s a cousin to the creepy work of Dario Argento. Alas, the director
of this picture, Lucio Fulci, never rose to the same level of international notoriety
as Argento, and with good reason; while The
Psychic has some gruesome moments, the overall experience is dull. After a
zippy opening scene of a young girl psychically “seeing” her mother’s death
while it happens in another country, the movie slips into a turgid storyline
about American decorator Virginia Ducci (Jennifer O’Neill) getting embroiled
with a murder. Virginia, of course, was the little girl in the prologue, and
now her gift has resurfaced, because she “sees” a new killing. Reporting her
vision to the authorities causes Virginia’s Italian husband to become a
suspect, so she spends the rest of the movie following clues from her visions
in order to find the truth. Without giving away the movie’s big secret, it’s
sufficient to say that the final twist is a dark surprise of which Edgar Allen
Poe would have been proud. Unfortunately, the road the movie travels in order
to reach that destination is boring as hell, and even the ending is stretched
out in such a way that excitement and suspense are neutralized. Like many of
his peers in ’70s Italian cinema, Fulci relies on distracting gimmicks, such as
sharp musical stings and sudden camera zooms, and he also spends far too much
time lingering on O’Neill’s features, perhaps assuming that viewers will imbue
her beautiful face with a world of meaning that O’Neill is unable to convey
through her weak acting. Giallo fans
may find much to enjoy here, thanks to long purely visual sequences and a
cryptic storytelling style that vaguely recalls Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now (1973). Casual viewers,
however, are likely to lose interest way before Fulci’s film finds its mojo.
The Psychic: LAME
3 comments:
Hmmm...I do agree with some of the weaknesses that you described, by I was able to enjoy this one a bit more than you did. If we accept the stylistic elements that come with giallo productions, I thought that Fulci and O'Neill both did fine jobs, and the film was an enjoyably creepy mystery. Here is a link to my review:
http://www.theaceblackblog.com/2013/04/movie-review-seven-notes-in-black-1977.html
Maybe someone should have told the distributors it's not a good idea to give away your twist ending ON THE POSTER.
just watched it in Italian with English subs.
I had forgotten that I had seen the tag line before. So the outcome was a bit of a surprise to me. I thought Jenifer O Neil was perfectly fine in her role. I also didn't find it dull, but an intriguing and involving Hitchcockian type mystery
But then again I wasn't looking for gruesomeness.
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