Blu-ray

Telekinesis, the power to move objects with the mind, has been explored in classic stories such as H. G. Wells’ The Man Who Could Work Miracles, and in movies like The Brain from Planet Arous, Fiend Without a Face and Firestarter.  In George Pal’s 1968 film The Power, members of a secret society use telekinetic forces to commit murder and it is a similar premise that forms the plot of the 1978 movie The Medusa Touch, based on the novel by Peter Van Greenaway and directed by Jack Gold.

What begins as a simple investigation into a grisly case of attempted murder leads the police into a terrifying plot involving supernatural powers. As the mystery deepens as to who was responsible for the crime, French detective Brunel (Lino Venture) employs the services of an attractive psychiatrist Dr Zonfeld (Lee Remick) to uncover the truth. What they discover leads to a terrifying climax.

Richard Burton stars as the murder victim Morlar. A psychic and novelist, his past life is reconstructed through a series of flashbacks. As a child he had the uncanny ability to will injury and death on his enemies, but as he grew older, a morbid fascination for disasters eventually fine-tuned his telekinesis into an unstoppable evil. 

Was he responsible for the moon mission that ends in catastrophe or the aircraft that falls out of the sky over London? Brunel is not convinced at first, but after witnessing what the warped brain of the now comatose Morlar is capable of, he can only stand helpless when unleashed forces invoke the final apocalypse. Perhaps Morlar really is the Devil in disguise. 

An unlikely choice for the role, Burton is actually very good as the disturbed psychic. The scenes in which he discusses his demonic powers with Remick are unnervingly realistic. Lino Ventura (whose voice is dubbed in the film by David de Keyser) plays the baffled French detective with total conviction, while Remick completes the triumvirate as a believably sympathetic character who harbours a terrible secret.

The Medusa Touch benefits from a strong cast of supporting actors including Harry Andrews as the sceptical Assistant Commissioner, Alan Badel as a barrister friend of Morlar’s, and Derek Jacobi as his publisher Townley. There are also great cameos from Michael Hordern as a fortune-teller, Robert Flemying as Judge McKinley and Gordon Jackson as the arrogant Dr. Johnson.

The film also pulls its weight with some excellent special effects from ex-Gerry Anderson illumni Brian Johnson, with a chillingly prophetic scene of a jumbo jet crashing into a high-rise office building and the total collapse of an abbey during the film’s downbeat conclusion.

Picture: Unlike the Carlton DVD release of a few years back, this Blu-ray comes closer to the original 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio with its 1.78:1-framed 1080p encode. Darker images can look a bit grainy, as in some of the scenes set in Remick’s office (Chapter 8), but overall the picture quality is bright and sharp, especially the confrontation between Morlar and the judge in the courtroom (Chapter 6) and during the key special effects scenes in Chapters 9 and 12.
Picture rating: 4/5

Audio: The LPCM 2.0 dual-mono soundtrack is adequate, although lacks some of the punch that would have made the collapse of the abbey more impressive (Chapter 12). That said, cranking up the volume does help and the dialogue is always crisp and clearly rendered.
Audio rating: 3/5

Extras: There’s an informative audio commentary on the making of the film from film historians Kim Newman and Stephen Jones with director Jack Gold. Destroying the Abbey is a 17-minute behind-the-scenes look at filming the climax of the movie with some of the stars of the film and a crowd of hardworking extras dodging collapsing polystyrene columns. Highlighting the often tedious work of filmmaking, it is a bit repetitious though and might have benefitted from the addition of some commentary from Messrs Gold, Newman and Jones. The original theatrical trailer and an image gallery rounds off the special features.
Extras rating: 3/5

We say: The Medusa Touch is a chilling, competently made old-fashioned-style thriller in the same vein as The Omen and demands your attention from start to finish.

The Medusa Touch  Network, Region B BD, £15 Approx
HCC VERDICT: 4/5