Friday, September 10, 2010

The Terminal Man (1974)

3.5 / 5 Sept '10
Tagline: Harry Benson is a brilliant computer scientist. For three minutes a day, he is violently homicidal.
Directed by: Mike Hodges
Written by: Michael Crichton, Mike Hodges
Actors include: George Segal, Joan Hackett, Richard Dysart
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller
Length: 107 minutes
Banned: Finland




Review:
This was a rather strange adaptation of a Michael Crichton novel (that I've honestly not read) but I likely would after seeing this film. It's sort of trippy sci-fi with some definite lessons crammed into it. Harry Benson is an intelligent man, but from a result of a head trauma he suffers from paranoid delusions and seizures where he becomes extremely violent and attacks people. Doctors have figured out a way to correct this problem by toying with his brain, inserting some chips to shock the patient when the seizures come about. After the surgery Harry is getting frustrated with all of this nonsense and flees the hospital only for things to go from bad to worse. It's a very slow moving and deliberate piece, they could have whittled it down a bit and made a much more interesting movie but as it sits it's still quite worthwhile. The useage of colors (or rather white) and angles in the cinematography were fascinating, probably one of my favorite parts of the film. It also did make a few points and teach me a couple of things and it was very interesting to look at. It's sort of a psychological horror film in several ways, rather dark and depressing, best to watch on a gray or raining evening.

Availability:  On DVD

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