THE
PSYCHIC (1968)
Directed by James F. Hurley/Herschell
Gordon Lewis
Camp Video VHS
THE FILM
The cup of sleaze doth runneth over...welcome
to The Psychic!
Here’s a brief backstory:
Herschell Gordon Lewis was hired
by the ESP-obsessed script writer
James Hurley to direct Something
Weird in 1967. While I
feel that Something Weird
is one of the greatest b-movies
ever, Hurley wasn’t so thrilled
with the outcome. So a year later,
he rehired Herschell to produce
a reworking of the film. It was
called The Psychic and
filmed in Chicago. The distributor
was bored with the finished film,
so H.G. went back and shot some
topless sex scene inserts. Voila,
everyone’s happy, and a magnificent
train wreck is born.
The movie begins at the end, as
our story unfolds in flashbacks
after the opening sequence. Dan
Thomas (played by Dick Genola, who
vaguely resembles Fred Willard)
is a family man and an executive
at an advertising agency. He falls
off a ladder and somehow gains psychic
abilities, turning him into a total
jackass. Dan decides to leave his
wife and daughter to make his mark
as a celebrity psychic. Along the
way he starts up a nightclub act,
appears on national tv and “outs”
a celebrity that calls him a zero,
has strategically placed intimate
relations (you’ll know when
they’re coming, as Dan’s
sideburns grow to gargantuan size),
and becomes recognized in bars.
But how far will his power go?!
Will it last forever? Destroy his
life? Only the 75 minute run time
of The Psychic will tell.
Ok, The Psychic is positively
awful. However, it’s an awful
that you’ll love every minute
of. The script is so deliriously
bad, that you can’t help but
laugh throughout. Pretty much every
plot point is implied and nothing
makes sense at all. I don’t
need to tell you how bad the acting
is -- I’m sure you can imagine.
On top of that, there are loads
of hilarious dialogue bits -- “You’re
not exactly a cadaver yourself!”
and “I guess THAT’S
why she received straight A’s
in college.” The film drips
with sleaze as well: over-exaggerated
(or actors bored to tears) sex scenes
with classic bad narration explaining
what’s going on, implied rape,
implied child molestation, and an
absolutely hilarious, innuendo filled
tv talk show reenactment.
Oh yeah, and the whole shebang is
post-dubbed. Astoundingly bad. Thoroughly
entertaining.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Considering this tape is close to
twenty years old, not too bad. The
picture is nice and bright for the
most part, but the print is washed
out at times and tends to have a
blue tint in certain scenes. The
audio fares worse, with lots of
clicks and pops present. Probably
due to the age of the tape.
EXTRAS
I was hoping for a couple of trailers
from other Camp Video releases,
but alas, nothing.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Psychic is a home run
as far as bad movies go. Hopefully,
Something Weird will release it
on DVD soon...maybe as a double
feature with Herschell’s The
Girl, The Body, And The Pill
or Suburban Roulette?
— Joseph A. Ziemba, 01.23.04 |
The Psychic at play
The Psychic at home
The Psychic at work
Great shot
|
