THE PSYCHIC

My journey thru Italian horror cinema is one of fits and starts. I am hard pressed to call myself a devotee by any stretch of the imagination and yet a cursory glance of my shelves sure does reveal an awful lot of what most would call the key Italian horror films. I do know that the commercial for Suspiria ranks as one of the most nightmare inducing images I encountered as a young horror fan. And with the three disc set of that film along with both Anchor Bay Bava box sets, and SE’s of most of Argento’s output as well as Lucas’ massive Bava book I have to stop and consider whether I should take stock of my interest level. Lucio Fulci is another case in point.

Of course I had seen Zombie, de rigueur for any horror fan in an age where zombies have replaced most other supernatural bogeys as the dominant monster. But at that point I still viewed Fulci as one of a number of lesser Italian horror filmmakers who had merely capitalized on the success of their betters. Then I saw The Beyond.

Not a giallo by any stretch and not necessarily a good film but an engrossing series of images that finally tied me in to the sensibility that seemed to drive modern Italian horror cinemas most avid fans. This gooey stuff was primal, photographed with a confidence that proved the shark wrestling and stunning zombie images Fulci was known for were the product of an artistic sensibility whatever his films other faults. There was a power there, I literally could not take my eyes off the screen. I still don’t consider Fulci anywhere near the equal of Bava or Argento at the height of their powers but he has produced some interesting work and I look forward to continue sifting through it.

The Psychic is a giallo that any fan will appreciate, offering a hypnotic approach to a familiar storyline involving a woman whose clairvoyance sends her unwillingly down the path of investigating a violent crime. The film is much less violent than future Fulci works would be, relying more on our sympathy with lead character owing to the strong performance of Jennifer O’Niell and the growing paranoia that overtakes her. The DVD offers scant special features except for one pretty good featurette titled Voices From the Black.

I should probably point out that I wonder about the value of DVD labels like Severin. Does the world really need more porn-torture or otherwise? But they’ve done all of us a favor in making sure this early Fulci gets out where it can be seen and placed alongside its cinematic peers.