Psychic, The (1977)
The Psychic (1977)
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This week’s Fulci film is another of my personal favorite giallos. The Psychic is the story of a clairvoyant who, inspired by visions, tears a wall apart in her husband’s home only to discover the remains of a woman holed up inside. As the police begin to investigate, her visions continue and she becomes aware that she may be seeing into the future rather than the past.
As usual, Fulci’s use of visions, dreams, and flashbacks allows for suspenseful storytelling infused with dramatic twists. The trends that led up to Fulci’s later use of violence and gore began in Don’t Torture A Duckling, and continued to develop through The Psychic. Viewers familiar with Don’t Torture A Duckling will also notice a scene very reminiscent of its epic conclusion.
The storytelling in The Psychic is superb and will draw the viewer in and keep them hooked until the close. However, the twists are scaled back a bit from his earlier giallos like Lizard in A Woman’s Skin; and the storyline is far more linear than it was in the aforementioned film. Jennifer O’Neill provides a very convincing role as the title character, Virginia, and all other roles are well acted.
Overall, The Psychic is another great giallo by the Italian master. It is certainly not to be overlooked by Fulci fans or giallo fans alike. So my advice is to do yourself a favor and see this film.
Jonny Dead
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