BY ADRIAN SMITH
When
film fans hear the name of Italian director Lucio Fulci, it almost inevitably
brings to mind his oft-quoted moniker as the “Godfather of Gore,†thanks to the
films made towards the end of his career that caused so much trouble with the
British film censors; Zombie Flesh Eaters
(1980), The Beyond (1981) New York Ripper (1983) being some of the
most notorious. To view him as such
however is to miss out on what was an extraordinarily prolific career which
also included musicals, comedies, westerns, historical dramas, fantasy films,
science fiction and thrillers. This new Blu-ray and digital release of The Psychic, out now in a 2K restoration
from Shameless Films, is an opportunity to reassess one of his less well known
films, which is only now being released in the UK for the first time.
The Psychic tells the
tale of a woman who has visions of murder and death. These visions cause her to
break through a wall in her rich new husband’s old farmhouse, where she
discovers the skeleton of a woman murdered four years earlier. Naturally her
husband is under suspicion, and with the help of a doctor friend with an
interest in parapsychology she tries to replay the memories of these visons in
her head over and over again, looking for clues that might prove her husband’s
innocence. As pieces of the puzzle fail to add up however, she begins to
realise that some of what she has seen may in fact be a premonition of murders
yet to come, possibly her own.
The
original Italian title was Sette note in
nero, or “Seven Black Notes.†The seven notes in question refer to the tune
that is played each hour on a watch worn by our heroine, gifted to her by the
husband’s sister. This sister has dozens of lovers who give her gifts, and the
watch apparently came from someone in the Vatican. This is just a sly hint
towards illicit goings on in the Catholic Church. In some of Fulci’s other
films, such as Don’t Torture a Duckling
(1972), the criticism would be far more overt.
With
its amateur detective attempting to solve a crime by constantly revisiting
distorted memories, The Psychic sits
squarely within the tradition of the giallo,
the sub-genre of Italian thrillers that often featured bizarre murders,
unreliable witnesses, amateur detectives and red herrings galore. Described as
an “elegantly constructed murder mystery†by historian Stephen Thrower (who
wrote the definitive book on Fulci’s career), this is an entertaining thriller
that leads the audience down dark paths and blind alleys before finally
delivering an exhilarating ending straight out of Edgar Allan Poe.
This
new Shameless Blu-ray edition includes both the original Italian and English
dubs, and a wealth of new interviews. Sadly, Fulci himself is no longer with
us, but his daughter Antonella Fulci appears in two separate interviews, one
focused on the film and the other on her father. Put together, she speaks in
these interviews for almost an hour, and it is fascinating to get insight into
both her personal relationship with her father as well as her own analysis of
his career. Also appearing on the disc is the writer Dardano Sacchetti, who
also speaks for around an hour, and with almost a hundred different credits, he
has had a rich and diverse career and is full of great stories. The final
interview is with the film’s composer Fabio Frizzi, who discusses how he got
started in composing for film as well as his relationship with Lucio Fulci.
Frizzi was a frequent collaborator with Lucio Fulci, and several years ago went
on tour performing music from these films around the world (something this
writer was lucky enough to see one Halloween). And if you are wondering why The Psychic score sounds familiar, that’s
because it is yet another Italian score pinched by Quentin Tarantino for Kill Bill!
The
Shameless Films Blu-ray, in a distinctive yellow case, comes with a collectible
O-ring featuring the iconic American poster art, and also includes a reversible
sleeve which uses the original Italian artwork which made the Edgar Allan Poe
connection even more explicit.
The Psychic deserves
to become better known as a fine example of the 1970s European thriller, and
this new restoration is the perfect way to see it.
(Note: this release is currently available in Region 2 UK format only.)
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON UK