Saturday, June 17, 2017

The Terminal Man (1974)

Director: Mike Hodges

Writers: Michael Crichton, Mike Hodges

Starring: George Segal, Joan Hackett, Richard Dysart, Donald Moffat, Michael C. Gwynne, William Hansen, Jill Clayburgh, Norman Burton, James Sikking

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Harry Benson is a brilliant computer scientist. For three minutes a day, he is violently homicidal.

Plot: Hoping to cure his violent seizures, a man agrees to a series of experimental microcomputers inserted into his brain but inadvertently discovers that violence now triggers a pleasurable response his brain.



My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

This one was a real letdown considering the director, writer, cast, premise and being 70s sci-fi.  The film's biggest crime is that it's very slow and unnecessarily so.  Like how long it took to get through the surgery Harry (Segal) undergoes.  It felt like it lasted forever.  The build up was very well handled and it was done in such a way that really had my curiosity piqued.  After Harry escapes (which was neat) the pacing picks up a little and the thrill ride begins when he start killing folks.  The movie has a nice, subtle not-so-futuristic look that works very nicely.  The ending was neat and felt like a natural progression and conclusion.  What left me wanting was needing more.  It seemed like the story was much too simple in parts.  It's an interesting premise but it's one that felt like it gave up in favor of becoming a more traditional thriller/sci-fi/horror movie.  It's ambitious but only to a point.  The acting is just fine.  It was neat seeing Segal play a villain.  He played it calm and collected.  It's a disappointing picture but it does have enough going for it to warrant a look.

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