The Sender (1982)

hyped garbage

Did you people see the same film I saw?

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This one is a bit creepy. It's a horror film that seems to be overlooked, more or less forgotten, but is a very interesting and odd movie.It's about a guy with ESP - he sends extremely real images to people when he's upset or asleep having nightmares. He tries to commit suicide and then is brought to a state mental hospital for observation and treatment. The doctors end up upsetting him and they start learning of special and terrifying gift when things start happening to them. His mother keeps showing up at the hospital only upsetting him more. The viewer never learns his real name, we only know this guy by the name of John Doe aka The Sender.The film contains a ghost and other supernatural elements so if you are into those types of films then you might enjoy The Sender.8/10

The 1980s are known as the golden age of slasher movies. It's worth noting that not all horror flicks from the era of the Rubik's Cube were slashers. A really good non-slasher is Roger Christian's psychological thriller "The Sender", about a man whose dreams manifest themselves. There are some VERY intense scenes. I liked the whole sequence in the operating room.As is often the case with horror flicks, "The Sender" features an eye-opening cast and crew. Roger Christian won an Oscar for Art Direction for "Star Wars" and received a second nod for "Alien", but later directed the infamous "Battlefield Earth". Kathryn Harrold used to be married to MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell. Željko Ivanek was born in Ljubljana but raised in the United States and has appeared in a number of movies and TV shows. Shirley Knight has been in movies for over fifty years. Paul Freeman played the villain in "Raiders of the Lost Ark". And then there's writer Tom Baum: he also wrote wrote the 1975 animated feature "Hugo the Hippo", one of the most WTF movies ever.Anyway, it's a neat movie. I recommend it.PS: "The Sender" opened the 1982 Avoriaz Film Festival.

I got this film because I read about it from others and it sounded interesting. A horror film that I thought I had never seen! Well, I did indeed see this film as a kid. As soon as it opened I recognized it as the opening scene of the dude putting rocks in his jacket and walking into a lake sparked the memory rather quickly. Well, I kept watching as it has been forever since I had seen this film and it had some good moments, but it could of been a lot better too.The film does start with a young man trying to commit suicide. He is promptly taken to one of the worst mental health facilities I have ever seen. This is mainly due to what they do throughout the film, I mean all it is missing is that nurse from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" to make it the the absolute number one worst facility. Well a female doctor wants to assist this man who is suffering from amnesia while another doctor wants to use every extreme method of treating patients hoping to zap the young man out of being suicidal. Well, this young man has certain powers...it seems when he dreams or has nightmares he has very powerful telepathic abilities. These abilities make the doctor trying to help him and others in the facility see horrific things. Add the man's mother who appears from time to time seeming to want to help, but her motives are not clear.The film has its moments, it really is not a hardcore horror film though. In fact, if one were to rate it now it would probably get a PG-13 rating except for one scene near the end involving the young man and another patient after the young man tries to beat up a television. Still, it keeps you wondering where it is going...I am just not entirely satisfied where it ended up. I just find it hard to believe they would have done what they did at the end to the young man as it seems pretty obvious he still needs some guidance. The gore is minimal, and you get scenes with rats and insects as well. The most disturbing scene was one involving a procedure being done on him as the cut look really good.So this film had its moments, but it was just an okay film to me. Nothing super great or anything. It just seems like it needed more of a point or something. The thing with the mother that was revealed at the end was a bit too obvious as well. Still, it is a lot better than a lot of horror films and it does feature deadly dreams before the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise launched.

Never really heard of "The Sender", but it turned out as quite a surprise. A solid refined production with dependable performances and an innovative concept with jarring psychological tension and grisly haunting imagery. A young man is admitted to a mental hospital after attempting suicide and the doctors know nothing about him, due to him having no memory. Dr Gail Farmer becomes his doctor and soon discovers that he has uncontrollable telepathic powers that begin to affect the minds of his fellow patients and the hospital staff. This happens whenever he seems threatened, hurt or upset by transmitting those visions. Farmer goes about seeking answers and these might lie in John Doe's #83's mother. A warm-hearted Kathryn Harrold brings a functional sense to her character Dr Farmer and Zeljko Ivanek creates an uneasy presence by shrouding his character with brooding mystery ("Why can't I control it?"). Accessible performances by Shirley Knight and Paul Freeman add some class. The narrative is completely offbeat and slow-boil, manipulating its characters and the suspenseful/mind-scratching situations they find themselves in. The harrowing mother and son relationship is interestingly staged and running through it is an ambiguous edge. Atmospherics are sombre and clinical with an excellent musical score by Trevor Jones. It's melodically eerie and unhinged with its cues… like the striking opening sequence with its elegant camera-work. A chilling, under-seen little supernatural horror gem from the 80s.