SenderDirected By: Roger Christian.

Starring: Zelijko Ivanek, Kathryn Harrold and Shirley Knight. 

6 Out Of 10 SKULLS

Welcome to another installment of HAVOK’s Out Of Print VHS Review. For those who don’t know me well I review classic Horror films on VHS. I explain the entire movie due to it being Unknown with a  limited widespread release and some being Out Of Print at the moment.

This time around I have chosen “The Sender” Which was released in 1982 by Paramount Home Video. Paramount has released some juggernaut title’s  that still hasn’t seen a proper DVD release, such films as Micheal Mann’s “The Keep” “Looking For Mr. Goodbar” and another film that is set inside an insane asylum, John Huston’s “Phobia,” plus many other quality films. “The Sender” is a Psychological Thriller/ Horror film directed by Roger Christian, whose work you’ve might have seen but didn’t know it. Roger hasn’t directed that many films but of those he has directed, about 5 have been theactrical which include: “Nostradamus” “MasterMinds” (Yes the Patrick Stewart childrens film,) And Scientologys favorite film “Battlefield Earth.” Yet before all these great films were made *Cough* “The Sender” was his third film. (Well, kind of a weird relapse to go from Horror to Childrens and Scientology films.) Enough back story let’s get to the movie.

The film starts with a suttle music score with the camera peering out into the woods and lakes, only to find someone passed out by the road. As the mystery man awakes he walks into a campground placeing heavy rocks in his jacket while walking calmly into the camp lake *Cue Scream*. Our mystery man is now at the local Mental Hospital due to his attempted suicide and is looked over by Dr.Gail Farmer. Now our mystery man doen’t have a name (Obvioulsy) but he has been called John Doe 83 along with no memory about his past.(Did I forget to mention he has Jedi Powers? Well somehow …he does.) Now we’re introduced to the other inmates: A War Vet who doesn’t think the War is over and some random dude who thinks he the Messiah. After a breif moment of Dr. Gail believing that John 83 was at her house stealing her necklace, we’re back at the Ward, where John wanders around and starts talking to a lady named Jill (His Mother.)

Now we’re back to Dr. Gail who starts seeing things again as well as talking to Jill who magicly appeared and then disappeared in Dr. Gails office. (Well for the moment we know something is up with John 83 but yet we don’t understand the ordeal between his and Gail’s visions combining.) The next sceen is rather unique, Gail get’s into her car to drive home, she enters a tunnel behind a pick-up truck and see’s John inside the tunnel. Then the pick-up made it’s way back behind Gail, where John 83 get’s in the passenger seat where there is no driver behind the wheel and charges Gail. This leads Gail to believe that somehow she has a joint telepathy with John 83. Now the scary parts begin, Gail walks into the restroom and splashes water on her face which in fact turns to blood, the mirror then breaks and blood runs out of the facets and down each mirror which then leads to the door breaking in the middle and blood gushing from it as well. To bad it was one of Gail’s visions. Gail then see’s John 83 cut himself, by which they place him onto the shock therapy table. where we’re to witness another weird scene. People start flying off the ground into the ceiling, gurneys, and windows. Yet it’s another bizzare vision. (Could this little shock cause John 83 to gain his memory back or just make things worse than before? Let’s find out.)

The phone rings at Gail’s place and it’s Jill (John 83’s Mother) who offers her word of advice. “If you don’t release him now your gonna be in trouble, release him back to his Mother.” *Cue another Vision* This time John 83 is in Gail’s bedroom where rats and mice are crawling around and inside his body. (*NOTE* If you haven’t guessed by now each vision Gail see’s is because John 83 is having a nightmare at that exact moment.)

From this point we start to learn a little bit about John 83’s back story, which involves his Mother trying to kill him, (Or at least something like that.) Now John 83 knocks the block off of the crazy Messiah person with one swift palm thrust to the guys head, all before destroying a TV that says “Information” more then needed. I hate say this but it’s another vision. John is then put back into Shock Therapy, Jill soon returns and the truth is revealed about her. SHE’S DEAD, and all fingers point to John 83 for the moment, but to bad he’s in surgery making the room into a firepit. This leads Gail to chase John 83 back to the house where he lost him memory (Home.)

Soon again his Mother shows up as he set’s up the place to burn it down … again. John 83 then figures out his little problem and is chased by his dead Mother so they both would die together. Gail enters and helps John 83 until more help arrives. Then for one last time you see Jill in the house window then BOOM the house is no more and so by the grace of God John 83 get’s him memory back and walks out of the Ward a somewhat new and changed man. Until Mother show’s back up…(Would that be a twist ending?)

Overall it’s a somewhat decent Horror/Thriller, the story is good if you can understand the film as I wrote along with it, if you can’t understand, i’m sorry. The Gore is small but it packs a jedi palm punch and basicly the only thing going for the film is it’s bizzare visions that John 83 and Gail have, they just set a great tone for the film and makes it’s stand out of the crowd quite well. A truly under-appreciated Horror Gem.

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