The Psychic

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DanTheMan 2 @DanTheMan2150AD Oct 22, 2026 An extremely restrained form of terror from the godfather of gore, atmospheric, savvy and frequently unsettling, The Psychic is a Hitchcockian whodunit seen through Fulci's vision of disjointed universes where reality and dreams, the dead and the living, the past and present are all interconnected. This is a filmmaker exercising absolute control, building dread through suggestion and atmosphere rather than overwhelming the senses, creating a film in which the distinction between intuition and paranoia becomes increasingly difficult to maintain, steadily tightening the screws and raising the question of whether what we see is real and reconsidering the significance of seemingly incidental details. It may not possess the relentless brutality, visceral excess or nightmarish extravagance of Fulci's later classics, but instead draws you into a labyrinth of deception, hidden secrets and deadly intrigue that's mysteriously poetic and where terror is never far from the surface. See more

Allan C @RT15713161 Sep 28, 2025 Solid Script, Workmanlike Direction The Psychic (1977) AKA Sette note in nero ***1/2 I’m mixed on director Lucio Fulci. Some consider him an auteur, while others dismiss him as a gorehound. I generally lean towards the latter, but this '70s giallo of his was pretty solid. Jennifer O'Neill (SUMMER OF ’42, SCANNERS) plays a woman who’s had psychic visions of the future since she was a child that she cannot explain. When she has visions of a skeleton in the wall of her husband’s home, it leads down a rabbit hole of nasty family secrets. The film was co-written by one of the guys behind Dario Argento’s’ classic giallo DON’T TORTURE A DUCKLING and the co-writer of Fulci’s best film, THE BEYOND, so that helps support Fulci’s mediocre direction. There are some legitimately creepy dreamlike sequences, but Fulci mostly does a workman-like job of directing the film, lacking the flair of an Argento or Bava. Overall, there are some nice gothic vibes to this giallo and the script is solid, but it would have been a much better film in the hands of a more talented of director.  AI CAPSUL REVIEW: Lucio Fulci’s The Psychic is a solid ’70s giallo with a strong script but merely workmanlike direction. Jennifer O’Neill shines as a woman whose psychic visions uncover a skeleton and dark family secrets, while the co-writers bring gothic vibes and some genuinely eerie sequences. Despite its strengths, the film lacks the stylistic flair of Argento or Bava and feels like it could have been great in more assured hands. See more

Cody S. @cody073001 Aug 20, 2025 This movie was very slow. I’m quick to think bad reviews on older movies from people are due to their short attention spans and their lack of appreciation for them, but all of those reviews for this movie are correct. Very slow, very boring, and honestly, I was fighting sleep throughout the entire thing. Would not recommend to anyone unless you’re completely sedentary and don’t own a phone. See more

Bruce M @BruceMc Jul 7, 2025 A good giallo from Lucio Fulci, surprisingly well-directed. Very slowly-paced, however, and the English-dubbed version is difficult to follow. Jennifer O'Neil is beautiful in this. See more

Hector I @Hector1184BC May 17, 2025 What I find both amusing and annoying about these films is that the titles in French (l'emmurée vivante in this case), Italian and especially American really have nothing to do with each other; for example, this one is called “The Psychic”, and the original title “Sette note in nero”. From what I understand, Fulchi has made far more disturbing films. Officially, it's an adaptation of the novel Terapia mortale by writer Vieri Razzini, but Fulchi draws rather freely on Poe's short stories Le chat noir and La Barrique d'amontillado. Right in the middle of the 70s, the context is the emergence of parapsychology, also very present in Cronenberg's films. A woman who has married a wealthy man possesses clairvoyant powers. She has a vision of a murder and decides, with a psychologist, to investigate. The film is classic in form, like a whodunit tinged with mystery. It almost feels like Argento's animal trilogy. The scenes take place in Siena and Tuscany, in a hushed, luxurious setting. The film deals skilfully with fate, something that fascinated Fulchi the most. It's an ideal Giallo for discovering the genre, sober, disquieting, constantly toying with our certainties. Quite simply, a good film with a truly magnificent Jennifer O'Neill. See more

Frank R @RT93464490 Jul 22, 2023 Don't listen to the critics on this one. One of the worst movies I've seen in quite some time. It seemed like it was made by a first-time filmmaker who has no sense of rhythm or momentum. The actors also seemed like amateurs. I can't think of a single good thing to say about this film. See more

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The Psychic

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