Okay fine...he's in a coma. Richard Burton! The man should know when not to fool around with evil phenomena. In this one he delves into telekinesis with apocalyptic consequences. He did this in, what he considers his best film ever (not really) "Exorcist II: The Heretic," when he got involved with a little girl who was possessed by Satan. Then he did it in "Cleopatra" when he got involved with Elizabeth Taylor. Sure, our film today has problems, like why is a French cop being sent out by Scotland Yard to investigate a homicide. An exchange program? Bring a Frog To Work Day? Anyway, never mind all that, we have Lee Remick in this one and we sure hope she doesn't get thrown off a ledge in a grand foyer or through the window of a hospital, like that ever happens. Our film today is 1978's "The Medusa Touch," directed by Jack Gold.
As our film begins, the serious looking Morlar (Burton) is watching men landing on the moon on his television. Disaster, the moon rocket is lost for good before landing. Then he is murdered. Someone bludgeons him to death using a statue. Inspector Brunel (Lino Ventura) of Scotland Yard comes to investigate...but he is not really from Scotland Yard...he's a Frenchie. Don't ask, and you'll be happier. During the investigation of the crime scene Morlar begins breathing. Now he's in a coma, at a hospital, displaying weak vitals except for his EEG. Yep, his brain waves are going crazy. What's this mean? Brunel is told his case is priority, even though it is no longer a homicide. He investigates. Brunel goes to see Morlar's shrink, Dr. Zonfeld (Remick), and she's beautiful. The psychologist is stunning and mysterious. Privacy rules be damned, Zonfeld spills the beans on Morlar.
Seems Morlar has come to see her because he believes he can murder people and cause disasters just by using his own thoughts...telekinesis. Through flashbacks we see Morlar doing this to his parents, bad teachers, mean nannies, noisy neighbors, and...well...the stakes get higher as he gets older. It appears Morlar is mad at the world because of man's inhumanity to man, and war. The man just doesn't have a sense of humor. Now he is at war with the humanity because they spend so much on war and killing and less on starving needy people. The fact that needy people spend all their money on booze and drugs is of no concern to the sad Morlar...perhaps this was the theme of that Exorcist movie Burton did. Did he cause the moon landing to go bad? Did he cause a jumbo jet to crash into an office building in London? Nah! Nah, except for the fact that the more and more Inspector Brunel investigates, the more he actually believes Morlar's brainwaves are indeed causing natural disasters.
Will Dr. Zonfeld fall in love with the dopey French cop, or with the comatose Morlar? Who tried to bludgeon Morlar to death at the beginning of the film? Is Morlar causing disasters from his hospital bed? This is an enjoyable film even though Richard Burton is the weakest part of it. It is always good to see Lee Remick and we do really hope that she will not meet a grizzly demise as she did on "The Omen." For some pure 1970s occult fun, see "The Medusa Touch."
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