The Psychic

1979 "Suddenly and without warning it's tomorrow... and you're dead."
6.8| 1h37m| R| en| More Info
Released: 23 March 1979 Released
Producted By: Cinecompany
Country: Italy
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

A woman with psychic powers has a vision of a murder that took place in a house owned by her husband.

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Claudio Carvalho In 1959, in Florence, the girl Virginia sees her mother committing suicide jumping off a cliff in England. Twenty-eight years later, Virginia Ducci (Jennifer O'Neill) is married with the wealthy Francesco Ducci (Gianni Garko). Out of the blue, Virginia has a vision of a walled dead woman and when he goes to his house in Italy, she sees the wall of her vision. She opens a hole in the wall and finds a skeleton inside. When her husband returns from London, he is arrested and becomes the prime-suspect since the woman was his lover. Virginia discusses the subject with her psychiatrist and friend Luca Fattori (Marc Porel). They find differences between her vision and the location where the skeleton was found and Luca suspects that she might have had a premonition. Virginia decides to investigate the case to find evidences to prove the innocence of Francesco and she suspects that a man called Emilio Rospini (Gabriele Ferzetti) is the killer. When Francesco is released from jail, she becomes obsessed to find the truth and does not stop to snoop around. What will happen to her?"Sette note in nero", a.k.a "The Psychic", is an entertaining but flawed and full of clichés giallo. It is irritating to see the cliché of a woman hiding from a serial-killer and stumble upon something to make noise. Or the alarm in the watch in the exact moment that the killer is leaving. Or the woman seeking out a dangerous criminal without any weapon or plan B. the cinematography and the locations are beautiful and the open conclusion is another plus in this film. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Premonição" ("Premonition")
RainDogJr In 1959 Virginia Ducci (Jennifer O'Neill) has a vision of her mother's suicide. Virginia was in Florence, Italy and at the very same time her mother committed suicide in England. In the 70's, Virginia is married to Francesco (Gianni Garko) When she goes to the old abandoned house of her husband, for redecorated it, she found the rests of a dead body and is all related to a vision that Virginia previous has. When Francesco is accused for the murder Virginia must find the proofs, for her husband's freedom, thought her vision.This is the plot of this terrific giallo of Lucio Fulci. "Sette Note In Nero" is the only film of Fulci that has been released on DVD in Mexico and was my introduction to Fulci's work. The plot is great showing a simple murder mystery story with suspense all of its 95 minutes. The unexpected change in the plot is great just as the end.First the film is about one murder mystery with Virginia relating all to her vision but later her vision doesn't agree with the case and we realize that she saw the future. So is great how the film suddenly has two different murder cases unsolved, one of the past and the other that is going to happen in a very near future. The climax and the end are just excellent and it was because of the music that Virginia was saved or at least we like to imagine that.Conclusion: I love this film that was just a terrific introduction to Lucio Fulci. It has a great atmosphere, perfect for a story full of suspense. The cast is good, with the amazing beauty of Jennifer O'Neill that here's plays a brave role. If you're expecting to see a very bloody film, maybe because you have hear something about Fulci, this is not what you're looking for but I do recommend this film. 9.5 out of 10Region 4 DVD: Like I said, this is the first film of Fulci on DVD in Mexico and the presentation is just good. Is a single disc edition without extras but the quality of the image is just terrific and is great that is in Italian with Spanish subtitles. So is always great to can get this kind of films. We need more films of Fulci on DVD in Mexico!
Schwenkstar I must confess: I do not like the cinema of Lucio Fulci. Although he is often considered a top tier director of Italian horror/gialli, I found his films to be nothing more than exploitative and shameless, capitalizing on violence and sex to appeal to nothing but the viewer's carnal desires while providing little (if any) intelligence for the viewer's mind and cognitive thinking.Imagine my surprise when I found this not only to be a *good* movie, but also quite possibly one of the best gialli I have ever seen (second only to some of Dario Argento's best work).Despite a rather unnecessarily violent and gory opening (which is more laughable than shocking), the film is very subtle and restrained, with no nudity and very little violence, focusing upon its labyrinthine mystery to provide the thrills rather than anything visceral.And the mystery is superb, playing out very much like a jigsaw puzzle. The main character (Jennifer O'Neal) sees a barrage of images in the opening of the film, like pieces of a puzzle, and as the film progresses we see the pieces beginning to come into place and form a whole picture. All of this creates a very engrossing experience as we get en-wrapped within he mystery.That is not to say the film is totally devoid of visceral thrills. The suspense sequences are genuinely suspenseful, with the chase scene in the run-down church being almost unbearable in its potent tension. Not to mention, the very last sequence in the house will also have you on the edge of your seat.And the story isn't the only thing that makes this giallo work so well - the direction by Fulci (I can't believe I'm saying this) is magnificent, with such stunning sequences of camera movements and edits that just draw the viewer into the action. Also, the music by Bixio, Frizzi, and Tempera is hypnotic, creating a very much palpable atmosphere of dread and ominous foreboding.However, I don't mean to sound like this is a masterpiece of Italian cinema - it's not. I am merely so shocked at how good this film is considering its film-making pedigree. The opening scene, as mentioned earlier, is entirely out of place, and the plot, while complex, is strangely predictable once you begin to understand what's happening.Despite this, the plot is tight, focused, and clever, with genuine suspense, which makes it one of the best giallo films ever.Essential viewing for not only giallo fans, but also any lover of a good mystery.
dbdumonteil Fulci's tendency to try to outdo his rivals in disgusting scenes ("L'Aldila") is not a problem in this film.This is a suspenseful story ,with an elaborate screenplay à la Argento (note the importance of pictures in both directors' works ,photographs or paintings)and special effects with make-up kept to the minimum level.Combining a subject dear to Edgar Allan Poe with a whodunit a la Agatha Christie and supernatural facts (O'Neil is some kind of medium) ,with a good supporting cast featuring Gabriele Ferzetti (Antonioni's "L"avventura" ) and French Marc Porel (sadly to die prematurely ) as a shrink whose assistant is smarter than him,"Sette Note In Nero" is worth seeing.Like this?Try these..."Eyes of Laura Mars" Irvin Kershner 1978 "Dead zone" David Cronenberg 1983