Review of The Terminal Man (1974) by Allan C — 22 Jan 2017

Okay bit of science fiction from writer Michael Crichton and director/screenwriter Mike Hodges. The story follows George Segal as a man who suffers epileptic blackouts and remember nothing afterwards To cure his condition, he tries an experimental surgery than implants microcomputers in her brain, but that leads to paranoia regarding mind control and a descent into madness.

The film and story certainly had potential, but Hodges stark and austere approach to the characters, story, and visuals, has the effect of distancing the audience from the characters. Compared to something like "Repulsion" or "Rosemary's Baby," where the audience descends into uncomfortable madness right along with the character, this film film instead has a clinical distance from it's characters and the film suffers for it.

Still, it's an interesting idea and Hodges direction is visually striking (it reminded me a lot of George Lucas' "THX 1138"), which makes this film worth checking out for fans of 1970s sci-fi.

Hackett, Richard Dysart, Donald Moffat, Jill Clayburgh, Matt Clark, and Victor Argo (briefly as an overly) also appear in the film. And an interesting side note, even if I don't really agree with it, this film was a favorite of Stanley Kubrick.