The Sender

R

Released Oct 22, 1982

1h 31m

Horror

List

80%

5 Reviews

Tomatometer

33%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

A suicidal amnesiac (Zeljko Ivanek) sends rats, flames and other nightmares by telepathy to his psychiatrist (Kathryn Harrold).

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

left to the viewer to determine whether what is unfolding is more like Psycho or Carrie, given how much of what we see in the film proves to be an unreliable merger of a concealed reality, the protagonist's psychic interference & fugue-like denials

Jun 17, 2019

Full Review

Alan Jones

Starburst

See The Sender if you want evident intelligence behind such facets as scripting, directing and acting.

Aug 1, 2022

Full Review

Jason Shawhan

Nashville Scene

This is a weird and beautiful film with one of the greatest slow-motion effects shots in the history of cinema - you can see the Chris Cunnigham/Aphex Twin visual aesthetic being born here.

Sep 10, 2021

Full Review

Rob Aldam

Backseat Mafia

A strange and intriguing psychological thriller.

Jun 14, 2019

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James Sanford

Kalamazoo Gazette

Clever idea, not-so-great execution

Rated: 2/5

Dec 30, 2003

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Audience Member

The mind can be very fragile but also dangerous We wonder how much of it can be trusted A very young Zeljko Ivanek plays John Doe #83, an amnesiac that attempts suicide Once he's brought in for treatment though at a mental hospital he has no recollection of it The more the doctors try to repair his memory the more he starts unlocking what's inside him John turns out has telepathic powers making others see the stuff of nightmares These powers could be potentially dangerous to him and everyone else including the other patients Transmitting his dreams and visions to others may be out of his control His main doctor Gail wants to understand what happened to him but is she in danger too? It's hard to tell what's real or not given the trauma John has been through This plays like 'Carrie' or 'Shining' messing with our perception of reality but also dealing with repressed memories and scars There's some interesting imagery and impressive slo-mo shots Not very scary but unsettling in a psychological sense

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/30/23

Full Review

Alan M

Found this on one of the BFI lists (overlooked British horror from the 80s) so gave it a shot. Worth a watch - good storyline and performances decent overall. Not ‘scary' as such.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

jon c

The mind can be very fragile but also dangerous We wonder how much of it can be trusted A very young Zeljko Ivanek plays John Doe #83, an amnesiac that attempts suicide Once he's brought in for treatment though at a mental hospital he has no recollection of it The more the doctors try to repair his memory the more he starts unlocking what's inside him John turns out has telepathic powers making others see the stuff of nightmares These powers could be potentially dangerous to him and everyone else including the other patients Transmitting his dreams and visions to others may be out of his control His main doctor Gail wants to understand what happened to him but is she in danger too? It's hard to tell what's real or not given the trauma John has been through This plays like 'Carrie' or 'Shining' messing with our perception of reality but also dealing with repressed memories and scars There's some interesting imagery and impressive slo-mo shots Not very scary but unsettling in a psychological sense

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It was great until the ending. The suspense and mystery were built up well, but the explanation to the mystery was incoherent as an understatement. It wasn't just ambiguous. The combination of events are contradictory and do not make any sense. I had to rewind it and watch the "mystery explanation" again. While that helped me understand the literal words I missed the first time(because they were said quickly and you couldn't hear them well), the explanation was too ambiguous and, more importantly, all of the possible interpretations were not believable. What did the mother want? If it was just to "have her son back," then why does she want him back home in a specific place *if she's already dead / a ghost*? Why would the location matter to her? Was she the cause of the hallucinations? And if she was and if she just wanted him back, then why did she try to kill him in the previous scene? If she wasn't the cause of the hallucinations / torment, then why did he leave the hospital by lying about being "cured" while as soon as he gets in his truck (her truck? he never drove this truck to the hospital; who drove it there?) he sees his dead mother.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

There's a decent story at its core, but it's not really executed all that interestingly.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Very well done horror/thriller of a suicidal amnesiac in a mental hospital under observation. It turns out he is telepathic and can force his delusions on others. Lots of suspense, and very well acted. The ending was predictable but satisfying.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

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Roger Christian

Director

Kathryn Harrold

Dr. Gail Farmer

Željko Ivanek

John Doe No. 83

Paul Freeman

Dr. Joseph Denman

Shirley Knight

Jerolyn

Sean Hewitt

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Synopsis

A suicidal amnesiac (Zeljko Ivanek) sends rats, flames and other nightmares by telepathy to his psychiatrist (Kathryn Harrold).

Director: Roger Christian
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 22, 1982, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 13, 2017
Runtime: 1h 31m
Sound Mix: Surround

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