The Medusa Touch (1978)

Jack Gold directed this strong thriller with sci-fi elements. The film opens with a man (Richard Burton) getting his head bashed in. As the victim lies in the hospital in a coma, a French detective (Lino Ventura) attempts to discover the attempted murderer but as he investigates, it becomes much more complicated. It seems the victim felt he had the power to make people die, accidents happen, planes crash etc. His psychiatrist (Lee Remick) thought him delusional but the inspector isn’t so sure. Gold is savvy enough to let the momentum build slowly until the suspense is acute, making the preposterous believable and the film ends with a smash bang finale. At this stage of his career, Burton was almost a caricature of himself but his intensity works in his character’s favor and both Remick and Ventura are able to create interesting characters out of what could have been stock figures. Co-starring Marie Christine Barrault, Harry Andrews, Derek Jacobi, Jeremy Brett, Michael Hordern and Gordon Jackson.