The Medusa Touch (film)

The Medusa Touch is a British film released in 1978. It starred Richard Burton (John Morlar), Lee Remick (Zonfeld), Lino Ventura (Brunel), Harry Andrews (Assistant Commissioner), Michael Hordern (psychic), Derek Jacobi (Morlar's publisher), Gordon Jackson (surgeon) and Jeremy Brett (Parrish). The screenplay was by John Briley, based on the novel The Medusa Touch by Peter Van Greenaway, and the film was directed by Jack Gold.Variety film review; February 8, 1978; page 18.

Plot summary

A French detective, Brunel, is on an exchange scheme in London. He is assigned to investigate the murder of novelist John Morlar. As they examine the crime scene, the policemen find that the victim is actually still alive in spite of his severe injuries and have him rushed to hospital.

With the help of Morlar's journals and Dr. Zonfeld, a psychiatrist whom the author had started visiting, Brunel reconstructs Morlar's past life. Seen in flashback, it is filled with inexplicable catastrophes, including the tragic deaths of people he disliked or who offended him.

Morlar is, in fact, a psychic with powerful telekinetic abilities. Disgusted at the world (in his 1988 book Nightmare Movies, Kim Newman described Morlar's dialogue as "incredibly misanthropic"), Morlar has caused two recent disasters: an airliner crash and the loss of a manned spacecraft.

From his hospital bed, he manages to bring down a cathedral on the...
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