People were really into telepathy back in the 80s.

Well, telepathy and related super-abilities of the mind, like telekinesis, pyrokinesis, clairvoyance and precognition. Think about 80s classics like The Dead Zone, Firestarter, Scanners, and Creepers.

Or, it turns out, 1982’s The Sender, which I watched a few nights ago.

The film starts with a young man attempting to kill himself via drowning. He fails and gets taken to a mental hospital where he falls under the care of a female psychologist. The man starts to have weird interactions with other patients, and the psychologist starts seeing strange visions. She pretty quickly figures out she is receiving dream images sent by her mysterious John Doe.

This is one of these movies where you know what’s going on right from the beginning, but it’s creepy, nonetheless.

I read that it was an influence on Nightmare of Elm Street, and I can see that in the way you’re never sure if you’re in reality or some dream hallucination. (Particularly evocative was a bleeding mirrors hallucination—you’ll know it when you see it.)

The film is quite enjoyable, partly as an 80s throwback I’d missed the first time around. One scene in particular, when a character has trouble maintaining control of their head, had me squealing out loud.

With all the possibilities of hallucinations and dreams coming to life, I got a little lost towards the end of this one. But sometimes it’s the ride, not the destination, you know?

The capable score was composed by Trevor Jones, who did the King Arthur movie, Excalibur, which was a big event of my youth.