{"id":3813,"date":"2013-11-13T10:52:07","date_gmt":"2013-11-13T09:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/?p=3813"},"modified":"2013-11-13T10:55:56","modified_gmt":"2013-11-13T09:55:56","slug":"the-fury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2013\/11\/13\/the-fury\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fury"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The Fury<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

\nFormat:<\/B> Blu-ray

\nRelease date:<\/B> 28 October 2013

\nDistributor:<\/B> Arrow Video

\nDirector:<\/B> Brian De Palma

\nWriter:<\/B> John Farris

\nBased on:<\/B> The Fury<\/i> by John Farris

\nCast:<\/B> Kirk Douglas, John Cassavetes, Carrie Snodgress, Amy Irving

\nUSA 1978

\n118 mins\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

There\u2019s a lot to like about Brian De Palma\u2019s The Fury<\/i>, his big-budget 1978 follow-up to horror classic Carrie<\/i> (1976). For one thing, there\u2019s the monumentally dramatic score from celebrated film composer John Williams, which swoops and creeps with a sense of epic malevolence. Add to the mix De Palma\u2019s stunning operatic visual flair, Rick Baker\u2019s special effects, and the remarkable cinematography of Richard H. Kline, and you\u2019ve got yourself a potent slice of late 1970s mainstream cinema. It\u2019s a shame it completely bombed on its initial release, mostly due to it not being Carrie<\/i>. <\/p>\n

The plot literally is the stuff of those pulpy paperbacks that fill the shelves of airport bookshops, adapted for the screen by John Farris from his original novel. (Farris was also responsible for other such sensational literary titles as The Corpse Next Door<\/i> and The Axeman Cometh<\/i>.) Kirk Douglas plays government agent Peter Sandza, whose telepathic son has been abducted by colleague Ben Childress (John Cassavetes), who plans to exploit the boy\u2019s psychic abilities for warfare. Sandza\u2019s desperate search for his son brings him into contact with a teenage girl named Gillian (Amy Irving), who also has immense telekinetic powers. Together they join forces in the hope of saving his son from the evil grip of Childress before it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n

Aging Hollywood legends Douglas and Cassavetes don\u2019t seem to have any delusions as to what kind of film they\u2019re in, and give it everything they\u2019ve got. Douglas is great as the tormented father, and Cassavetes is equally memorable as his incredibly intense and menacing adversary. Between all the running about and telekinetic hocus-pocus, it\u2019s fantastic to see such movie heavyweights sharing the screen. Amy Irving is a very sympathetic heroine, who\u2019s picked on by fellow classmates, confused by her special psychic abilities, and unaware of her full potential, but without Carrie\u2019s religious baggage and domestic issues. <\/p>\n

Essentially a supernatural horror tale, The Fury<\/i> also succeeds as an action film and a mystery\/suspense thriller, with De Palma never slacking on the pace and effortlessly balancing out the elements of each genre into a very entertaining cinematic hybrid. Of course, there are moments (mostly during the final act) that are complete nonsense in terms of narrative, but it\u2019s extremely well-composed and directed nonsense, with lots of split diopter shots and wondrous over-cranking, culminating in an unforgettable final scene that could quite possibly be an incredibly humorous, horrific and gruesome homage to Michelangelo Antonioni\u2019s Zabriskie Point<\/i>. <\/p>\n

Although The Fury<\/i> has never been perceived as one of De Palma\u2019s more credible efforts, it\u2019s definitely worthy of attention, and still stands up as a compelling, entertaining and enjoyable thrill ride.<\/p>\n

Robert Makin<\/I><\/B><\/p>\n

Watch the trailer:<\/B><\/p>\n