The Terminal Man — The Terminal Man (Blu Ray)
From the mid-1970s, The Terminal Man is an extremely slow burn slice of medical focused Sci-fi, with touches of both thriller and horror genres appearing in the film's later half. The film regards a charming family man who, after a car crash, has blackouts where he attacks people, so it’s decided he should have a computer chip in his brain to cure the issues, and of course things don’t go as expected. The film features a compelling air of cold medical disquiet, which is edged with moments of creepy voyeurism, distrust, and plotting. Then in its last quarter or so some a zip 'n' pace is added to proceedings, as we move into thriller/ horror territory. Here Arrow Video is a new release of the film, a new HD scan, a new commentary track, and a selection of new and old extras.
The Terminal Man is a 1974 US production, it was directed/ co-written by Bristol-born Mike Hodges, based on a 1972 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton( The Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, Coma). Hodges has twelve features to his name, taking in the likes of Michael Cain fronted crime thiller Get Carter (1971), camp Sci-fi/ action film Flash Gordon (1980), medium focused horror thriller Black Rainbow (1989), and psychological drama/ thriller The Croupier (1989).
The film runs at around the hour and forty minute mark, and boy does it feel like that length and then some. As mentioned earlier, it’s an extreme slow burn, and it truly is for the first two-to-three quarters of the film, it very slowly plods along, with only the cold disquieting atmosphere, sense of mystery, and acting pulling you along.
We open with black and white pictures of the lead character Harry Benson(George Segal) being shown around a restaurant table where three men are dining. They discuss how he was once a loving family man, but after a car crash, he has suffered blackouts, these have rapidly increased, with him attacking, possibly killing someone during these blackouts. The men sat around the table are Doctors, who believe they can cure him by putting a small computer in his head. Two of the actors here will later appear in John Carpenter's The Thing( 1982), Richard Dysart and Donald Moffat.
As things unfold, Benson is brought into a stark medical facility-come-office building, hand cuffed in a wheelchair, though we find out that he & his wife have signed off on the treatment. He is prepared for the operation, with his head shaved, and we get a very lengthy operation footage, before he is tested pre-op, and things haven’t gone as the team planned.
The last quarter or so, when things turn somewhat wrong footed, we find a thriller tone, with light undercurrents of horror/ gore- though I won’t detail what occurs here- as not to spoil the decent enough twists and turns, which resolve in a rather grim finale.
Acting-wise Segal gives the film humanity and pull- with the actor very talentedly shifting from charming and questioning, to unpredictable and troubled, though to panicked and lost. The rest of the mainly medical centre focused staff have a subtle cold and untrustworthy air, but someone who has a decidedly sinister/ shifty air is Michael C. Gwynne as Dr. Robert Morris- who runs the facility.
The Terminal Man certainly presents us with some rather chilling ideas, the atmosphere of a sinisterly uneasy medical setting is well realised, and our lead is excellent. The issue here is the pace, which very much treads the line between moodily effective and somewhat trying, and I’m afraid on a few occasions it did step into the latter. I’d say if you enjoyed the similarly Crichton penned film, The Andromeda Strain (1971), or very slow burn sci-fi drama, you’ll enjoy what's on offer here.
This recent Blu-ray reissue features a new HD scan- this is clean, crisp, and wonderfully defined, which enhances the stark and at times bone chilling tone of the film very well. We get presented with a theatrical and director's cut of the picture, though there is not a huge difference in the runtimes between the two.
On the extras side, we get a few new things, first off is a commentary track, featuring film historians Howard S. Berger and Steven Mitchell, this is a thought-provoking/ at points informative track, which is worth a play. They begin by talking about how the film is extremely divisive, and how it was not properly marketed, presented by its distribution on first release. One of the commentators talks about seeing the film at the age of ten, when it was presented as the middle feature in a trio of films. We find out during the making of the film that director Mike Hodges was suffering from depression, and this very much rubbed off on the film's tone. They talk about the films dehumanisers of people in general. Later on, they point out & discuss great character actors in the film. They discuss actors collaborating with the director. Talk about the film's locations, etc.
Otherwise, on the new side, we have the following: A (Misunderstood) Modernist Masterpiece(18.36) a visual essay from film scholar Josh Nelson. He moves from discussing Hodges' depression at the time of making the film. Onto the influence of the American painter Edward Hopper on films look. We find out that the director originally wanted to make the film in black and white, but the studio said no, so they switched to the grey, white, general subdued look of most of the picture. He discusses what he sees as the film's twin themes, technology and region. This is followed by two other visual essays, both by film historian Howard S. Berger- Who Am I If Not Myself(21.53) looks at Mike Hodges and The Terminal Man, and The Skin I Live In( 26.28) looks at Crichton, Hodges and cinematographer Richard Kline.
On the archive side, we have an interview with Hodges( 9.22), theatrical trailer and image gallery. With the finished release coming with a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sister Hyde, and an illustrated booklet containing new writing by film critic and author Guy Adams.
It certainly is great to see The Terminal Man getting the Arrow Video treatment, with a nicely crisp and clean new scan, and a selection of extras. I’m still somewhat on the fence about the film myself, but if you enjoy glum and slow-paced Sci-fi I’d give the film a go…and what better way to do so with then this new edition.