PSI Factor

A surprisingly nifty, albeit talky lo-fi Sci-fi oddity about a singularly playful first contact with misfit fireballs from beyond! While the FX are rudimentary, this pacey, proto-X-Files yarn has an earnest D. I. Y charm that soon won me over. The acting performances are pretty solid, with especially fine work from the charming, and uncommonly lovely Gretchen Corbett. And, once again, Robert Emenegger's old school, blissfully bleepy synth score is a delight!

It's not often I get to be the first person to write a review of a film on this site but I guess that's a mark of how obscure THE PSI FACTOR really is. It's a science fiction/government conspiracy cover-up type movie in which a renegade scientist manages to make contact with an extraterrestrial lifeform only to find himself pursued by both aliens and sinister men in black intent on covering up the incident.

What this all boils down to is a low budget, shot-on-the-cheap sci-fi thriller with a similar atmosphere to the Leslie Nielsen starrer, THE RESURRECTION OF ZACHARY WHEELER. Long-term character actor Peter Mark Richman is a good choice as the hard-headed lead who refuses to take no for an answer, and the supporting cast are all well picked for their various roles. Those looking for an effects extravaganza will no doubt be disappointed - the 'aliens' are limited to a superimposed light on the screen, used to represent a UFO - but those hunting for low budget thrills and weirdness might just enjoy it.

Inevitably, comparisons can be made to the great paranoid sci-fi TV shows such as THE X-FILES and THE INVADERS and I think THE PSI FACTOR holds its own against them. Richman even looks a little like Roy Thinnes and his character is more than a little similar. My favourite scenes are the home invasion-type scenes of buildings being invaded by the sinister lights, which have a little found footage grittiness to them. THE PSI FACTOR might be obscure but it's worth a look for fans of the genre. The director Bryan Trizers is unknown, but writer Robert Emenegger carved a short-lived career for himself making zero budget sci fi oddities at the turn of the 1980s and this is one of the best he was involved with.

Bad plot, script, acting, special effects, muffled sound, the lighting was very dark, low grade picture quality. The plinky plonky "music" was very irritating as it could be heard, too loudly, during 90% of the film. Managing to make a fim as bad as this one as late as 1980 is some achievement, it's like a mid 1950s very bad "B Movie" Very few reviews so far and it's better that it remains obscure to avoid more viewers being tortured by it.

No idea what the plot was all about as we were no wiser at the end as we were at the beginning.

Only watch this if you want to see a really badly made film and enjoy such creations.