The Sender

The Sender
Theatrical film poster
Directed by	Roger Christian
Written by	Thomas Baum
Produced by	Edward S. Feldman
Starring	Kathryn Harrold Željko Ivanek Shirley Knight Paul Freeman
Cinematography	Roger Pratt
Edited by	Alan Strachan
Music by	Trevor Jones
Production companies	Kingsmere Productions Ltd. Paramount Pictures
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	22 October 1982(1982-10-22)(US)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$8 million
Box office	$1,054,328 (US)

The Senderis a 1982 Britishpsychological horrorthriller filmdirected byRoger Christianand written byThomas Baum.It starsKathryn Harrold,Željko Ivanek(in his film debut),Shirley Knight,andPaul Freeman.

Plot

A young, disheveled-looking man is awakened on the side of a road by passing traffic. He walks to a nearby lake and attempts to drown himself by filling his clothing with rocks and walking into the water, but is pulled out and taken to a nearbymental hospitalfor treatment. He is suffering fromretrograde amnesia,unable to remember his name or details of his personal life, other that he lives in a house within several miles and has no father to speak of. Without any form of identification, the patient is designated “John Doe#83”, and placed under the care ofpsychiatristDr. Gail Farmer. Almost immediately, John begins to display odd behavior, with a fellow patient nicknamed “The Messiah”suddenly developing a delusion that he intends to behead him.

At her home later that night, Gail hears a window being broken and witnesses John entering her house and stealing anecklacefrom her nightstand. When she calls the police, they can find no evidence of a break-in, and her colleagues at the hospital tell her that John is fast asleep in hisdormitory.Farmer quickly suspects that John is not all that he seems, as she continues to have strange visions while he is asleep. She theorizes to her boss Dr. Denman that John has some form oftelepathy,wherein he “sends” hisdreamsinto the minds of other people, causing them to experience semi-corporeal sensoryhallucinationsfor the duration of the dream. Denman dismisses Gail's hypothesis as her developing amaternalbond with the young patient, and plans to have him treated withelectroshock therapyagainst her wishes. Meanwhile, both Gail and John are haunted by the presence of a middle-aged woman named Jerolyn, apparently John's mother, who tells Gail that she must release John for everyone's well-being but disappears before she can be questioned further.

After John attempts suicide a second time, he's taken in by Denman for electroshock therapy. The moment the current is activated, John unconsciously sends violent and destructive hallucinations towards everyone in the hospital, both staff and patients. Gail rushes in and removes the electrodes. Now believing her hypothesis, Denman begins intensive study of John, while Gail continues to see Jerolyn and other cryptic visions sent by John, including one in which he lies dead with his body covered in rats. She suspects that the visions are memories of the recent past, repressed into the subconscious due to trauma. After John tells her that his mother used to lock him up in the house, she theorizes that Jerolyn, who believed that her son was a miraculousvirgin birth,kept him trapped inside her house for his entire life, eventually trying to kill him withcarbon monoxidepoisoning when she believed he'd leave her.

John's telepathy quickly becomes more and more uncontrollable, especially after he begins “sending” while conscious. Despite Gail's protestations, John is taken into thesurgical wardto have anintracranialoperation to identify and neutralize the receptors causing his powers. Before the operation begins, the local Sheriff arrives to tell Denman and Gail that they found John's house and mother, but that she's been dead of carbon monoxide poisoning for five days, indicating that he killed her and not the other way around. John's placed under guard, but the moment the surgeons pierce his skull with a drill he suddenly lashes out again, this time causing the room to explode into flames. In the chaos, John steals Gail's car keys and escapes, guided by a vision of his mother.

When they arrive at their house, he turns on the gas stove to kill a swarm ofcockroaches,but as he lies in bed he suddenly realizes that his mother is trying to kill him and snaps out of his hallucination. Gail bursts in and drags a suffocating John away, as they're pursued by the projection of his Jerolyn. They manage to get out of the house just before the gas ignites, destroying the house.

Some time later, John has regained his memory and tells his story – his mother tried to kill him, and when he realized what was happening, he fought her and inadvertently knocked her unconscious, leaving her to suffocate while fleeing the house. Unable to cope with what he'd done, hisidtook the form of a projection of his mother, trying to compel him to kill himself on multiple occasions. Seemingly cured, he leaves the hospital as Gail looks on, only to enter his truck with his mother sitting next to him, indicating he's still suffering from his condition and is bound to relapse.

Cast

• Kathryn Harroldas Dr. Gail Farmer
• Željko Ivanekas John Doe #83
• Shirley Knightas Jerolyn
• Paul Freemanas Dr. Joseph Denman
• Sean Hewitt as The Messiah
• Harry Ditson as Dr. Hirsch
• Olivier Pierre as Dr. Erskine
• Al Matthewsas Herb
• Marsha Huntas Nurse Jo
• Angus MacInnesas Sheriff Prouty
• John Stephen Hillas Policeman
• Jana Shelden as Nurse Reimbold
• Tracy Harper as Young Girl
• Monica Buford as Dr. Warren
• Mary Ellen Rayas Nursing Staff

Production

Development

The screenplay was written byThomas Baum,who based in on his own experiences growing up with anagoraphobicand overly protective mother.

The script was first purchased by20th Century Fox,who were hoping for a quasi follow-up toBrian De Palma’sThe Fury(1978)—a box office hit about another youth with devastating psychic powers—but the production floundered and was dumped before it got off the ground. The production was, almost immediately, picked up byParamount Pictureswho, afterFriday the 13th(1980) andMy Bloody Valentine(1981), were looking for something else to tap the lucrativeslasher filmmarket. However, directorRoger Christiandidn’t approach The Sender as a slasher-horror in the slightest, remarking that he wanted to make a film that was “moreBergmanthanCarpenter.”

Christian made his feature directorial debut withThe Senderafter producers were impressed with his previously directedshort films,Black AngelandThe Dollar Bottom.Several of his previous collaborators, including composerTrevor Jones,cinematographerRoger Pratt,and special effects supervisorNick Allder,were retained by Christian for the film.

Casting

The titular role was played by a then-unknownŽeljko Ivanek,who had previously only ever acted on-stage. The other leading roles were played byKathryn Harrold,Shirley Knight,andPaul Freeman.Among the supporting actors wereAl Matthews,an American-born singer and radio personality living in the UK who later gained fame for his role inAliens,andAngus MacInnes,a Canadian character actor known for his supporting roles playing North American characters in British films and television programmes.

Filming

Exteriors were filmed in the American state ofGeorgia,while interiors were filmed atShepperton StudiosinSurrey.

During filming, several scenes from the script were either changed or cut. Among these were a different ending, in which the character of Gail Farmer seemingly develops telepathic powers of her own.

Post-production

Dissatisfied with Christian's initial workprint cut as “overly slow” and “artsy”, studio executives ordered the film re-edited to start with the ending and tell the story in flashback. After some argument, in which editor Alan Strachan sided with Christian, it was put back in the original sequence.

Release

Due to Paramount Pictures’ lukewarm reception towards the film's initial cut and poor test screenings, the film was only given alimited releasetheatrically in theUnited StatesbyParamount Picturesin October 1982. It grossed $1,054,328 at the box office, less than its initial production budget.However one of Christian's foreign agents had been touting the film and it was selected to open for the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival inAvoriaz,France, where it was well received by the audience there and championed by directorGeorge Miller.It was then given a theatrical release in the United Kingdom byUnited International Pictures,and laterMexico.

Legacy

The film is often cited by critics as an influence onA Nightmare on Elm Street,with its mental hospital setting and use of surrealist, dream-like imagery particularly pertinent to the third film in the series,Dream Warriors.Elm Street writer-directorWes Cravenwas known to be a fan of writer Thomas Baum, asking him to co-develop his television seriesNightmare Cafe.

On the commentary track for the DVD release ofHot Fuzz,Quentin TarantinodescribedThe Senderas his favorite horror film of 1982.

Further reading

• "Returning to Sender" by John Nicol,Fangoriamagazine #318, November 2012, pages 64–66. Interview of director Roger Christian. Three-page article has seven photos. In the interview, he says he would be interested in doing a remake and discusses Quentin Tarantino's interest in the film.

External links

• The SenderatIMDb
• The SenderatRotten Tomatoes
• The SenderatAllMovie