Perfect cast and a good story

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

Never really heard of "The Sender", but it turned out as quite a surprise. A solid refined production with dependable performances and an innovative concept with jarring psychological tension and grisly haunting imagery. A young man is admitted to a mental hospital after attempting suicide and the doctors know nothing about him, due to him having no memory. Dr Gail Farmer becomes his doctor and soon discovers that he has uncontrollable telepathic powers that begin to affect the minds of his fellow patients and the hospital staff. This happens whenever he seems threatened, hurt or upset by transmitting those visions. Farmer goes about seeking answers and these might lie in John Doe's #83's mother. A warm-hearted Kathryn Harrold brings a functional sense to her character Dr Farmer and Zeljko Ivanek creates an uneasy presence by shrouding his character with brooding mystery ("Why can't I control it?"). Accessible performances by Shirley Knight and Paul Freeman add some class. The narrative is completely offbeat and slow-boil, manipulating its characters and the suspenseful/mind-scratching situations they find themselves in. The harrowing mother and son relationship is interestingly staged and running through it is an ambiguous edge. Atmospherics are sombre and clinical with an excellent musical score by Trevor Jones. It's melodically eerie and unhinged with its cues… like the striking opening sequence with its elegant camera-work. A chilling, under-seen little supernatural horror gem from the 80s.

A suicidal mental patient(Zelijko Ivanek)turns his horrific nightmares into reality by choosing receivers for his demented thoughts from the local hospital.Psychiatrist(Kathryn Harrold)realizes the young man's power and tries to save him."The Sender" is a very creepy horror film that has slick production values.The acting is surprisingly good and the film perfectly mixes reality with unsettling hallucinations.There is only a little bit of blood,but the atmosphere of dread and fear is easy to feel.There are some wonderful moments of pure horror like the scene where an Etc machine is switched on and an entire operating room erupts in a slow-motion explosion.The film is relatively obscure,but if you get the chance watch it.8 out of 10.Highly recommended.

A doctor (Kathryn Harroler) tries to find out why a telepathic young man (Zelijko Ivank) is unleashing his nightmares and visions into the minds of the staff and patients and causing them injury. She thinks his weird mother (Shirley Knight) my be part of the cause. Crisp, suspenseful thriller with a solid premise and good production values & performances. One of the best horror films from the 1980's.Rated R; Violence.

This film was released with an glut of really bad horror films in the early '80s and got lost in the shuffle. That's a shame--it's one of the best of its type. There's no masked killer chasing down brain dead teens. It's about a young man (Zeljko Ivanek) committed to an institution because he tried to commit suicide. He believes his dreams can kill. A kind psychiatrist (Kathryn Harrold) tries to help him. Then his creepy mother (Shirley Knight) shows up insisting he be put in her care--but she keeps disappearing.There's very little violence or blood and guts but it's very scary and suspenseful. The ending is (now) old hat but was pretty original when this film was released. Any movie that can scare you silly with a shot of a middle-aged mother walking to her son (see the movie to find out why it's scary) is one hell of a horror movie in my book! Add to that a beautiful music score and excellent performances by Knight and Ivanek (who has gone on to be a top character actor). The only debit is Harrold who's pretty terrible. Still it's well worth seeing.